In the article "Dot Ave. scheduled for face lift" (March 16, City Weekly), you outline the improvements that will be made to Dorchester Avenue in the upcoming reconstruction. While the many intersection, pedestrian, and cosmetic improvements will indeed be much welcomed, there is a noticeable lack of bicycle accommodation within the plan.
In the final version of the city's "Dorchester Ave. Streetscape and Transportation Action Plan," there is only a newly added side note recommending that "a bicycle specialist prepare a detailed analysis of the corridor" to determine bicycle accommodation on the roadway and bicycle-parking locations.
With Mayor Menino's recently created program to make Boston more bicycle-friendly now up and running, it is absolutely essential that Dorchester Avenue live up to his vision. Most of this corridor could and should have bike lanes and plentiful bike parking. To ignore these recommendations would be a disservice to those who live and work along this roadway.
Charlie Denison
Board of directors,
LivableStreets Alliance
Somerville
I used to ride about 20 years ago from my home in Hyde Park to downtown Boston. When I got a job in Arlington, my biking went south, so to speak. Trying to ride from Hyde Park to Arlington posed a real challenge with distance and traffic. I did, for a number of years, take the T, but finally started driving most of the time. I tried to think of ways I could ride again and one day last summer, as I was getting off the train at Alewife, I saw a bicyclist carrying a folding bike. Eureka!
After looking on the Internet, I discovered a few manufacturers and bike shops that carried folding bikes. I found one suitable for me, and now pedal 3.5 to 4 miles from Hyde Park to the Forest Hills Station in JP, via the Arnold Arboretum. Folding the bike into a compact size and putting it in a specially made canvas bag with a shoulder strap, I hop on the Orange Line train. (The T allows folding bikes on trains at all hours, unlike regular-sized bikes.) At Downtown Crossing, I get off and schlep down to the Red Line outbound train. When I reach Alewife, I open up the bike and pedal on the Minuteman Bikeway about 1.5 miles to Arlington Center.
It does take longer than driving, but I get exercise and transportation, I get to read and not worry about traffic, I save wear and tear on the car (40 fewer miles a day), save money on gasoline, and cause less pollution. I try to do this at least once a week, and with the good weather coming, who knows?
You don't have to be young to do this, I just turned 59, and I look forward to my bike/T commutes.
Bob James
Hyde Park
