Bike Cameras Could Make Riding Safer

 Bicycles and bike paths, Newsletter, November/December 2023  Comments Off on Bike Cameras Could Make Riding Safer
Nov 012023
 
Bike Cameras Could Make Riding Safer

By Sumner Brown Bicycling is not perfectly safe. Belmont’s approach to handling bicycles on roads is evolving, and some bicycle riders could improve their habits. But there is another problem that I have been thinking about after I spent three weeks in hospitals recovering from a hit-and-run bike incident: bicycle cameras. While I was confined to Spauldingz Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, I concluded that my mistake was that I did not have a camera on my bicycle that could have recorded what happened and the license plate of my attacker. (Incidentally, you can tell you were attacked during road rage [READ MORE]

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Book Shows Best Bike Rides in New England

 Bicycles and bike paths, May/June 2023  Comments Off on Book Shows Best Bike Rides in New England
Apr 262023
 
Book Shows Best Bike Rides in New England

 By David Sobel If you’re a casual bike rider who likes 10- to 15-mile rides on backroads around New England, I encourage you to check out my new book, Best Bike Rides in New England: Backroad Routes for Cycling the Northeast States. I’m 73, and my wife is 63, so we’re into reasonable, not ardent, exercise.  And we aspire to doing some outdoorsy sport four or five times a week—biking in the summer, skating, Nordic and downhill skiing in the winter. The book includes descriptions of 30 bike loops in all six New England states. I originally wanted to write [READ MORE]

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Bike Infrastructure Makes Belmont Safer

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2021, Newsletter, Traffic, Transit  Comments Off on Bike Infrastructure Makes Belmont Safer
Jun 252021
 
Bike Infrastructure Makes Belmont Safer

By Jeff Roth Few Belmont residents use bikes to get around this small town of only 4.7 square miles, although most live hardly a mile from schools, recreation facilities, stores, transit stations, and restaurants. About 8.2% of Cambridge residents commute regularly by bike, but Belmont’s car-centered infrastructure likely is closer to the state average of 0.9%. Given that short, local trips are responsible for 60% of automobile pollution, how can we encourage car-free travel? Benefits of Walking and Cycling There are many benefits to expanding cycling and walking options in Belmont. People who cycle regularly for transportation and fitness have [READ MORE]

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Community Path Progress Continues

 Bicycles and bike paths, July-August 2020, Newsletter  Comments Off on Community Path Progress Continues
Jun 302020
 
Community Path Progress Continues

By John Dieckmann and Jarrod Goentzel Progress on the Phase 1 design of the Belmont Community Path continued during the first half of 2020 despite coronavirus constraints. Nitsch Engineering, the design firm chosen by the town last fall, was able to hold a critical meeting in early March with Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and MBTA officials at which the MBTA clarified its requirements for access to the Fitchburg Line on the north side of the tracks. The MBTA feedback from that meeting keeps the project on track for submission of 25% design documents to MassDOT this summer, following a [READ MORE]

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Pandemic Bicycle Sales Surge

 Bicycles and bike paths, July-August 2020, Newsletter  Comments Off on Pandemic Bicycle Sales Surge
Jun 302020
 
Pandemic Bicycle Sales Surge

By Sumner Brown Ever since March 15, I have noticed fewer cars and more bicycles on Belmont’s roads. I also heard that bicycle stores have had unusual business activity. I called Peter Mooney, an owner of Wheelworks, the bicycle store in Waverley Square. Peter, how is business? Busy. That is Busy with a capital B. We are very busy. We are designated an essential business, for transportation. We have not missed a day. To maintain physical separation, we do not allow customers into our store. For service, customers call to make an appointment. Currently there is a ten-day wait for [READ MORE]

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