MassPaths Bikepath Snow Plowing Report
Thursday, February 28, 2019

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.

On Wednesday night, the snow started as I was biking home through Brookline Village. After I cooked and ate dinner, there was enough snow to shovel before I went to bed. At that point it was the fluffiest snow that has fallen on Boston this winter. Thursday morning, there were another two inches of snow which was getting softand mushy in the sun, and it was a bit harder to shovel. The paths I took were well-plowed, with lots of bare pavement, no ice, and no problems on the occasionally unplowed sections with my studded snow tires.

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, but probably clear.
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
Pretty clear by Thursday evening
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 totally clear, as was the cycle track along South and Washington Streets to Ukraine Way. The southbound cycle track was plowed by evening up to the ramp to Washington St., which was hidden under a pile of snow.
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
Pretty clear all of the way to Jamaica Pond.
Morton St. Buffered Bike Lanes
Cemetery Rd. to Harvard St.
MassDOT
Not checked
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
Not checked yet.
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
Plowed to bare pavement.
Prince St.
A future contraflow lane around high-speed Parkman Drive which feeds into the Perkin St. bike lanes
Boston DPW
The street is probably clear, but I avoid it when the temperature is below freezing because I have a hard time on the patch of slick ice which often stretches all of the way across the road at the intersection with Perkins St.
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
Both sides were pretty clear by Thursday evening.
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
Not checked.
Brookline Ave. Path
Mixed-use path from Riverway ramp to Riverway intersection
Brookline Park Department
Bare pavement except unplowed ramps to Aspinwall intersection.
Parkway and Netherlands Rd. Contraflow bike lanes
Two one-block contra-flow lanes plus and contraflow cycle track
Brookline Park Department and DPW
Bike lane clear but cycle track totally unplowed.
Muddy River Path
12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections
Brookline Park Department and DPW
Mostly packed snow with occasional clear stretches.
Brookline Ave. Bike Lanes
From Longwood Ave. to Park Drive Boston Transportation Department
Not checked.
Boston Bike Lanes
Boston Transportation Department

Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes Pretty clear around BU Bridge.
N. Harvard St. bike lanes Clear by evening.
Harvard Ave. bike lanes Clear by evening.
Sullivan Square buffered bike lanes Not checked, but probably fairly clear
Brookline Bike Lanes
Town of Brookline
Harvard St. clear from Allston to Brookline Village. Cypress and Chestnut St. clear to Jamaica Pond.
B. U. Bridge Bike Lanes
Boston to Cambridge Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By MassDoT
Clear to curb.
B. U. Bridge west sidewalk
Boston to Cambridge
Department of Conservation and Recreation,
Plowed By Mass. Highway Department or B.U.
Boston approach packed snow, Clear from Storrow Drive bridge to Memorial Drive.
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
Not checked
Charles River Bikepaths
Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Plowed wide all of the way from the BU Bridge to Hawthorn St. light. Longfellow park sidewalk was plowed with a coating of snow.
J.F.K. Park
Wide, shared bike-ped path from river to Harvard Square
Department of Conservation and Recreation
It looked clear.
Western Ave. Cycletrack
Cambridge Cambridge DPW
Not checked.
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.
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
Not checked, but usually plowed.
Cambridge Bike Lanes
Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets
City of Cambridge
Parking-protected lanes probably clear, but others tended to be snowy.
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
Not checked yet, but probably clear.
Mass. Ave. Cycle Track
Parking-buffered bike lanes outbound before and after Harvard Square
City of Cambridge
Not checked yet, but they were clear after the last storm
Flagstaff Park Bike Path
Short bikelane to route outbound bikes and pedestrians past 3-way split of northbound Mass. Ave. and Broadway. City of Cambridge
Clear after the last storm.
Green St./Franklin St. Bicycle Boulevard
Narrow one-way streets parallel to Mass. Ave. from Central Square to Harvard Square
City of Cambridge
Clear after the last storm
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.
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
Not checked
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
No report yet
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
Wellington Greenway
Malden
Shared use path
Malden DPW
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.