Comments on Defending Pandora: Biking in Boston

Hello Kate, I just read your blog and then it led ...

2011-01-22T14:42:12.107-05:00

Hello Kate, I just read your blog and then it led me to the site that had the article posted about biking in East Boston, which had a bazillion comments posted afterward, which I read... all of them.

First and foremost I want to follow up John when he said "good luck." Because that is about how much apathy there is with regard to this. As a little helpful information the person you want to contact, albeit useless, is: DMcAuliffe@MBTA.com. His name is Darrin McAuliffe. I contacted him previously as well as the MBTA police chief regarding the same issues.

As an ancillary point to my story, I have had two bikes stolen from the Orient Heights T stop on the blue line. About a month ago I arrived there at 4:07 PM and tried to get on the T, like yourself I was intercepted and forbidden to ride. I explained that I "had" to get to Boston ASAP and could not leave my bike there ($2,000.00) TREK. Long story short, I had to leave it, and when I returned, bike, u-lock and cable lock all - gone!

I have been in the middle of this battle for years, no way to get to Boston lest you go an hour and a half out of your way, or take the T to cross the watter. Then, there is the issue that more weekends out of the year than I can count they are working on the Blue line from Maverick to Gov. center, meaning you can't get there at all.

I have wrote and called everyone but Santa Clause and it's useless, nobody cares. Their rules, combined with the lack of effort to make a pathway to downtown from the ocean side is inexcusable, especially as many point out, in a town that call's themselves "bike-friendly."

In the article : Discrimination against East Boston Bike Riders - 3/4 of the responses had to be from people whom are really bored, never ride bikes, or their parents are attorneys. I was almost laughing at some of the suggestions and comments that "you should have thought of that before you moved here" or "that's the way it's always been" or "it is what it is." These are the kinds of remarks you normally hear from someone in Middle School or a gangster.

Those belief systems, vis-a-vis the bike riding problem from East Boston to Boston are inane to say the least. Yes, it is the T's responsibility to accommodate bike riders getting from here to there, and saying you can't ride for 6 of the most important hours of the day is insidious.

More and more bike paths go up all over the city every day, but the "MBTA" the oldest subway in the country can't even think of a way to get bikes across a tiny piece of water. An alternative path would be completely fine with me if the MBTA really is this incompetent. Either way, your dealing with a city, a government, and for them to be so apathetic and/or remiss is inexplicable to me.

I would love to follow your blog and the comments of any new events on this subject, as it effects my life daily. I ride all year round, regardless of weather, but having to go 1.5 hours north, west, then south to get somewhere that would be a 10 minute "direct" ride, is the most senseless thing there is.

I've always believed that you can either lead, follow or get out of the way - if you don't you're just part of the problem, not the solution. The people that respond to these types of situations/blog posts with "it is what it is," and "you should have known...," "get a bike that folds into your wallet..." - etc., well, they're definitely part of the problem.

Good luck Kate!

Richard S.
Winthrop, MA

Nice job Kate, well done. I am in the process of m...

2009-10-04T11:34:37.577-04:00

Nice job Kate, well done. I am in the process of moving to Chelsea (from NYC and ride everywhere here) and was wondering about how to bike to Downtown from there. Have you heard any new news about the issue, as I'd be using the blue line also. I love the idea of a multi-use lane on the tobin, like the brooklyn bridge...
we need to get on that.

Thanks~

If you would like to make east boston a more bike ...

2009-06-12T10:02:14.176-04:00

If you would like to make east boston a more bike friendly place please visit this site.

http://eastiebike.bostonbiker.org/

Thanks

I love living in East Boston, but yes, it can be a...

2009-06-11T21:29:17.466-04:00

I love living in East Boston, but yes, it can be a pain. I would love to take my bike to work, but can't because of where we live. It would be amazing if, as someone else mentioned, we were able to use the tunnel. There have been many times when I would have liked to just walk home from downtown but can't. I know it's my choice to live in Eastie, but I agree that it's completely unfair not to be able to use the T for taking your bike. I have been stuck on trains during rush hour with multiple strollers and a bike would take up a lot less room than that.

I've always thought it would be neat to turn o...

2009-06-11T17:41:21.907-04:00

I've always thought it would be neat to turn one lane in either the Sumner or Callahan tunnels into a multi-use path (perhaps with some jersey barriers). Either that or create a multi-use path on or attached to the Tobin bridge. (Not only can you not bike to/from East Boston, you can't really walk there either.)

very nice well thought out and written email. this...

2009-06-11T16:01:50.315-04:00

very nice well thought out and written email. this is totally unfair, and the T needs to address this. when a person can't get on the train with a bike, but some woman with a double wide stroller can take up the entire back section of a red line car, there needs to be some issues addressed.

I saw this go down on my way to work in Eastie and...

2009-06-11T16:01:48.516-04:00

I saw this go down on my way to work in Eastie and was wondering if the inspector was actually denying you entry because of the bike. Turns out yes. I've wanted to bike to work as well, but have worried about the T's policy and the lack of other options (not paying $10 to cross in the water taxi, sorry), so I haven't. All the points you made, agreed.

That's a good idea. Maybe I'll write to Sa...

2009-06-11T15:59:48.463-04:00

That's a good idea. Maybe I'll write to Sam Yoon too?

Good luck. Menino hasn't used his voice or the...

2009-06-11T15:58:03.931-04:00

Good luck. Menino hasn't used his voice or the votes that the City has on the MBTA panel in years. I like Menino a lot but I think it might be time for some fresh blood. Email Flaherty.