Missing some Washington St Pilot bus stops?

[Julia Anne Malakie]

FYI, it was brought to my attention that the MBTA bus stops eastbound in the Washington St Pilot area have disappeared. See the explanation below from Transportation Planner Jen Martin, and what I highlighted below, bus drivers are supposed to stop if they see someone at the old stops, until the platforms are installed. 

I would suggest bringing along a flag or handkerchief to wave when you see a bus approaching, to make sure the driver sees you.

I will add any new info I get.

Regards 

Julia Malakie

Ward 3 Councilor

---

From: Jenn Martin <jma...@newtonma.gov>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 12:30:31 PM
To: Julia Malakie <jmal...@newtonma.gov>
Cc: WashingtonStreet <washingt...@newtonma.gov>
Subject: RE: Email contact from City of Newton, MA

Hi Councilor Malakie,

 

The MBTA was on site on Tuesday and are now thinking through what to do in the interim before the bus platforms are installed on the south side in August. We had two interim south side stops protected by jersey barriers, but now that the shared use path was installed those are pushed out into the buffer.

 

I will reach out to the MBTA  to clarify the new interim locations for the south side bus stops. I do know that bus drivers are instructed to watch for anyone waiting at one of the former bus stop locations, but I’m sure our bus riders would like more specific instructions than that, so I will see what information we can share and sign on the corridor.

 

The north side bus stops are now in place at Armory and Eddy with BUS painted in the roadway. The MBTA has a few more signs to install. Note that there is no parking in the bus stops; the MBTA signs indicate this.

 

Thanks for this note – we need to close the loop with the MBTA. I will get back to you soon with more information.

 

Jenn

 

From: Julia Malakie <jmal...@newtonma.gov>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 11:15 AM
To: Jenn Martin <jma...@newtonma.gov>
Subject: Fw: Email contact from City of Newton, MA

 

Hi Jenn,

Are there currently no bus stops at all, or are they not well marked yet? How long is that going to last?

Thanks

Julia

 

---

From: City of Newton, MA <webm...@newtonma.gov>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 9:36:23 AM
To: Julia Malakie <jmal...@newtonma.gov>
Subject: Email contact from City of Newton, MA

 

[DO NOT OPEN  links/attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. ]

Message submitted from the <City of Newton, MA> website.

Dear Julia,

What happened to the MBTA bus stops on the eastbound side of Washington St. from Chestnut St. to Lowell Ave.?
Are we supposed to walk a half mile to get the bus now if we are headed to Newton Corner?

 

[Lynne LeBlanc]

Hi Julia,

Thanks for your care and timely response to questions that come up.

It occurred to me as I driving along the revamped (and expensive) Hammond Pond and Washington Street that roads are built and maintained on taxes and fees. If there are fewer cars on the road (a "walkable city" goal) and more bikes are on the road, is there a plan for these vehicles to be taxed?

Thanks,

Lynne

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Lynne LeBlanc
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[Howard Rosenof]

Massachusetts collects a lot of money from gasoline taxes. A quick look around the Web yielded a report that the state collected $769.1 million in gasoline taxes in fiscal year 2018. As our motor vehicle fleet transitions toward EV's, that money flow will have to be replaced. And an EV creates more road wear than an equivalent vehicle with an internal-combustion engine, because of its greater weight.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/CALncpNJCHL_EXSUipUxfMgkQocrakd4pA7hdMwh6_gG%3DPtufnQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Lynne LeBlanc]

Thanks, Howard. Any thoughts on bike taxes as it's taken quite a bit of money to redo the streets for bikes.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/9ab242f8-c55d-4313-bcb1-3705554863bd%40comcast.net.

[Michael Halle]

For the most part, bike lanes themselves are extremely cheap. They are mostly paint.

In some projects, like the Washington St pilot, the bike lanes are still a relatively inexpensive element of a more comprehensive plan (prototyping the Washington Street Vision Plan). It's natural to cast it as a "bike lane project", and that's one aspect of it, but it's only part of the idea. 

In general, when communities do lane reductions, there's often space left on the roadway. Bike lanes are good cheap ways to fill that space while providing safety improvements and additional accessibility.

Hammond Pond Parkway is somewhat different. The shared use path in that design was costly. However, the design is very much aligned with the Department of Conservation and Recreation's mission. The street looks like other DCR roadways and serves DCR open space. There's probably also long term savings for maintaining a two lane road rather than four.

As Howard says, the gas tax is interesting as electric vehicles become more prevalent. There's some discussion of mileage taxes, but that's hard to implement.

Note though that gas tax isn't sufficient to pay for roads in the state, and certainly not for local roads. Roads in Newton are paid for using the operational override money from the Warren administration, supplemented from free cash from the general fund. Taxpayers (including bicyclists) pay for the roads.

I also don't know if we will see fewer cars in Newton. We can hope for fewer miles driven and fewer new cars as new people move in.

Ultimately, it's better to have more robust transportation options for more people for more trips.

-Mike

---

From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Lynne LeBlanc <lynnel...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 5:57:10 PM
To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [WNewton] Missing some Washington St Pilot bus stops?

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/CALncpNLUhX7mZvT89R%2Bg5dDGU%3D_3yroQnFdL8dZda4Z8i%3D_EPg%40mail.gmail.com.

[didi_614]

I am wondering when a car breaks down on Hammond Pond Parkway how that will affect the traffic  as there is no place for the car or truck to pull over to the side of the road.   And some people just cant walk or ride a bike so cars are a necessary item.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/CALncpNJCHL_EXSUipUxfMgkQocrakd4pA7hdMwh6_gG%3DPtufnQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Lynne LeBlanc]

Wait, the bike lanes on Hammond Pond and Washington Street were not cheap and not "just paint" - as you note. They were (for Hammond Pond $13 MILLION; for Washington Street I'm not sure but I cannot imagine it was much less or probably more) several 10's of millions. I get you like bikes but come on; you can do better than this. If cars are taxed why not bikes?

Lynne

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/84B61981-E045-8F4D-8E8E-6970CCBF5E0D%40hxcore.ol.

[Michael Halle]

Washington St Pilot project was budgeted at $3.5 million. I believe I heard the price may come in below that. The money was mostly from ARPA funds and pot shops:

https://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/newton-launches-3-5m-project-redesign-washington-street

The question of "if cars are taxed, why not bikes?" seems to come up occasionally. I understand the question, but things fall apart when you work them out.

First, costs for roads, sidewalks, and bike lanes are mostly for maintenance, not construction. We don't build that many new roads around here. Of those, we pay a whole lot for paving and snow clearance of existing roads, and very little for maintenance or construction of sidewalks or bike lanes. For maintenance, bikes don't wear down pavement and shoes don't wear down sidewalks much.

But let's look at taxes paid by vehicle owners.  Specifically, there's excise tax. Let's look at the rates for cars:  $25 per thousand, depreciating steeply over time.

https://www.mass.gov/guides/motor-vehicle-excise

Using the same rates, a three year old $500 bike would bring in $5 in taxes per year. That's hardly enough to justify the postage and administration. Imagine parents going through a garage or basement totaling up the spare change values of their kids' Huffys, Striders, and Treks.

Or imagine taxing the bikes for the Newton North students riding to school, which actually might save the city money by requiring fewer school buses.

It would be counterproductive, and a nuisance or spite tax for residents who are already directly or indirectly paying for roads and road maintenance through property taxes, whether they use the roads or not. It's almost in the same bucket why we don't tax shoes because they are used on sidewalks. 

But back to Washington Street, the goals of the pilot are far more than just a bike lane (which it is not, it is a shared use path for much of its length, just like the DCR paths). That's true whether a person supports the project or not. The path is important as a safety component, though, especially but certainly not exclusively for students riding to Newton North.

-Mike

---

From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Lynne LeBlanc <lynnel...@gmail.com>

Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 7:37:52 PM

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[Lynne LeBlanc]

Thanks, Michael, but when has "It would be a nuisance or spite" ever been a reason not to tax? That premise does not hold.

I'm not necessarily arguing for taxing bikes, nor am I arguing against bike lanes but there seems to be an implicit bias that should be acknowledged. The logic of making driving more difficult for those paying for the roads is what really sounds like "nuisance and spite". The Tax Foundation indicated that 82% (!) of MA road maintenance and repairs are paid for by gas and road use fees (https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-road-taxes-funding/). Making the road excessively smaller for those who pay the most to use it seems like abuse of taxpayers and doing away with the golden goose. 

I'm very much willing to "wait and see" how the new traffic patterns work, but the issue of who pays for the bike lanes should not be ignored or so routinely dismissed.

Lynne  

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/90E14BA5-CC33-2F41-A364-94B74223EE62%40hxcore.ol.

[Michael Halle]

How our streets are paid for and by whom is an interesting subject. The article that Lynne cites makes some important points. It does in fact say that 82.2% of road repair and maintenance is paid for by auto-specific fees such as excise tax, gas tax, licensing, and tolls.

But as the article points out, 82.2% is not 100%. 17.8% of all the enormous roadway infrastructure costs in MA come out of the general fund, paid by people who may or may not use the roads. In fact, the article argues for tax fairness based on a new system using Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) or perhaps other measures that take into account how much wear a vehicle causes.

Currently, heavy electric vehicles causes more wear than lighter vehicles of any fuel type, yet their owners pay no gas tax. Bicycles cause essentially no wear on roadway.

That 82.2% isn't spread around equally in the state. Newton's roads are in relatively poor shape because for decades Newton only spent money from the state (Chapter 90 money) to maintain our roads. Since Mayor Warren's road paving override, we have spent tens of millions of additional dollars from Newton taxpayers, Federal ARPA money, and other sources to improve the condition of our roads. I believe we are on track to spend the most for road paving ever in 2025 - and that's separate from the money for projects like Washington St.

How that money gets spent is a political choice. It has very little to do with how much money motor vehicle owners are paying, let alone the wear on our roads they are individually causing. We are (correctly in my opinion) spending lots of money improving our sidewalk network as well, because universal accessibility is a civil right under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But we aren't making people who walk pay for those sidewalks.

Almost all bike lanes added in the city to date have been paint. Paint is cheap, especially when other pavement markings are being added anyway; often it's just the cost of the bike symbol and arrow if an edge line is already being painted.

There are exceptions: West Newton Square has mostly painted bike lanes, but some sidewalk level ones. The Washington St pilot has paint bike lanes/shared use path, there's more infrastructure in place to protect them, but the project is a general safety project. The new signal at Lowell and the plantings alone the pike probably cost more than the path itself taken in isolation.

These are projects that are proposed by the administration and approved by City Council. Again, political choices, not who's paying for what.

Hammond Pond Parkway and Comm Ave in Auburndale are state projects, and DCR and the state have legal mandates for pedestrian and bicyclist accommodation. Albemarle and Parker St, were both paid for using state Safe Routes to School safety grants. Under MassDOT's Complete Street Funding Program, Newton is required to take into account all forms of travel during project design in order to be eligible for specific state money.

-Mike

> On Jul 28, 2025, at 11:49 AM, Lynne LeBlanc <lynnel...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Michael, but when has "It would be a nuisance or spite" ever been a reason not to tax? That premise does not hold.
>
> I'm not necessarily arguing for taxing bikes, nor am I arguing against bike lanes but there seems to be an implicit bias that should be acknowledged. The logic of making driving more difficult for those paying for the roads is what really sounds like "nuisance and spite". The Tax Foundation indicated that 82% (!) of MA road maintenance and repairs are paid for by gas and road use fees (https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-road-taxes-funding/). Making the road excessively smaller for those who pay the most to use it seems like abuse of taxpayers and doing away with the golden goose.
>
> I'm very much willing to "wait and see" how the new traffic patterns work, but the issue of who pays for the bike lanes should not be ignored or so routinely dismissed.
>
> Lynne
>
> On Fri, Jul 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM Michael Halle <m...@halle.us> wrote:
> Washington St Pilot project was budgeted at $3.5 million. I believe I heard the price may come in below that. The money was mostly from ARPA funds and pot shops:
>
> https://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/newton-launches-3-5m-project-redesign-washington-street
>
> The question of "if cars are taxed, why not bikes?" seems to come up occasionally. I understand the question, but things fall apart when you work them out.
>
> First, costs for roads, sidewalks, and bike lanes are mostly for maintenance, not construction. We don't build that many new roads around here. Of those, we pay a whole lot for paving and snow clearance of existing roads, and very little for maintenance or construction of sidewalks or bike lanes. For maintenance, bikes don't wear down pavement and shoes don't wear down sidewalks much.
>
> But let's look at taxes paid by vehicle owners. Specifically, there's excise tax. Let's look at the rates for cars: $25 per thousand, depreciating steeply over time.
>
> https://www.mass.gov/guides/motor-vehicle-excise
>
> Using the same rates, a three year old $500 bike would bring in $5 in taxes per year. That's hardly enough to justify the postage and administration. Imagine parents going through a garage or basement totaling up the spare change values of their kids' Huffys, Striders, and Treks.
>
> Or imagine taxing the bikes for the Newton North students riding to school, which actually might save the city money by requiring fewer school buses.
>
> It would be counterproductive, and a nuisance or spite tax for residents who are already directly or indirectly paying for roads and road maintenance through property taxes, whether they use the roads or not. It's almost in the same bucket why we don't tax shoes because they are used on sidewalks.
>
> But back to Washington Street, the goals of the pilot are far more than just a bike lane (which it is not, it is a shared use path for much of its length, just like the DCR paths). That's true whether a person supports the project or not. The path is important as a safety component, though, especially but certainly not exclusively for students riding to Newton North.
>
> -Mike

> From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Lynne LeBlanc <lynnel...@gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 7:37:52 PM
> To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [WNewton] Missing some Washington St Pilot bus stops?
>
> Wait, the bike lanes on Hammond Pond and Washington Street were not cheap and not "just paint" - as you note. They were (for Hammond Pond $13 MILLION; for Washington Street I'm not sure but I cannot imagine it was much less or probably more) several 10's of millions. I get you like bikes but come on; you can do better than this. If cars are taxed why not bikes?
> Lynne
>
> On Fri, Jul 25, 2025 at 6:46 PM Michael Halle <m...@halle.us> wrote:
> For the most part, bike lanes themselves are extremely cheap. They are mostly paint.
>
> In some projects, like the Washington St pilot, the bike lanes are still a relatively inexpensive element of a more comprehensive plan (prototyping the Washington Street Vision Plan). It's natural to cast it as a "bike lane project", and that's one aspect of it, but it's only part of the idea.
>
> In general, when communities do lane reductions, there's often space left on the roadway. Bike lanes are good cheap ways to fill that space while providing safety improvements and additional accessibility.
>
> Hammond Pond Parkway is somewhat different. The shared use path in that design was costly. However, the design is very much aligned with the Department of Conservation and Recreation's mission. The street looks like other DCR roadways and serves DCR open space. There's probably also long term savings for maintaining a two lane road rather than four.
>
> As Howard says, the gas tax is interesting as electric vehicles become more prevalent. There's some discussion of mileage taxes, but that's hard to implement.
>
> Note though that gas tax isn't sufficient to pay for roads in the state, and certainly not for local roads. Roads in Newton are paid for using the operational override money from the Warren administration, supplemented from free cash from the general fund. Taxpayers (including bicyclists) pay for the roads.
>
> I also don't know if we will see fewer cars in Newton. We can hope for fewer miles driven and fewer new cars as new people move in.
>
> Ultimately, it's better to have more robust transportation options for more people for more trips.
>
> -Mike

> From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Lynne LeBlanc <lynnel...@gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 5:57:10 PM
> To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [WNewton] Missing some Washington St Pilot bus stops?
>
> Thanks, Howard. Any thoughts on bike taxes as it's taken quite a bit of money to redo the streets for bikes.
>
> On Fri, Jul 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM 'Howard Rosenof' via West Newton Community <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> Massachusetts collects a lot of money from gasoline taxes. A quick look around the Web yielded a report that the state collected $769.1 million in gasoline taxes in fiscal year 2018. As our motor vehicle fleet transitions toward EV's, that money flow will have to be replaced. And an EV creates more road wear than an equivalent vehicle with an internal-combustion engine, because of its greater weight.
> On 7/25/2025 5:34 PM, Lynne LeBlanc wrote:
> Hi Julia,
> Thanks for your care and timely response to questions that come up.
> It occurred to me as I driving along the revamped (and expensive) Hammond Pond and Washington Street that roads are built and maintained on taxes and fees. If there are fewer cars on the road (a "walkable city" goal) and more bikes are on the road, is there a plan for these vehicles to be taxed?
> Thanks,
> Lynne
>
> On Fri, Jul 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM Julia Anne Malakie <juliaann...@gmail.com> wrote:
> FYI, it was brought to my attention that the MBTA bus stops eastbound in the Washington St Pilot area have disappeared. See the explanation below from Transportation Planner Jen Martin, and what I highlighted below, bus drivers are supposed to stop if they see someone at the old stops, until the platforms are installed.
>
> I would suggest bringing along a flag or handkerchief to wave when you see a bus approaching, to make sure the driver sees you.
>
> I will add any new info I get.
>
> Regards
> Julia Malakie
> Ward 3 Councilor

> From: Jenn Martin <jma...@newtonma.gov>
> Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 12:30:31 PM
> To: Julia Malakie <jmal...@newtonma.gov>
> Cc: WashingtonStreet <washingt...@newtonma.gov>
> Subject: RE: Email contact from City of Newton, MA
>
> Hi Councilor Malakie,
> The MBTA was on site on Tuesday and are now thinking through what to do in the interim before the bus platforms are installed on the south side in August. We had two interim south side stops protected by jersey barriers, but now that the shared use path was installed those are pushed out into the buffer.
> I will reach out to the MBTA to clarify the new interim locations for the south side bus stops. I do know that bus drivers are instructed to watch for anyone waiting at one of the former bus stop locations, but I’m sure our bus riders would like more specific instructions than that, so I will see what information we can share and sign on the corridor.
> The north side bus stops are now in place at Armory and Eddy with BUS painted in the roadway. The MBTA has a few more signs to install. Note that there is no parking in the bus stops; the MBTA signs indicate this.
> Thanks for this note – we need to close the loop with the MBTA. I will get back to you soon with more information.
> Jenn
> From: Julia Malakie <jmal...@newtonma.gov>
> Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 11:15 AM
> To: Jenn Martin <jma...@newtonma.gov>
> Subject: Fw: Email contact from City of Newton, MA
> Hi Jenn,
> Are there currently no bus stops at all, or are they not well marked yet? How long is that going to last?
> Thanks
> Julia

> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/CALncpN%2B2%3DfOdmqcMQfpAU6BSV-1hPbKyad5ih8tpyaoQgXJyKA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Andreae Downs]

Mike— most people who ride bikes also pay excise and gas taxes (own cars). And our road repairs are about $1.5m state chapter 90 (at best) and the rest property taxes (this year around $9m)

Newton could restrict the roads to resident-only…as long as Newton folks don’t want to drive on other towns’ roads. The closest thing to making more of our roads for our own residents is to make them better for walking and biking—oops 

Typed with two thumbs

On Jul 28, 2025, at 11:49 AM, Lynne LeBlanc <lynnel...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/CALncpN%2B2%3DfOdmqcMQfpAU6BSV-1hPbKyad5ih8tpyaoQgXJyKA%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Clark]

Or, maybe it would be the encouragement people need to ride bikes more.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/CALncpN%2B2%3DfOdmqcMQfpAU6BSV-1hPbKyad5ih8tpyaoQgXJyKA%40mail.gmail.com.

--

dc

David Clark
West Newton, MA 02465
617/697-2690 (c)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dclark7/

[Mary Lewis]

In a similar vein, bikes should have registrations, so riders who violate the rules of the road and safe biking can be identified and fined.  It is a bit like the wild west with regard to what rules they follow.

Just my two cents.

Mary

Mary Reardon Lewis, Realtor

The Reardon Team

William Raveis R.E. & Home Services

18 Arlington Street, Boston MA 02116

617-429-3818

On Mon, Jul 28, 2025 at 11:49 AM Lynne LeBlanc <lynnel...@gmail.com> wrote:

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/CALncpN%2B2%3DfOdmqcMQfpAU6BSV-1hPbKyad5ih8tpyaoQgXJyKA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Greer Swiston]

I would like to explore this thought a little more

> On Jul 28, 2025, at 2:38 PM, Mary Lewis <maryrear...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In a similar vein, bikes should have registrations, so riders who violate the rules of the road and safe biking can be identified and fined. It is a bit like the wild west with regard to what rules they follow.
> Just my two cents.
> Mary

I understand the logistical nightmare it would be to track bicycle registration, however we do need to do better on enforcing proper biking etiquette.

I admit, I am extremely annoyed at the people who fly down the sidewalks on their bicycles. Especially now that there are these nice bicycle lanes and bicycle crossings on Washington St … I would really like to see them used.

How to balance encouraging more people to feel safe and comfortable about biking and yet still enforce proper biking etiquette? There has got to be a better balance … and getting kids AND ADULTS to stop riding on sidewalks is a good place to start. Our sidewalks are NOT wide enough for pedestrians and a speeding bike. Either get off the bike and walk it, or ride on the street.

[Michael Halle]

Some legal answers to Greer's comments:

Massachusetts law about bicycles (and bicyclists!)

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-bicycles
https://www.massbike.org/laws

Greer saids, "I understand the logistical nightmare it would be to track bicycle registration, however we do need to do better on enforcing proper biking etiquette"

Registration is not required: "MGL c. 85, § 11E Traffic law violations by bicyclist
'A police officer who observes a traffic law violation committed by a bicyclist may request the offender to state his true name and address.' Ticketing procedure is same as that for motor vehicles in MGL c. 90C."

Sidewalks: "bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks outside business districts when necessary in the interest of safety, unless otherwise directed by local ordinance. A person operating a bicycle on the sidewalk shall yield the right of way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before overtaking and passing any pedestrian."

"Bicyclists may ride your bicycle on any public road, street, or bikeway in the Commonwealth, except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bikes have been posted."

"You must give pedestrians the right of way."

"Violations of any of these laws can be punished by a fine of up to $20. Parents and guardians are responsible for cyclists under the age of 18. "

Cambridge Police relatively commonly give out ticket for bicyclists (more than any other municipality in MA), but also give out tickets for drivers who fail to follow the law with respect to pedestrians and bicyclists.

I would also add that the Walnut Street enhancements in Newtonville explicitly enlarged the sidewalks to maximum width while not providing bike lanes to Newton North (shared travel lanes only). That was a tradeoff made for reasonable reasons in my opinion, but it also meant that more bicyclists going to one of the city's major bike-accessible destinations would likely ride on the sidewalks there. Sometimes we intentionally or not set ourselves up for conflict.

--Mike

[didi_614]

Thanks Lynne

I agree with your reasoning.  And NOT all of us can walk or Bike.  I now avoid Washington Street area.  I actually go to the Needham Trader Joes rather than risk going to the one in West Newton due to the difficulty with this new traffic pattern and concern about getting hit when I leave the parking lot.

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[Mary Lewis]

That would be great. I honestly saw a biker pass me as I slowed for an elderly pedestrian and the biker nearly hit the person.

Mary Reardon Lewis
William Raveis Real Estate
617-429-3818

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