flyingWeez

Hi all,

I am graduating from school in May and in June will be taking a job in Worcester, MA and would love to continue commuting by bike as I have been for some time now while in school. What is the cycling situation like in Worcester? I have read that there are hardly any bike lanes in town, which in and of itself isn't a bad thing. The town I'm in now doesn't have an abundance of bike lanes and I seem to get by ok.

Are there any neighborhoods I should focus on for finding a place to live, or are there particular neighborhoods I should stay away from? I will be working at The Hanover which seems like it borders Burncoat Park off of Lincoln Street. The job starts in the middle of June and I will most likely only have one chance to come up and find a place between now and then.

This is commuterish, right mods? Thanks in advance.

nashcommguy

Well, my wife who grew up about 25 miles from Worcester says that after finding a place to live she'd suggest investing in a set of studded bike tires for winter commuting. And real good winter commuting gear. There's a regional sub-forum here on BF where you may want to post as well.

Afa getting a place maybe start looking now on Worcester CL? Set up several appointments or contact a property management company and let them know what you're looking for in terms of housing.

Btw, congratulations on the new job.

RI_Swamp_Yankee

Woostah is also at the end of one of the MBTA lines - you could snag an apartment anywhere along it, and do the multi-modal thing. They'll let you bring any folder on board - if you catch the first train in the morning and the early afternoon train, they might let you bring aboard a full-sizer, especially as you're going the "wrong way" (away from Boston). It's a 3 mile ride from the "T" to Burncoat Park, according to Google Maps. Cake.

vaultbrad

Woostah is absolutely commutable. Lots of non-highway roads to ride on, and the suburbs are close to downtown if you don't want to live in the city. Also as mentioned above, the train station is right there. You could live anywhere along the line and have no trouble getting into the city. Studded tyres are a good idea for the winter. Western Mass gets a fair amount of snow and ice, which makes for fun winter recreation, but slippery roads.

dnuzzomueller

Coming from a WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) student I can tell you that the drivers are particularly bad in Worcester. On that note though the riding is pretty easy as others have noted if you can put up with horrendous drivers in the area. The problem is that so few people bike in Worcester, cars dont understand the basic etiquette of sharing the road and as such will give you no passing room or they will act aggressively towards you.

Also, yes get some good studded tires or get comfortable with snow riding because when it snows in Worcester IT SNOWS. This past year we were so inundated with the stuff that no biking was even possible for me, so be prepared to either have superb winter gear, or have a back-up plan.

Also on the note of "Where to live". You want anything North of Park Ave, basically. South of Park ave is not so good.

buzzman

This is the most accurate post so far as my experience. I bike cross state with some frequency and every cross state cyclist I talk to mentions Worcester as the last "obstacle" to get through before a pleasant ride out to Western Mass. And Worcester is definitely a "weather corridor" so you can anticipate some pretty intense winter and summer storms. The drivers are indeed their own breed and the roads tend to be in a perpetual state of re-construction and repair. Oh, but the train is great and the train station is an oasis in the midst of the city.