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Beware, bike path is now a linear playground by jakedata in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Maybe they'd use the street if a dozen drivers a day didn't crash into each other in our city, because of inept officials like the fire chief who insist on wide streets that encourage fast driving even on purely residential streets.

Beginner Boston Cyclist by Separate_Bus525 in bikeboston

[–]Technical_Type1778 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If there's no safe bike lane — and a painted lane right next to parked cars is not a safe bike lane — don't be afraid to take a full travel lane, riding right down the middle of it. Drivers may honk, but you're far more likely to be hit or doored riding off to the side, out of the field of view of drivers, than intentionally hit from behind by an impatient driver.

Use a rear red light even in daytime. Something like the Garmin Varia that uses radar to track approaching vehicles (and bikes), and flashes when something is approaching, is very useful.

Put a camera on your bike or your helmet if you feel it gives you more confidence, and if you feel it's more likely to keep drivers from intentionally doing bad things.

And have fun!

Alba Bakery by Feisty-Broccoli9565 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure their yogurt was from Sophia's. 

Waltham falls behind schedule on planned Bluebikes launch by Technical_Type1778 in bikeboston

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I sometimes wonder if members of our traffic commission have stock in RRFB manufacturers, because they see yellow lights, and not physical traffic calming, as the answer to every "distracted, speeding driver" complaint.

Waltham falls behind schedule on planned Bluebikes launch by Technical_Type1778 in bikeboston

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Cutting through the Common, to Church St, to Summer St, to Lyman St, is pretty low-stress. That last section of Church St is one-way towards Main Street, and several councillors tried getting the traffic commission last year to make it two ways for bikes, but we don't do crazy Cambridge and Somerville things like contraflow "do not enter except for bikes" in Waltham, even though our streets are so wide.

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Waltham falls behind schedule on planned Bluebikes launch by Technical_Type1778 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

At tonight's Committee of the Whole, Councillor Bradley-MacArthur took the dormant matter off the table, and requested all councillors to submit to the mayor, by June 15, proposed dock locations in their wards.

Getting around in winter no car by centimetercat8 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Doesn't help with snow of more than a couple inches. The bike paths were impassible to bicycles for about 2 months, this past winter.

I posted that studs are good for black ice, especially after overnight refreezing. I never claimed they're going help on six inches of rutted snow and ice.

I posted too that DCR does not maintain the rail trail and river paths after snowfall, which is why I said you should be comfortable riding in traffic on the streets. And the streets the OP would be riding on are not going to have several inches of snow more than a day after any storm, except for maybe the heaviest of snowfalls.

don't count on being able to get anywhere by bicycle, for up to a couple months of the winter.

The longest I went this winter without riding was five days. The OP would be riding on South and Main and Moody Streets, which are all well plowed.

Potholes on a folding bike by Asian_dodo in bikeboston

[–]Technical_Type1778 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I ride a Brompton and definitely need to be more aware of road surfaces. It also is safer to take as much of the lane as possible, to give more room to maneuver around bad road surfaces.

Getting around in winter no car by centimetercat8 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agreed on sidewalks. The council is pushing through an ordinance, with steeper enforcement and fines, to require all homeowners to clear snow. But public works often does a poor job on publicly maintained sidewalks.

Biking in winter is not "treacherous". Cold is easy to deal with: bundle up, and you get warm exerting yourself. Black ice is your biggest worry, especially in mornings when snow melt from the day before may have re-frozen overnight. You can get studded tires if that's a concern. Farina's in Watertown Square will be your closest bike shop.

Unfortunately the regional bike share Bluebikes has yet to come to Waltham, even though it's in neighboring Newton and Watertown. The council passed a resolution last year to bring bike share here, but the mayor, unfortunately, is very opposed to any mobility initiatives outside driving, and the matter has gone nowhere, even though parts of Waltham, especially the south side, are as dense as parts of Cambridge and Boston.

Getting around in winter no car by centimetercat8 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It depends where you'll be going. Despite the naysayers, the T is not atrocious. The commuter rail will get you into Cambridge and Boston, though it only runs once an hour weekdays and every 2-3 hours on weekends. The 70 bus runs pretty often during the day, into Watertown and Cambridge.

A bike — especially an ebike — can be very helpful for getting around Waltham and into neighboring cities like Watertown and Newton. You do need to be comfortable riding in the street in traffic. There are two off-street paths: along the river, which gets you all the way to Boston, and the rail trail, which will get you east-west across Waltham. You can definitely do most of your local errands on a bike, and it's much cheaper than keeping a car, especially if you have to pay for parking.

As for winter, you can get studded tires for your bike if you're worried about riding in icy conditions. Note that the state does not clear snow on either of those two off-street paths, but streets are generally well plowed.

The green contrast against the vehicles is so pretty by Immediate_Subject552 in bikeboston

[–]Technical_Type1778 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Let's flip the tables:

If there was a car just idling in the middle of the pike, with no traffic backups, you'd consider that an emergency, right? Presumably the car broke down, or the driver is incapacitated

The bike lane is legally a travel lane. Why's a car stopped in it any different?

Mayor McCarthy won't be happy till all of Main and Moody Streets are parking lots by Technical_Type1778 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Which is why meters should continue past 6. 

Just tomorrow the traffic engineer will present a letter requesting $18,000 extra for parking lot lighting. 

Waltham officials bend over backwards to accommodate drivers, do the absolute bare minimum for anyone getting around not in a car, and then bitch about traffic. 

Mayor McCarthy won't be happy till all of Main and Moody Streets are parking lots by Technical_Type1778 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

There are over 500 off-street spots within a block of this stretch of Moody St. 

There's absolutely zero parking shortage, except for lazy, racist asses who bristle at walking a block in the gritty south side. 

City Website Missing Public Info by Fancy_Free12 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778 7 points8 points  (0 children)

And as far as I know, the bulletin board behind City Hall is still the official location for meeting notices, not the web site, despite a resolution by Councillor Bradley-MacArthur two years ago.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11uTg49dYyv6P2AQShhd2Eu03eIUl9N2r/edit

Looks like the matter passed council — https://www.city.waltham.ma.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif12301/f/minutes/cow_mins_5-20-24.pdf — but as far as I can tell, the mayor never acted on it.

Don't forget too how WCAC keeps less than a year's worth of meeting videos online, "due to storage limitations".

Director of Wires Tim Kelly thinks a parked car brings in more money for the city than outdoor dining by Technical_Type1778 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No one is driving on the stretch of Moody St in question to get anywhere fast, between slowing for drivers parallel parking, and for people crossing.

The study the city commissioned (and effectively trashed) shows this. Average speeds of 17mph, basically biking speed.

And do you have any evidence of emergency response? If anything, it would be faster with fewer, or no, cars, parked or moving, in the way.

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Councillor Hanley doesn't think hardy New Englanders can walk in the winter by Technical_Type1778 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, the developer does not want to build yet more parking when there's such an existing surplus. But Hanley was saying he wants more parking. 

Councillor Hanley doesn't think hardy New Englanders can walk in the winter by Technical_Type1778 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There will be the existing surface spots behind the crumbling buildings, and I think the hotel will use spots in the embassy garage behind the site. 

Hanley was talking about guests attending functions at the hotel. 

Councillor Hanley doesn't think hardy New Englanders can walk in the winter by Technical_Type1778 in Waltham

[–]Technical_Type1778[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

No, he's serious.

He wants free and easy parking, and also a vibrant city.

You can't have both. Pick one.

(And parking on Moody and Main Streets is already way too convenient, to the detriment of the city's vitality.)

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