The city plans to install 86 new bicycle racks in Newton parks and village centers next year — at almost no cost to Newton — providing 262 new spaces for bicycle parking.

The $20,000 cost of the racks will be reimbursed through the Regional Bike Parking Program administered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). The program’s funding comes from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

Bikes line a handrail at the Highland T Station.

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Findings of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute pedestrian study illustrate that the city has room for improvement for safe walking in at least four villages.

The findings appear on the website of the League of Women Voters of Newton, in a new section addressing the group’s efforts to study pedestrian mobility.

You may download the findings for each village from the LWVN page, or download the PowerPoint presentation (large file) here: WPI presentation.

The league collaborated with the city’s planning department to sponsor this study by Worcester Polytechnic Institute students. The student group studied existing conditions and possible improvements to pedestrian crosswalks and other facilities in Newton Centre, Newton Corner, Chestnut Hill, and West Newton.

The study identified pedestrian problems in four villages, including 12 problems in Newton Corner.

[UPDATE: March 24, 2010--This post was adapted and published by the Newton Tab.]

One of the first things we can do, as residents and merchants of Newton, to improve our village centers may begin with our feet.

At Mayor Setti Warren’s summit in December,  pedestrian and bicycling improvements were identified as a city-wide goal. The summit groups on Infrastructure and on Environment and Energy both suggested improvements to mobility and access, as did the Community Life group: “Walk-ability, bike-ability, and better public transportation will help improve access for all.” Even in the summit discussion group on Public Safety, in which I participated,

Concern was expressed about the safety of our streets and sidewalks including maintaining and improving the infrastructure of existing ways, pedestrian safety at crosswalks, traffic calming measures in high risk areas, bicycle lanes, bicycle safety promotion, and evaluating vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian safety needs.

At the Newton Villages organizational meeting in January, participants echoed many of the same goals:

• Walk-ability, bike-ability, public transport, driving/parking.
• Pedestrian scale/access: walk-ability, bike-ability within the village centers should priority over autocentrism.
• Villages must be accessible by bike and foot.

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This past Friday, Newton Villages brought together of a group of of people from different city departments and community organizations to discuss the creation of a city-wide initiative involving Newton’s artists, bicyclists, and others who are interested in working together to bring art and bike racks into our village centers.

We identified some fundamental requirements and concerns about bike racks:

• Sizing and locating racks according to user needs,
• Choosing styles of racks that may allow artistic expression without undermining their utility,
• Using materials that would minimize maintenance and repair needs,
• Being mindful of other public space needs, especially snow-removal,
• Addressing zoning regulations for placement on public vs. private property, and
• Creating signage that directs people to bicycle racks and (pending a zoning change) credits sponsors. [Read more →]

Below is an email I just sent to Mindy Gregory Sieber, executive director of the New Art Center, to gauge her interest in an artistic bike rack for Panera Bread. I wanted to get the right people talking about this idea, and she’s the perfect person. I believe she formerly coordinated the Open Studios events for artists in Newton.

John Pears had mentioned the installation of informational kiosks in our village centers, directing people to restaurants and other services. Brilliant idea. I’d also had a lark of a thought about directional signs that would point from one village to other villages and nearby points of interest, like parking lots and the main library. Of course, other towns are already doing these things, such as Renton, Washington. [Read more →]