Massachusetts Bikeway Resources

http://www.masspaths.org/bikeways/resource.htm

Here is an online summary of all of the existing and proposed bikeway projects we know about in Massachusetts, grouped by region:

Boston
Boston Metro

North Shore
Southeast Mass.

Central Mass.
Western Mass.

Cape Cod & Islands

New maps of existing and proposed bikepaths in the northern half of metropolitan Boston and Western Massachusetts are prototypes of what we plan for the entire state.

Bryce Nesbitt mapped existing and proposed trails for the entire state, and most of this trail information is also available from Mass GIS as a geographical data file, and some of it is our online maps of Metro Boston and Western Mass.

Here are pages for bikeway projects around Boston:

Emerald Necklace Greenway
Neponset River Greenway Minuteman Bikeway [map]
Wayside Rail Trail

Get up-to-date reports on snow-plowing of our urban paths.

Within the regional pages, there are links to many projects which have there own web pages, including many interesting bikeway projects in other parts of the country. There is also an annotated bibliography of bikeway resources.

Mass. Green Routes

This new organization is working to link existing and planned bikeways into a connected network.

East Coast Greenway [Massachusetts]

In addition to the descriptions of this Maine to Florida mostly-off-road bikeway on the ECG Alliance web site, check out Lynne Tolman's description from her Worcester Telegram & Gazette column. Possible routes through Massachusetts are online here.

Commonwealth Connections

This vision of a coordinated network of greenways and trails in Massachusetts was released by the Greenways Program of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management in 2002. MassBike helped make sure that the state's potential bikeways, as well as its current ones, were included. The report is available as a 2.9Mbyte PDF file.

Massachusetts Bicycle Facilities Inventory

Prepared for the state by MassBike in 1995, this inventory was the basis for the State Bicycle Plan, the draft and final versions of which are online here.

Berkshire and Connecticut Valley Bicycle Route Survey

This report was written by John Allen in 1993 under a contract issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management to survey potential bicycle touring routes in the Connecticut and Berkshire valleys. He updated it for the web in 1999.

A Survey of Bicycle Transportation Routes in the Boston Metrowest Area

This survey of routes suitable for bicycle travel in communities west of Boston was done by John Allen in 1993 under a contract from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management (now part of the Department of Conservation and Resources).

A Massachusetts Greenway Network

This paper, by MassBike Bikeways Coordinator Doug Mink, discusses connections between existing and proposed bikeways across Massachusetts.

Bicyclists Sharing the Path

Bicyclists need to ride differently on bikepaths than on streets. Doug Mink talks about how bicyclists should deal with pedestrians and other path users, a topic omitted from most bicyclists' education.

Intermodal Resources

In addition to pages compiled by John Allen on using New England ferries with a bicycle and getting to Logan Airport by bicycle there are other links to pages describing ways to use a bicycle in conjuction with other modes of transportation.

Bicycling Books

Brief reviews of books on bicycling in Massachusetts, both in and out of print, from the subscribers to the massbike e-mail list, originally compiled by Anne Anderson.

massbike E-mail List

A 300-member electronic forum for announcing and discussing any issues concerning bicycling in Massachusetts.

Getting on Track: Common Sense Ideas to Expedite Rail Trail Development in Massachusetts.

This May 2001 State Legislature Post Audit and Oversight Committee report urges the Mass Highway Department to do something about the fact that "Massachusetts has approved and funded only 41.5% of its enhancements funds, and has only completed 17% of its enhancements projects."

Last updated March 28, 2012 by Jessica Mink