MassPaths Bikepath Snow Plowing Report
Tuesday, December 26, 2017 (Updated to Thursday)

Bike paths and lanes are integral parts of the bicycle transportation network, and these reports are provided to encourage their use by bicyclists who might otherwise not venture out in the snow, and to encourage their proper maintenance (which includes snow plowing) by the responsible agencies given in bold type below. If they are not plowed while the snow is still soft, paths with significant foot traffic become unskiable within a day, and remain a mess for everyone until the ice melts.

Boston got a white Christmas with more snow than was expected, more 4-6 inches than the expected <1 inch. I was out of town and missed it, but had a snow-plowing service get my sidewalk. By Thursday morning, when I drove and biked out for the first time, the snow was compacted into only a couple of inches and the roads were clear, but the sidewalks and bike paths often were not.

Please send updates and reports on the conditions of other paths in Massachusetts to Jessica Mink.

Arnold Arboretum
1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic with no intersections
Boston Parks and Harvard University
Not checked yet.
Blackwell Footpath
A half-mile gravel path connecting the Forest Hills MBTA station and the South St. Arboretum entrance
Boston Parks and Harvard University
It didn't look plowed when I biked by on Washington St. and can be pretty icy.
Roslindale Bike Lanes
Two miles of bike lanes on both sides of Washington St. from Forest Hills to Roslindale Square and to West Roxbury on Belgrade Ave. and buffered and wide bike lanes along American Legion Highway
Boston Public Works Department
They need repainting pretty badly in a lot of places. I haven't biked them yet, but I suspect that parked cars block at least part of the lane.
Centre St. and VFW Parkway Bike Lanes
DCR, plowed by MassDOT
Not checked but probably partly clear.
Arborway Bike Lanes
Bike lanes through Forest Hills
Department of Conservation and Recreation
The two-way cycle track which is complete along the Arborway west from South St. was still totally unplowed on Thursday morning, but the sidewalk was clear.
Arborway sidewalks
1 mile of wide paved shoulder which is unmarked but usually clear of parked cars during rush hour
Department of Conservation and Recreation and Boston Parks
Not checked yet.
Morton St. Buffered Bike Lanes
Cemetery Rd. to Harvard St.
MassDOT
I drove my car along them this morning, and they looked about 3/4 clear.
Franklin Park Roads
Much of the park loop road is closed to motorized traffic and there are bike lanes on the main road.
Boston Parks and Public Works Departments
Not checked yet.
Centre/South Bike Lanes
A mile of bike lanes through the heart of Jamaica Plain from Jackson Square and the Southwest Corridor to Forest Hills
Boston Public Works Department
Partly blocked by parked cars but mostly clear.
Jamaicaway Bikepath
1.5 miles of mostly bike/ped-separated paths paralleling a busy 4-lane parkway; two intersections with traffic lights
Boston Parks Deparment
Lots of ice and hard-packed snow, but in most places there is a path on dry sidewalk. Not everywhere, though, so watch out! The refrozed melted snow surface kept there from being too much drifting snow in the path.
Prince St.
A future contraflow lane around high-speed Parkman Drive which feeds into the Perkin St. bike lanes
Boston DPW
Not checked yet, but probably very clear.
Perkins St. Bike Lanes
1.5 miles of mostly bike/ped-separated paths paralleling a busy 4-lane parkway; two intersections with traffic lights
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet.
Olmsted Park Paths
3/4-mile of mostly bike/ped-separated paths built over Riverdale Road, across Leverett Pond from the Jamaicaway.
Brookline Park Department
Plowed, but icy.
Brookline Ave. Path
Mixed-use path from Riverway ramp to Riverway intersection
Brookline Park Department
Mostly clear pavement by Thursday morning.
Parkway and Netherlands Rd. Contraflow bike lanes
Two one-block contra-flow lanes plus and contraflow cycle track
Brookline Park Department and DPW
The bike lanes were pretty clear, but the cycle track remained totally unplowed.
Muddy River Path
12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections
Brookline Park Department and DPW
Very icy, but with 40 years of ice biking experience, I biked it without studded tires. The surface is a mixture of white and black ice, and not safe on Thursday morning.
Brookline Ave. Bike Lanes
From Longwood Ave. to Park Drive Boston Transportation Department
Not checked yet.
Boston Bike Lanes
Boston Transportation Department

Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes Fairly clear, at least around the B.U. Bridge.
N. Harvard St. bike lanes Not checked yet.
Harvard Ave. bike lanes Not checked yet.
Brookline Bike Lanes
Town of Brookline
Not checked yet
B. U. Bridge Bike Lanes
Boston to Cambridge Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By MassDoT
Three-fourths clear; very usable on Thursday morning.
B. U. Bridge west sidewalk
Boston to Cambridge
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department or B.U.
Totally clear by Thursday morning
Harvard (Mass. Ave.) Bridge bike lanes
Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
Not checked yet.
Longfellow Bridge bike lane
Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department
Charles River Bikepaths
Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
The Cambridge side upstream from the BU Bridge looked pretty snowy on Thursday morning, so I rode to work on Cambridge bike lanes and cycle tracks instead.
J.F.K. Park
Wide, shared bike-ped path from river to Harvard Square
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Should be bare, but I haven't ridden it.
Western Ave. Cycletrack
Cambridge Cambridge DPW
Clear, dry pavement by Thursday morning.
Lincoln St. to Cambridge St. MassPike Bridge
Bike/Ped connection from Harvard Square to Allston's Harvard Ave. district via Franklin St.
Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
Not checked yet, but probably clear
Southwest Corridor Bikepath
Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet
South Bay Harbor Trail
Bike/Ped path from the Federal Court House up Fort Point Channel to the Southwest Corridor
City of Boston
Not checked yet.
Neponset Trail
Mostly paved Bike/Ped path
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Lee Toma reports on December 28: While the DCR plowed the east and south ends of the Neponset Greenway on Monday afternoon, they didn't do from Mattapan Square to Granite Ave until Wednesday after Vivian chided them about it. So the middle section is now plowed well enough that there is smooth, hard packed snow, which is a big improvement. And Lauren Maloney reports that they recently plowed the trail at Tenean Beach down to the pavement.
Beacon St. Cycle Track
Parking-separated path from Park St. to Oxford St.
City of Somerville
No report yet.
Somerville Community Path
Wide rail trail from Davis Square to Cedar St.
City of Somerville
Not checked yet
Mystic River Paths
A variety of paths in East Somerville and Malden
Mostly DCR
Not checked yet.
Red Line Linear Park Path
Alewife MBTA station to Davis Square over Red Line
City of Cambridge City of Somerville
Not checked yet
Danehy Park Paths
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet, but probably fairly clear.
Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
Brookline St. bike lane clear on Thursday morning
Vassar St. Cycle Track
Buffered bike lanes from Main St. to Memorial Drive (almost)
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet.
Brattle St. Cycle Track
Parking-buffered bike lanes between Brattle Square and Mason St.
City of Cambridge
Clear on Thursday morning.
Mass. Ave. Cycle Track
Parking-buffered bike lanes outbound before and after Harvard Square
City of Cambridge
Clear on Thursday morning between Mt. Auburn St. and Harvard St. Law School cycle track not checked. This is definitely an improvement on the bike lanes which used to be here and were often blocked by cars parked out from the curb after a snowstorm.
Green St./Franklin St. Bicycle Boulevard
Narrow one-way streets parallel to Mass. Ave. from Central Square to Harvard Square/I>
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet.
Fresh Pond Bike Path
Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet.
Alewife Brook Trail
DCR
Boardwalk sections aren't plowed. No report on the rest.
Fitchburg Cutoff Trail
DCR
Not checked yet.
Concord Ave. Cycle Track
Buffered bike lanes from Belmont to Fresh Pond Parkway
City of Cambridge
David Merfeld reported Tuesday morning that it was clear.
Alewife Parkway Bridge Sidewalk
Connection from Minuteman Bikepath to Fresh Pond and beyond
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet.
Minuteman "Commuter Bikeway"

Towns of Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford
Brian Ristuccia reports on December 28: The Minuteman Bikeway was plowed through Arlington with some residual snow and icy in spots. Lexington is plowed but has substantial ice - the section from Lexington center to the Arlington line would be impassible without serious studded tires. He made a YouTube video of the trail across Arlington and put it here.
Watertown Bike Path

Town of Watertown
Not checked yet.
Upper Charles Reservation
Watertown, Newton, Waltham
4+ miles of paved and unpaved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet
Newton Bike Lanes
City of Newton
Not checked yet.
Medford Bike Lanes
Town of Medford
Not checked yet.
Revere Beach Reservation
Revere
Shared use paths (or very wide sidewalks)
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet.
Northern Strand Community Trail
Everett and Malden
Shared use path
Everett and Malden DPW
Not checked yet.
Stony Brook Reservation
Hyde Park
4+ miles of paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
These paths aren't plowed because they get relatively little transportation use and because they are used by cross-country skiers like me. There are marked narrow bike lanes on Enneking Parkway through the reservation which are probably clear. After this snowfall, the paths should be pretty bikable, though there will be ice.
Former Metropolitan State Hospital
Belmont, Waltham
paved bikepaths
Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation
Not checked yet.
Assabet River Rail Trail
Hudson and Marlborough, so far
Town of Hudson, City of Marlborough (so far)
Not checked yet.
Northampton Bikeway
East-west across the City of Northampton
City of Northampton
Craig Della Penna, who lives next to the path, has reported that it is the intention of the DPW to make it passable ASAP after a storm. If the storm is significant, then they plow it repeatedly --sometimes 10-12 times during the course of the storm to ensure its usability.
Norwottuck Rail Trail
Northampton to Amherst
Department of Conservation and Recreation
No report.