A few weeks ago, a skinny stripe of paint appeared on the SW corridor path. I assumed it was someone who felt like riding around dribbling paint from their bike, and that maybe it was the beginning of something bigger.

Then yesterday I read this article in the NY Times about a Brooklyn-based graffiti artist named Momo that has scribbled his name along the sidewalks across Manhattan in a very similar fashion. His tag stretches from one side of the city to the other. I have not had a chance to explore whether the paint here extends much past Mass Ave. Has anyone else noticed this paint on bike paths (or sidewalks or streets) in the city?
Here's a map from the Times:






















And here is an image from the Times of his paint drips, looks pretty similar to the image above:

I made the following comment in response to a post on BostonBiker, but I'm reposting it here for people who do not read the comments on his posts:

For background, this article appeared in the Globe yesterday.

As much as I want to be excited about this, I can only react with disappointment. As I noted at the end of May (http://rollinginboston.bostonbiker.org/2010/05/28/wheres-the-bike-share/) it’s been pretty obvious that the bike share program is getting off to a rough start. I’ve been willing to give Nicole and the rest of the Boston Bikes people (including I guess Mumbles) the benefit of the doubt that there was a good reason for the delay. Their inclination to hold off on starting the program until it can be launched with an adequate number of bikes is a good one, but 500 bikes is not even remotely close to enough.
I spent last July in Paris and used Velib on a daily basis, and I have reports of my experience on my blog. At every station, at least 10-20% of the bikes were not functioning due to flat tires (which are not user repairable as it takes a special tool to remove the wheels in order to deter theft), wonky drive-trains or any of the other myriad number of things that can happen to a bicycle. Assuming the same conditions here, that would leave 400-450 bikes in circulation at any given time.

According to Wikipedia, Paris covers an area of around 41 sq. miles, with a population of ~2.2 million. Boston on the other hand, covers a similar geographical footprint (48 sq. miles) but contains a much smaller population (~600,000). If Boston were to implement a program with a similar bikes/population ratio, that would imply ~5,000 bikes here. The proposed bike share is an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE off. The geographical similarities however, remain. Paris has 750 stations. Boston is proposing 50. Again an order of magnitude difference. I noticed that the real benefit of the Velib system was the ability to return a bike nearly anywhere in the city, and that will be plainly impossible with the current proposal.

If this is going to be a system intended primarily for tourists, with bikes primarily located downtown, then Nicole needs to just state that. But don’t try to say that we’re going to have a city-wide system; it’s just not feasible unless a complete commitment is made.

If this is going to be tied to MBTA subway stops (not a bad starting point) then there are very few bike stations left for areas that are not at a subway stop (I’m thinking large swaths of Dorchester, Roxbury, JP, Roslindale, etc).

In summary, I completely support the effort to bring bike-share to Boston, but it is another case of Boston half-assing an infrastructure project that will ultimately leave many people disappointed and left out.

Come on out to Copley Sq. this evening to ride with ~300 cyclists through the streets of Boston. People generally start to arrive around 5:30, and the ride usually leaves by 6 pm. If you have never ridden in a CM before, a few details:

-There is no pre-established route
-It is easily the safest cycling experience you can have in the city, as cars are forced to wait for the large group of people
-It is extraordinarily liberating, and a fabulous way to enjoy the company of friends, and fellow cyclists.
-Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to ride a fixie, have tats, or be in college in order to fit in (in fact, I think one of the most common occupations of riders that I've encountered is lawyers...)
-It is a rolling celebration of everything cycling

see you there!

The work that was done on the SW Corridor last spring was pretty half-assed, so I was happy to see markings all along the path (at least from Stoneybrook to the South End) on my commute this AM. This work is particularly crucial for 4-season users of the path, as it is in the rough areas where ice tends to form in the winter.

Also, I came across the aftermath of a bike accident on the SW corridor this AM. I didn't see the rider, as he/she was already loaded in the ambulance, but the bike looked fine and the cop told me they were OK. Let's hope that's the case, feel free to post any updates if you have them.

Ride Safely.

Check out this video of some kids in Oakland that put colored tape in their spokes, creating neat patterns as they ride. It's great to see that bikes are being used to promote peace in the community, and give kids skills that they can employ in their future if they so choose. Maybe these will overtake Lincoln '64 lowriders and Toyata Priuses (Prii?) as the vehicle of choice in the Bay Area...

I haven't seen this phenomenon in Boston yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

The bike path along Melnea Cass is one of those routes in Boston that was somehow created years ago despite any larger provisions for bicycles in the city at the time. It's also in been in awful condition ever since I first rode on it 4 or 5 years ago. I don't ride on it too often, so I'm not sure how recent a development this is, but I noticed yesterday that a small portion has been recently re-paved. There are still many areas that need A LOT of work, but hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Melnea Cass is one of those streets that you really don't want to ride on, so the integrity of the path is crucial here.

Happy Riding

I was really excited about Boston's plans for a bike share program. There was news a while back that the city had selected Bixi, the company that operates Montreal's program, as the vendor for Boston's program. According to this post, the program was supposed to start in May. Well, May is about to end, and I have not heard a single thing about the program in a long time, nor have I seen any site work around the city preparing for the installation of the bike kiosks.

Something fishy is going on...

Jonathan Simmons, a psychologist in Brookline, has written a beautiful piece today in the Boston Globe. (Article)
Another cyclist was recently stuck and killed (this time in Newton), and the author describes happening upon the immediate aftermath during his afternoon ride. This young man, Andrew Von Guerard was only 21.
We must all remember that it could just have easily have been us, and that we must always be vigilant and ride safely.
Dr. Simmons reminds us that there is no reason why Boston can not compete with cities like NY & Portland when it comes to a radical rethinking in how our streets are designed.