Ask MassBike: Business Districts And Sidewalk Bicycle Riding

Lauren LeClaire

Written by
December 29, 2009

We get a lot of questions here at MassBike, and we like to think we also give some pretty good answers. We realized that sharing these questions and answers on our website would be a valuable resource to others looking for the same information.

We got this question from John about riding on the sidewalk in Boston.

I enjoyed listening to you today on NPR, however there was one question which I don't think was adequately answered, the question was whether it's legal to ride on sidewalks, the answer was that it was not legal in certain "commercial areas," but I'm not sure what that means. Is it legal to ride on sidewalks in the Back Bay, such as Commonwealth Ave? Thanks, John



Hello John

Each town in Massachusetts gets to choose where its "business districts" are, so you will need to check with each town to figure out where it is OK to ride, and where it isn't. Almost every place in Boston and Cambridge is considered a "business district" and as such it is not OK to ride your bike on the sidewalk, If you had a specific question about a specific road you should contact the city.

If you have a question for MassBike, contact us.