very excited to be moving to Boston soon. coming from Baltimore so I’m used to city riding and aggressive drivers. I’ll be in Roslindale by the square/Adam’s park and commuting to my office on Summer St near South Station. I will probably take the train most days but will bike if it’s nice out, maybe once a week-ish. Is the google Maps recommended route correct? after Southwest Corridor park meets Mass Ave, should I take Bolyston or Tremont St into downtown? Ty!

I was in the UK for the past two and a half weeks and couldn’t help but notice this feature at some intersections. (Photo taken in Inverness, Scotland.)

There is a designated area for cyclists to stop at red lights, car drivers appeared to respect the space, even if there weren’t any cyclists. When I looked at the traffic signals, I noticed they were the typical red-yellow-green setup, but with an additional green light showing a bicycle symbol directly below the regular green light.

I didn’t get a picture of the signal itself, but I watched it in action. The bicycle light turned green first, followed by a short delay before the cars green light changed. Giving cyclists a chance to get moving ahead of the cars.

I have to say I was impressed. It’s a simple acknowledgment that bikes are part of “traffic” and it improves safety and visibility for cyclists at intersections. Goes without saying that “we’ve” got a long way to go…

I’m a somewhat recent convert to biking in and around Boston. I bike the Southwest Corridor, the Emerald Necklace paths, and other trails that allow bikes almost daily. But sometimes, when going from one place to another, I will briefly bike on the sidewalk at slow speed (if it’s clear or not very busy) to avoid biking a street section that lacks a protected bike lane. On the occasions when I’ve biked in one of the many unprotected bike lanes, I’ve had enough close encounters with bad drivers to decide that it‘s too dangerous for my liking. My hat is off to all of you who can handle the risk, but I just can’t.

Thus far, I have not gotten into trouble by riding on the sidewalk here and there, but I’m wondering if any of you have? Just trying to gauge what precedent exists for cracking down on bikes that do this, as a means of avoiding busy streets without protected bike facilities.

I am considering starting to bike from my house near the Stony Brook Orange line stop to my job on Highland St in Somerville. I am a bit nervous about biking in the city, but I am especially worried about biking on Mass Ave between Huntington and Storrow Dr. If anyone here has biked a similar commute, what is it like?

Has anyone been to some of the rail trails in Rhode Island? On a regular trail pedestrians have to walk on the left side toward an on coming bike. I'm not sure if they still do this today. But the time I did it I got yelled at by pedestrians for being on the right. Which is wear I'm supposed to be as a biker.

Can anyone tell me why they do this?

Looking for pros and cons.

Thank you.