The Mass Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has received $4.8 million in ARRA federal stimulus funding to improve bike parking facilities system wide. This money is for bike parking only, and is intended to boost ridership and give people more transportation options.
With this money, the MBTA plans to build
· 6 to 10 bike cages (accessed using a special Bicycle Charlie Card, issued by the MBTA)
· 50 bike parking shelters (helps prevent rust for the bikes)
· An unspecified number of bike racks
DotBike and the Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition are recommending that at least one bike cage be installed in Dorchester.
Ashmont Station is a priority location because it is a terminus station that also serves as a hub with connections to the Mattapan trolley and many bus routes serving locations in and outside of the city.
PROPOSAL
We have identified what we believe is a highly suitable location for a bike cage at Ashmont station – just south of the busway at the south end of the station between the existing entrance and the transformer housing.
OUR OBSTACLE
The main access to the bike cage would be via the existing bus way and the T’s safety department claims that allowing bikes on the bus way would be too dangerous. However, there is little evidence to support that bikes sharing a bus way would be more dangerous than a bus encountering a bike on a roadway during its normal route particularly if MBTA drivers are trained to expect cyclists is this specific location.
A POSSIBLE SOLUTION
Add a short bike lane along the bus way leading directly to the cage, and add appropriate signage to direct all bike traffic directly back to Dorchester Ave. The bus way is unusually wide even at its narrowest point of 21 feet, so there’s ample room for a 4 or 5 foot wide bike lane.
The MBTA is pushing a bike cage on the new plaza, which we feel is a bad idea that would put cyclists in potential conflict with other neighborhood needs.
We ask you to: Please let the MBTA know that this bike cage at this location is a priority for the Dorchester cycling community and would allow more people to ride to the station without fear of bike theft (which is the number one reason people don’t cycle in Dorchester!). The city is building a bike lane on Talbot from Ashmont to Blue Hill, so this will be part of a new network of facilities that will promote cycling. Cycling in turn promotes health, fights obesity and cardiovascular disease.
How to support:
· Call or write the MBTA, 617-222-3214, EScheier@mbta.com (please cc us at Stidman@gmail.com as well)
· Ask your organization to write a formal bike cage request letter to the MBTA:
Eric Scheier, MBTA, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 3910, Boston, MA 02116, EScheier@mbta.com, and
John Hynes, MBTA Red Line Chief, 45 High Street, 10th floor, Boston, MA 02110.
