Central Square Bike Audit

Bike Lane and Parking Audit

Today the Team ventured into the depths of Central Square to observe a number of aspects of the Square’s bicycle usage and accommodations. Three separate groups went out, all making different observations and collecting different data. The first group collected data on the number of bike racks being used, the number of unoccupied bike racks, and the number of bikes locked to objects other than bike racks (like street poles, subway fences, etc.). This group also took pictures of their findings. The second group observed bike traffic in the Square, looking at the number of bikers on the road (in bike lanes) and on the sidewalk. This group also made note of the number of times bike lanes were blocked, and by who. The final group talked to several local business owners about their views on the availability of bike racks, the number of customers that come on bikes, and other bike-related information.

 

Folding Bikes

As is, riding a bike is a great alternative to driving in the city.  But FOLDING BIKES?!?! Too cool.  Convenient, stylish, and most importantly, very green.  Here are a few, small wheels and large wheels.

 

Bike Ride

On Monday, we started the day at the City Hall Annex at 9am. Today we planned to go on a bike ride at 10am, but before the fun could start we needed to come up with a list of all the things people use for transportation. Then we decided as a group what we thought were good uses of transportation, and what were bad. After our list was made, our tour guide, Jeff, told us what we would be doing on on our bike ride, and the different routes we would take. Later during the bike ride we learned about the different plans for certain streets to help give more access to bicycles. The problem that bike riders face is the fact that a lot of cars park on the right, and this forces bikes to go around the cars, without an actual bike path to ride on anymore. Overall, it was a fun, productive day. We headed back on our bikes to the City Hall Annex, and ended our day there.