Worth noting that the bicycle infrastructure in Cambridge, Somerville, and the adjoining parts of Boston has also skyrocketed in quality relative to its pre-pandemic state, it's extremely heartening to see. I don't take the T much anymore just because it's so easy to bike anywhere that I need to go. Shout out to the new path parallel to the green line extension, which makes it feasible to get from downtown to Somerville (and out to the Minuteman and 20 miles beyond!) without needing to navigate that viaduct and nightmare highway overpass east of Union.
The bad part of the new bike lanes however is that it is now politically impossible to implement street cars or dedicated Bus Rapid Transit. There’s not enough space on the main streets and the bike lobby is very powerful.
I say this is someone who bikes, but who would rather have working mass transit first as it is far more useful and also equitable.
I can name several places in Cambridge and Boston which are using dedicated bike+bus lanes as a solution to accommodating public transit and micromobility on our narrow streets. I'm sure that some bike people grumble about it, but the rest of us recognize that every person who decides to bus rather than drive is one less car that we have to contend with.
As for streetcars, Philadelphia shows that you can mix streetcar lanes with car lanes.
The bicycle infrastructure, at least in Cambridge, does seem to be very heavily used even if it does make for some pretty crazy intersections between pedestrians, bikes/e-scooters, and cars--especially when it's getting dark in the evenings like now. I drove in last night for an event--really no alternative from well outside the city--and it's a pretty wild mix of transportation modes.
True. I chose my neighborhood in Somerville with proximity to the T as a top priority because I assumed I'd be taking it to work in Kendall every day. Then I bought a bike and found it better in almost every way: free, enjoyable (much of the time), healthier, and much faster. So much so that I biked nearly all of the time, year-round. I had dedicated lanes for most of the trip, and quiet almost car-free neighborhoods for much of the rest.
An unexpected pleasure was the schadenfreude of passing scores of cars on Hampshire/Beacon on my way home during rush hour.
An unexpected annoyance was the fair weather bikers who don't seem to know their bike has gears, and take f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to get going at a green light.
