Politics & Government

Want to Ride Your Bike On the Common? City Still Says No

After discussions among top city officials and leaders, you still can't ride bikes in three major Boston parks.

You still cannot ride your bike on Boston Common, the Public Garden and Commonwealth Avenue Mall, the city recently announced after discussions amongst top officials.

The decision to continue to keep cyclists out of these city parks was "due to the volume of foot traffic and quantity of events held on those sites on a regular basis," according to a statement from the city Parks and Recreation department.

City officials, including Parks Commissioner Antonia Pollak and City of Boston Bike Director Nicole Freedman, held meetings with representatives from the Friends of the Public Garden and Walk Boston as well as property abutters and bike advocates to discuss the topic of cycling in these parks.

The city said the meetings were "productive," but some facts about the spaces could not be avoided, including that the three parks are "among the busiest pedestrian thoroughfares in the city," events at the locations often are "incompatible" with bike travel and park areas "generate crowds on a regular basis which could be endangered by cyclists traveling on paths."

Cyclists were reminded by the city they could still walk their bikes through the parks. The city also "will continue to have discussions with the cycling community and other City of Boston entities to find safe street routes for those traveling on bikes in the vicinity of Boston Common, the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall."

Are you satisfied with the outcome of these discussions? Are there enough safe bicycle riding routes near these locations in your opinion? Leave your thoughts in the comments.


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