Briefing by Tom Fortmann, March 19, 1997, Alewife MTBA Station
Sponsored by the Conservation Law Foundation
I moved to Lexington in 1974 and bought a 10-speed bicycle to commute to work at BBN. I've been doing that now for 23 years, and for 19 of those years I braved the famous Boston traffic, negotiating streets, alleyways, dirt paths, and the access roads alongside Route 2. Since 1993, I've done my commuting on this very path -- the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway -- and I'm here to tell you that it's a big improvement!
I'm also here to tell you that this path is the most significant, most positive development in transportation or recreation in the past three decades for Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford. The number of users exceeded all expectations even before it was officially open. It attracts people from all over eastern Massachusetts, and a little cottage industry of food stops and bike shops has sprung up to service the crowds. Each of the towns has a "Friends of the Bikeway" chapter with volunteer stewards who clean and help maintain it, and the Lexington Police Department has a squad of "Bikeway Bobbies" patrolling it on mountain bikes.
The popularity of this bikeway is breathtaking: estimates of weekend use exceed 10,000 people, and the press reports that it's the most heavily used bikeway in the country. On summer weekends it looks like the start of the Boston Marathon! Moreover, weekday counts and surveys indicate that bicycle commuters now number in the hundreds. Imagine how many more will use it when we provide a connection from here to the Charles River bike paths.
The Minuteman experience clearly demonstrates one thing: there really is broad public support for a transportation infrastructure that accommodates -- not intimidates -- bicyclists, pedestrians, skaters, and other non-motorized users.
We're very lucky right now: we have a model facility right here that shows us how successful this approach can be, we have numerous plans in the works to build more such facilities, and we have ISTEA funding allocated to do it. The stars are all aligned in our favor-let's move out now and get the job done before they shift!
Quote for press release: "The popularity of the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway is breathtaking -- on some days it looks like the start of the Boston Marathon!" said Tom Fortmann, a BBN vice president and a long-time bicycle commuter. "People are literally voting with their feet -- and their wheels -- for a transportation infrastructure that welcomes bicyclists and pedestrians instead of intimidating them."
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