Alewife Brook (Route 16) bike path is finished and open!

[ron_newman]

Last Friday, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation finished and opened the last missing link of the Alewife Brook bike path, alongside Route 16 in Somerville and Cambridge.

Instead of having to negotiate a narrow dirt path, you can now walk or bike on a beautiful new boardwalk, just north of the Henderson Street bridge (map here).

Comments

[xuth]

I noticed that at some point since I left the area (a couple of years ago), they've put up "no bicycle" signs on alewife brook parkway. When did those go up? Are they legal (note that judges have stated in the past that cyclists are allowed on Storrow Drive despite signs to the contrary)?

[ron_newman]

I'm not sure when those signs went up, and I don't think they are legal, since Alewife Brook Parkway is nothing like a limited-access highway. It's got T-intersections, traffic lights, driveways, gas stations, and rotaries. We should probably discuss this at a Bicycle Committee meeting, either tomorrow night or next month.

[boblothrope]

The signs went up at the end of March. Parts of the path were finished at that point, but not the whole thing.

[ron_newman]

Storrow Drive, in my opinion, would qualify as a limited-access highway where bicycles could legally be prohibited. But I've never seen any sign anywhere on it that actually bans bicycles!

I sometimes use the westbound Storrow Drive entrance from Charlesgate to get onto the Esplanade bike path. If traffic is slow or light, I may even use the westbound Storrow entrance from Charles Circle.