Mass. Ave, BU Bridge bike lanes completed

(Photo by Johanna Kaiser for boston.com)

A bicyclist takes advantage of the new bike lane on Massachusetts Avenue. Curbside parking was removed on one side of the street to accomodate the lanes.

By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

Boston bicyclists might have an easier time traveling the city now that bike lanes have been installed on a busy stretch of Massachusetts Avenue.

The city installed bike lanes on the northbound and southbound lanes between Huntington Avenue and the Harvard Bridge, connecting them to existing bike lanes, just before the start of the new year.

The new lanes close a noticeable gap in the city’s bike lane network, but did come at the expense of parking.

The city removed 71 parking spaces, a majority of them metered spots, in the lane on which traffic goes north toward Cambridge.

The city considered removing parking on either side of the street or one lane of traffic on the four lane street, but found removing parking in the northbound lane had the smallest impact to the community, according to a proposal presented to the public in April 2011.

Besides increasing bike lane network’s reach, the city also hopes the addition will improve safety.

According to Boston Bikes, the now redesigned stretch of Massachusetts Avenue saw 89 bicycle crashes between 2005 and 2009. There were another 25 crashes between Oct. 31 of 2009 and 2010, according to Boston Emergency Medical Services.

In another boost for bicyclists, bike lanes were also added to the recently renovated Boston University Bridge earlier this month. The city has created more than 40 miles of bike lanes since 2006.

Follow us on Twitter @BackBayUpdate or @JohannaKaiser.

Email Kaiser at johanna.yourtown@gmail.com.