Originally Posted by
newenglandbike
I'm also guilty as charged- the Boston area has some horrendous roads in terms of bicycle safety. Narrow and/or no shoulder, no alternative (safer) routes in many cases. The city is doing some good in terms of added infrastructure, and there are plenty of cyclists, so "awareness in numbers" could be working... but I still find that the only option in some stretches is to hop onto the sidewalk (Mt. Auburn St. in Watertown, anyone?). These sidewalks don't seem to see much walking, regardless of the time of day, though the road is usually packed with cars.
I justify it by thinking: it is better than being frightened into a car or onto a bus.
I cycle in Boston under the best of circumstances: a reverse commute early in the morning from downtown to the suburbs through residential areas. Indeed, the first three miles of my route was laid out by the 19th century landscape designer, Fredeick Law Ohlmsted. With that bias, I still think Boston is one of the best bike commuting cities. I can sympathize with newenglandbike’e concerns, but I think skills can be honed to ride in such traffic as Mt. Auburn Street; my one mandatory piece of equipment for all riding, especially in the city is a rearview mirror.
In my experience, the toughest traffic I have ridden in is in the Northeastern suburbs of Detroit where there are no shoulders, high speed traffic, no alternatives for distance riding, not much “cycling awareness,” and only discontinuous sidewalks, which I have been compelled to use. While Boston has had a bad reputation, the city now has a “bike czar," political support from the long-term mayor, new bike lanes in the near downtown, and a large cycling awareness. And it is a most interesting city, and compact enough with easy acess to country roads, including via commuter rail.
In the past I have posted to Bikeforums my impression that by the number of commuting posts, Boston, Minneapolis and Toronto, and perhaps Seattle are the most active cycle-commuting cities. Or maybe we have the most diffiult commutes and hence the most to post.