Where bicycles are prohibited in Massachusetts

The main issue you will confront if you get into a dispute with police over bicycle prohibitions is whether the prohibition is supported by law. Often it is not. Example: the ramp from Commonwealth Avenue to Route 128 northbound and Norumbega Road in Weston. The No Bicycles etc. sign is placed at its entrance (well, actually slightly past the entrance so you don’t see it till too late) but also too early because it applies only to the entrance to Route 128. Note the limitations expressed in CMR 9.08 and MGL 85 11B — limited-access or express state highway where signs have been posted. If there is no sign where you entered, you shouldn’t be cited. I recall years ago having an official document listing what actually are state highways — they are all numbered highways, but actually only a few of them. If you went to the State House Library or inquired of MassDOT, you could get that info.

700 CMR 7.02 and 7.06 establish that bicycles are not permitted on specific Ways that are part of state highways:

Way is defined as the Turnpike, the Metropolitan Highway System, tunnels, a service or rest area, that is located on property owned or controlled and under the jurisdiction of the Department, and includes the areas appurtenant to said way that are necessary for the operation, construction and maintenance of the way

(4) Prohibited Entry to or Use of a Way. The Department prohibits the following vehicles from entering or using a way:

(d) Propelled by Muscle Power. A vehicle propelled by muscle power, including without limitation a bicycle or a vehicle drawn by a horse or other animal, or a motorized bicycle or moped

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Where bicycles are prohibited in Massachusetts

The main issue you will confront if you get into a dispute with police over bicycle prohibitions is whether the prohibition is supported by law. Often it is not. Example: the ramp from Commonwealth Avenue to Route 128 northbound and Norumbega Road in Weston. The No Bicycles etc. sign is placed at its entrance (well, actually slightly past the entrance so you don’t see it till too late) but also too early because it applies only to the entrance to Route 128. I recall years ago having an official document listing what actually are state highways — they are all numbered highways, but actually only a few of them. If you went to the State House Library or inquired of MassDOT, you could get that info. Also note the limitations expressed in CMR 9.08 and MGL 85 11B — limited-access or express state highway where signs have been posted. If there is no sign where you entered, you shouldn’t be cited.

700 CMR 7.02 and 7.06 establish that bicycles are not permitted on specific Ways:

Way is defined as the Turnpike, the Metropolitan Highway System, tunnels, a service or rest area, that is located on property owned or controlled and under the jurisdiction of the Department, and includes the areas appurtenant to said way that are necessary for the operation, construction and maintenance of the way

(4) Prohibited Entry to or Use of a Way. The Department prohibits the following vehicles from entering or using a way:

(d) Propelled by Muscle Power. A vehicle propelled by muscle power, including without limitation a bicycle or a vehicle drawn by a horse or other animal, or a motorized bicycle or moped

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It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12!

5th Annual Hot Cocoa /
Infrastructure Spotting Ride!

Hi Folks! We’re sorry about the false starts this season, but the weather for Saturday looks amazing and we can’t wait to see you all in person again! 

Please bring masks, helmets, and a canteen to enjoy the hot cocoa on the go, since sadly we can’t stay inside and hang out! Gear up and get out for what looks like a nice sunny day this Saturday! Can’t wait to see you in person!

The Details:
When: Saturday, February 12
Where: Meet in Lower Allston at The Grove (the Space between Trader Joe’s and SwissBakers)
Time: Meet at 10am, leave at 10:30am
What: Visiting 3 Hot Cocoa Places

Link to Hot Cocoa Ride FB Event


Are you ready to ride outside again? Board President, Amy Ingles, will talk you through doing an ABC Quick Check to make sure your bike is ready for riding this weekend! 

We Want YOU for the CommonWheels Board!

CommonWheels Bicycle Collective is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Allston, and our mission is to use the bicycle as a tool that empowers all people to be more self-reliant, healthy, and connected to their community. If this sounds like the future you want to see, then come join the team! We’re seeking dedicated people that I are interested in helping us get more butts on bikes. No previous board experience required. Contact info@commonwheels.org with the subject line “Board of Directors” for more information.

Keep the rubber side down,

Team CommonWheels

P.S. As we said, CommonWheels is a non-profit. If you’d like to support future rides and programming, please consider clicking on the link below to donate!
 

Donate Now!
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12!

It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12!

5th Annual Hot Cocoa /
Infrastructure Spotting Ride!

Hi Folks! We’re sorry about the false starts this season, but the weather for Saturday looks amazing and we can’t wait to see you all in person again! 

Please bring masks, helmets, and a canteen to enjoy the hot cocoa on the go, since sadly we can’t stay inside and hang out! Gear up and get out for what looks like a nice sunny day this Saturday! Can’t wait to see you in person!

The Details:
When: Saturday, February 12
Where: Meet in Lower Allston at The Grove (the Space between Trader Joe’s and SwissBakers)
Time: Meet at 10am, leave at 10:30am
What: Visiting 3 Hot Cocoa Places

Link to Hot Cocoa Ride FB Event


Are you ready to ride outside again? Board President, Amy Ingles, will talk you through doing an ABC Quick Check to make sure your bike is ready for riding this weekend! 

We Want YOU for the CommonWheels Board!

CommonWheels Bicycle Collective is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Allston, and our mission is to use the bicycle as a tool that empowers all people to be more self-reliant, healthy, and connected to their community. If this sounds like the future you want to see, then come join the team! We’re seeking dedicated people that I are interested in helping us get more butts on bikes. No previous board experience required. Contact info@commonwheels.org with the subject line “Board of Directors” for more information.

Keep the rubber side down,

Team CommonWheels

P.S. As we said, CommonWheels is a non-profit. If you’d like to support future rides and programming, please consider clicking on the link below to donate!
 

Donate Now!
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on It’s Finally Happening! 5th Annual Hot Cocoa Ride Feb 12!

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Run The Jewels Lead Free Pewter Hand Carved And Cast Pin Set

Made these lovely RTJ fist and gun pin set. Hand carved in wax, and then cast in lead free pewter.  Because these are made by hand you can do fun things like add an extra small pin so that they sit just so (also means they have “customized” brass back plates to accommodate the extra pin)-. If you like them you can buy a pair here or here.

 

 

 

Posted in I made this, Laws, RTJ, Run The Jewles | Comments Off on Run The Jewels Lead Free Pewter Hand Carved And Cast Pin Set

My Work In The Wild: Feather Head Badge With Chris King Headset

One of my customers sent me this amazing picture of my feather badge installed on their (awesome!) bike.   Check out Manofmultnomah (here and here), apparently Chris King took some interest in it as well.  Want one of your own?  Buy it here, or here

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Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps!

Sometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure for Boston, thanks to the help of the fabulous talent at Toole Design. More sharrows, bike lanes, and a laid out system for easy commuting from point A to point B anywhere in Boston is in the works. For the generations of Boston bicycling advocates before me, I can imagine hearing news like this is the beginning of a dream come true.

I just arrived after work to catch the last twenty minutes of Q&A, so I didn’t catch the presentation. But when John from Toole Design came up to me with a pen and encouraged me to provide my own feedback, I happily obliged. I went right to the map of the area that’d become my home for the past five years: Boston University to add one suggestion in fat red marker I’ve had in my mind for years: Put a two-way cycletrack on Bay State Road.

Deposit on this site and be able to play the most incredible casino games, you will feel as if you were in Las Vegas.

Sitting in a room overlooking the Charles river and Kenmore Square with members of BU administration at a BU Bike Safety Committee meeting several years ago, one committee member became very vocal about the dangers of driving down Bay State rd and dodging the very frequent, daily occurrence of bike salmon (wrong way riders) on Bay State Rd. We struggled with ideas on how to improve bicycling, and came to the conclusion that the chance of the city ever installing a contraflow bike lane on that road were slim. Education was key.

Bay State Road is easily the most scenic stretch of BU’s campus, where traffic is light, and where brownstone apartments lined with trees and wide sidewalks mirror Back Bay’s brownstones. Not surprisingly, it’s where daily BU college tour guides seduce high-school freshman and their families. If you were a BU student on a bicycle and your options of biking from the College of Arts and Sciences to the School of Management or Kenmore Classroom Building were

  • Wait for the light to cross Comm. Ave, ride 2 blocks, dodging the BU bus, cars, taxis, swarms of pedestrians, then wait for another light to cross back over to Kenmore Classroom buildling/School of Management.

down the quiet and scenic Bay State Rd or the traffic-heavy or down the pedestrian packed Commonwealth Ave. to class, it’s a pretty clear choice which one I’d go with.

I had the

Bay State Road runs parallel to Commonwealth Ave, a major commuting vein for

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps!

Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps!

Sometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure for Boston, thanks to the help of the fabulous talent at Toole Design. More sharrows, bike lanes, and a laid out system for easy commuting from point A to point B anywhere in Boston is in the works. For the generations of Boston bicycling advocates before me, I can imagine hearing news like this is the beginning of a dream come true.

I just arrived after work to catch the last twenty minutes of Q&A, so I didn’t catch the presentation. But when John from Toole Design came up to me with a pen and encouraged me to provide my own feedback, I happily obliged. I went right to the map of the area that’d become my home for the past five years: Boston University to add one suggestion in fat red marker I’ve had in my mind for years: Put a two-way cycletrack on Bay State Road.

Sitting in a room overlooking the Charles river and Kenmore Square with members of BU administration at a BU Bike Safety Committee meeting several years ago, one committee member became very vocal about the dangers of driving down Bay State rd and dodging the very frequent, daily occurrence of bike salmon (wrong way riders) on Bay State Rd. We struggled with ideas on how to improve bicycling, and came to the conclusion that the chance of the city ever installing a contraflow bike lane on that road were slim. Education was key.

Bay State Road is easily the most scenic stretch of BU’s campus, where traffic is light, and where brownstone apartments lined with trees and wide sidewalks mirror Back Bay’s brownstones. Not surprisingly, it’s where daily BU college tour guides seduce high-school freshman and their families. If you were a BU student on a bicycle and your options of biking from the College of Arts and Sciences to the School of Management or Kenmore Classroom Building were

  • Wait for the light to cross Comm. Ave, ride 2 blocks, dodging the BU bus, cars, taxis, swarms of pedestrians, then wait for another light to cross back over to Kenmore Classroom buildling/School of Management.

down the quiet and scenic Bay State Rd or the traffic-heavy or down the pedestrian packed Commonwealth Ave. to class, it’s a pretty clear choice which one I’d go with.

I had the

Bay State Road runs parallel to Commonwealth Ave, a major commuting vein for

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps!

Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps!

Sometimes, the best way to gather ideas and feedback is to let people draw on some maps. Last night, at the Bike Network Open House, pedallovers unveiled a draft for their upcoming plans for a more connected biking network infrastructure for Boston, thanks to the help of the fabulous talent at Toole Design. More sharrows, bike lanes, and a laid out system for easy commuting from point A to point B anywhere in Boston is in the works. For the generations of Boston bicycling advocates before me, I can imagine hearing news like this is the beginning of a dream come true.

I just arrived after work to catch the last twenty minutes of Q&A, so I didn’t catch the presentation. But when John from Toole Design came up to me with a pen and encouraged me to provide my own feedback, I happily obliged. I went right to the map of the area that’d become my home for the past five years: Boston University to add one suggestion in fat red marker I’ve had in my mind for years: Put a two-way cycletrack on Bay State Road.

Sitting in a room overlooking the Charles river and Kenmore Square with members of BU administration at a BU Bike Safety Committee meeting several years ago, one committee member became very vocal about the dangers of driving down Bay State rd and dodging the very frequent, daily occurrence of bike salmon (wrong way riders) on Bay State Rd. We struggled with ideas on how to improve bicycling, and came to the conclusion that the chance of the city ever installing a contraflow bike lane on that road were slim. Education was key.

Bay State Road is easily the most scenic stretch of BU’s campus, where traffic is light, and where brownstone apartments lined with trees and wide sidewalks mirror Back Bay’s brownstones. Not surprisingly, it’s where daily BU college tour guides seduce high-school freshman and their families. If you were a BU student on a bicycle and your options of biking from the College of Arts and Sciences to the School of Management or Kenmore Classroom Building were

  • Wait for the light to cross Comm. Ave, ride 2 blocks, dodging the BU bus, cars, taxis, swarms of pedestrians, then wait for another light to cross back over to Kenmore Classroom buildling/School of Management.

down the quiet and scenic Bay State Rd or the traffic-heavy or down the pedestrian packed Commonwealth Ave. to class, it’s a pretty clear choice which one I’d go with.

I had the

Bay State Road runs parallel to Commonwealth Ave, a major commuting vein for

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Boston’s Invitation to Improve Biking in Boston: Draw on Some Maps!