Help me help you with Casey Overpass bike accomodations

[Bob Dizon]

Update 3: See my comment below asking for desired connections and "desire lines" within the Casey area. I need to provide this feedback at the Working Advisory Group meeting.

 

Update 2: The first public meeting discussing the replacement of the overpass is this Wednesday March 16th. See blog post below

Update 1: I've posted videos of riding through this area from most directions in the videos section of this site athttp://jpbikes.ning.com/video. There are photos as well in the "Casey overpass" album in the photos area herehttp://jpbikes.ning.com/photo/albums/casey-overpass-forest-hills.

 

Do you ride/walk/drive under or over the Casey overpass? Community meetings around the impending removal and replacement of that span are coming soon, so I'd like to use this blog post to solicit comments from JP Bikes members on how they feel about the current effectiveness and safety of that entire multi-road intersection. You are also welcome to comment on how it works as a pedestrian, driver, or transit user. Here are a few questions you can use to get started, but feel free to comment on whatever aspect of the project you want to. There's a comment box at the bottom of this page.

Do you ride through this intersection regularly? What time and how frequently? From where and to where are you typically going?

In what ways have you optimized your route or your schedule to avoid traffic or other inconvenience?

Do you ride on the sidewalk at any point?

Have you found it useful to ride over the overpass?

If you are going to/coming from the Southwest Corridor path, how do you get there?

Comment on where you see the most traffic backed up

Describe specific dangerous or confusing crossings

Describe any accidents you may have had

Please stay tuned for announcements about meetings. We expect there to be a lot of talk about car traffic and flow, so to advocate for bike accomodations and safety, we need input from as many actual users of that area as possible. Thanks!

 

Link to google Map of Casey overpass

[Matt]

For me, the most critical connection is from the tip of th southwest corridor path (or south street) under the current bridge and past the forest hills stop to the intersection of Ukraine and Washington. Getting onto he path is simple by comparison!

[Annie]

Clear, obvious, safe connections from the streets on BOTH sides of the train station, please.  An easy connection from the east side of the station and the Arboretum would be fantastic, too.

[jeremy]

I'd love to see a much more obvious route ONTO the SWC bike path.  I believe that the current legal method is to make a left or right hand turn off of New Washington St at a pedestrian crosswalk onto the bike path.  This almost always involves conflict with pedestrians, of course.  Seems like we should be able to connect new bike lanes to the bike path....

Thanks Bob!

[William Furr]

The main thing I'd like to see is better connections between the green spaces, specifically to Arnold Arboretum.

 

1.  SW Corridor to Arnold Arboretum

2.  Franklin Park (Forest Hills St, Circuit Dr/Forest Hills Dr) to Arnold Arboretum and SW Corridor

3.  Forest Hills Cemetery to Arnold Arboretum

 

Right now getting to the Arboretum from my house near Franklin Park is a pain because of the mess of intersections under the overpass.

 

I've never biked south of Forest Hills, partly because of the lack of bike infrastructure down that way.  I imagine north-south connections are more important to people who live out that way and commute in to Boston.  Since they'd be using that every day, I'm okay with having to wait at a long light or two to get across to the Arboretum.

 

Thank you so much for all your time and hard work, Bob!

[Bob Dizon]

Here's the latest from the Casey Overpass Project Working Advisory Group (of which I'm a member):

Our latest "assignment" is for every member of the group to draw connections and/or "desire lines" for pedestrians, bicycles, and/or vehicles on a map that they provided. This is our opportunity to show where cyclists are coming from, and where they want to go. So I'm soliciting recommendations on what the three most important connections for cyclists should be, so I can draw them on my map. For this exercise, pretend there is no overpass and no surface roads under the overpass. From the comments below it seems clear that most are headed between Washington St. in Roslindale and the SW Corridor. Please fill me in on additional desired routes. 

 

I need to submit this before this coming Wednesday, so please comment on this blog post soon with your recommendations. 

[Matt]

that's awesome, Bob! I have found the City to be remarkably responsive to reported potholes (while remarkably indifferent to unreported ones). I guess the squeaky wheel gets the grease. 

 

If they are fixed, that is fabulous! I'm out of town for the next week but will check when I'm back.

 

(btw, not to rub it in but Arizona weather is *amazing* for cycling! brought my folder on the plane)

[Bob Dizon]

All, I reported all those potholes along Washington to the City's public works department on Sunday, and I just got an automated reply from them that says they've been patched. Please take a look on your next time through.

[Doug Mink]

I've ridden on the overpass quite a few times since before I moved to Roslindale 24 years ago.  It makes a great connection from the Arboretum to Forest Hills Cemetery.  When she was little, my daughter used to love to stop in the middle and look down at the T station and up Washington St. through Roslindale toward our house.  I use the overpass south sidewalk in conjunction with the paved shoulders on the Arborway and Morton St. as a high-speed route across the city from the Emerald Necklace to Mattapan and Milton.

At the ground level, north- and south-bound traffic can be a mess, and I wonder what effect making all four streets--Washington/South, New Washington, Ukraine Way, and Hyde Park Ave.--one-way, as a sort of rotary, would have.  Maybe that could be tried during construction.

It is very important to keep the following greenway connections intact:

Southwest Corridor-MBTA Station,

MBTA Station to Blackwell Footpath,

MBTA Station to Arborway sidewalk,

MBTA station to Franklin Park,

Southwest Corridor to Franklin Park

[Bob Dizon]

Was forwarded this announcement by the Stonybrook Neighborhood Association. It's not clear to us what the agenda is and at first we weren't even sure it was public since many groups and some elected official's offices were not informed. However, we did confirm that it is public, although there may not be significant time for public comment at this meeting. Regardless, it's always good to show support for cyclist's concerns at every meeting.

First community meeting w/ MassDOT re: Casey Overpass
Wednesday, March 16th
6:00 P.M.
UMass State Biologic Labs, 305 South St., JP
(By Forest Hills Station. Bring a photo ID to get in.)

 

[Matt]

Bob, thanks for these outstanding videos and pictures. Gave me a few chills as these are what I see every day. 

Agree with you that Washington Southbound is the worst. I'm surprised you tried the sidewalk as it is even worse than the road. That, coupled with the left-hand turn at the light, is a nightmare. Thank you for the idea to head all the way through the SWC crosswalk then turn left and hang a right on Hyde Park down to Ukraine. I will try that tomorrow. 

 

As for the potholes, I would send Nicole / Boston Bikes your pics right away. I reported a pothole at the southern tip of the WAshington St bike lane (at the Cummins Hw intersection) and it was fixed within 72 hours!