MassBike Boston Bikepath Snow Plowing Report
Friday-Saturday, January 3-4, 2003

Bikepaths are an integral part of the bicycle transportation network, and these reports are provided to encourage their use by bicyclists who might otherwise not venture out in the snow, and to encourage their proper maintenance (which includes snow plowing) by the responsible agencies given in bold type below. Paths with significant foot traffic become unskiable within a day, and remain a mess for everyone if they are not plowed while the snow is still soft.

The first snowstorm of 2003 almost missed Boston and the area inside Route 128. I biked out of the city Friday night, in the opposite direction of my usual evening commute, and encountered only rain until I got to the top of the US 20 hill in Waltham. By the time I got around the Route 128 rotary, there were several inches of snow on the ground. It snowed all night, and some, but not much of that snow came down on the city. I didn't ride the paths until Monday morning, but which time they had all been plowed, making for a much more comfortable commute than the frozen-slush-narrowed streets provided. There was a fresh dusting of snow on everything, however, so the few remaining icy spots were especially treacherous.

Please send updates and reports on the conditions of other paths in Massachusetts to Doug Mink dmink@massbike.org.

Arnold Arboretum
1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic with no intersections
Boston Parks and Harvard University
The park roads were plowed, but there is still a lot of ice on the shaded parts. Even the roads with eastern exposures had ice today, but the worst was along Hemlock Hill from the Walter St. entrance.
Jamaicaway Bikepath
1.5 miles of mostly bike/ped-separated paths paralleling a busy 4-lane parkway; two intersections with traffic lights
Boston Parks Deparment
This path was well plowed, except for the snow banks between the bollards at Pinebank, though this time the truck plowed a path around them. Sand made the path pretty east to ride.
Olmsted Park Paths
3/4-mile of mostly bike/ped-separated paths built over Riverdale Road, across Leverett Pond from the Jamaicaway.
Brookline Park Department
The bike and pedestrian paths were not plowed by Monday morning, at least on the Route 9 (northern) end.
Muddy River Path
12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections
Brookline Park Department and DPW
This path was plowed and not too slippery despite the fresh snow on top.
B.U. Bridge
The Boston approach was clear, and the bridge sidewalk was plowed with at snowcat, but the Cambridge approach was very icy on Monday morning. The roadway is clear.
Charles River Bikepath
Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections
Metropolitan District Commission
This path was plowed by Monday morning. There were some icy stretches east of Magazine Beach, where the path is shaded, but the path seemed to be plowed a bit wider than last time.
Southwest Corridor Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections
Metropolitan District Commission
Not checked yet.
Melnea Cass Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path
Boston Parks or Transportation Deparment
Not checked yet.
Neponset Trail
Mostly paved Bike/Ped path
Metropolitan District Commission
This path is not plowed.
Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
Cars are parking out from the curb due to the snow, so the lanes are narrowed.
Fresh Pond Bike Path
Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet.
Red Line Linear Park
Over the Red Line from Alewife Station to Cedar St.
Cities of Cambridge and Somerville
Not checked yet.
Minuteman Bikeway
From Cambridge through Arlington and Lexington to Bedford
Each town
This path is not usually plowed.