Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee - Jul 23rd, 2025

Hybrid meeting held in the first floor of the Town Hall annex. Materials were available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/37121/18.

These notes cover a subset of agenda items.

Report from COBWEB Officer

Officer Kelly tells the committee that the police department has been spending time on the bikeway as staffing permits. There have been some issues with electric unicycles and mopeds on the bikeway. These are electric devices that can move at 25--30 MPH, which is too high a speed for the bikeway.

Planning Department Report and Updates

Transportation Planner John Alessi has been spending most of his time on land acquisitions for the Stratton Safe Routes to School program. He's gathering land appraisals in preparation for bringing a bid to the Select Board.

Eleven firms responded to the Broadway design RFP, and the town has selected VHB for the work. Phil Goff and Dan Amstutz will be part of the team working on the project.

Mr. Alessi says the Minuteman Connector project is presently in a holding pattern. The town is waiting for MassDOT to provide documentation.

Planning staff are looking at areas to install new bike racks at schools, parks, and playgrounds. We will purchase two new bike repair stands. Uncle Sam Park and Thorndike Field are candidate sites for the repair stands. The stands will be Dero brand.

Staff continues to work on plans for Minuteman Bikeway improvements near the Ed Burns Arena. They should be ready for a public showing in September.

Arlington received a grant to install one more Blue Bikes station. It may not arrive until 2026, due to tariffs. We recently installed Blue Bikes stations at Mass Ave and Alewife Brook Parkway, and the intersection of River Street and Mystic Valley Parkway.

The bike counter by Swan Place is back up and running.

TAC Report

Scott Smith (TAC Representative) says that Mass Ave is getting re-paved in Arlington Center. When the work is done, we'll get sharrows in the middle of the lanes.

Arlington rescinded special speed regulations, and the town-wide speed limit is 25 MPH. Some map and wayfinding applications continue to show higher speed limits. Mr. Smith asks committee members to let him know if they notice apps showing higher speed limits. Knowing the street helps in getting the information corrected. It's generally easy to make corrections to Waze and Open Street Maps; it's hard to get Google and Apple to make corrections.

Courtesy Signs for Minuteman Bikeway

The courtesy signs have been made, and they're sitting in the Planning Department offices. Mr. Alessi hopes to walk the corridor with public works staff, to identify sign locations.

Town Day Prep

Town day is September 20th, and the Bicycle Advisory Committee is meeting on September 17th. ABAC Chair Christopher Tonkin has been talking to MassBike about getting bicycle lights that can be given away at Town Day.

The Transportation Advisory Committee may have a map in their booth, to collect feedback about pain points and areas of traffic concern.

Mr. Tonkin has a box of tee-shirts that can be sold or given away. They're blue cotton shirts, commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Minuteman Bikeway.

Bikeway Maintenance Updates

Mr. Alessi still needs to organize a ride with DPW staff, to discuss areas in need of maintenance. DPW knows the center line needs restriping.

Lexington is preparing for MWRA water main work along a section of the bikeway in East Lexington. There will be a detour for several months while the work is being done. Details of the detour are TBD. The water main work will likely take place in the fall and winter.

Bikeway Block Party Updates

Arlington will have two locations for the Bikeway Block Party: Uncle Sam Park, and in front of the Dallin Museum. Mr. Tonkin approached the owners of the Brigham Square apartments about having a location there, and they seemed excited about the prospect. Organizers will be looking for volunteer to provide directions, and so on.

MassBike will provide valet parking equipment for the event.

Comprehensive Plan

Steve Revilak is a member of Arlington's Comprehensive Plan Update committee, and he's here to gather input from the Bicycle Advisory Committee. Comprehensive Plans are 10--15 year visioning exercises that help to inform policy and budget decisions. Arlington's current comprehensive plan was written in 2015, so we are due for an update.

The Committee developed a set of meeting in a box materials -- they're high level questions to ask boards, committees, and different groups in town. Mr. Revilak would like committee members to answer these from their perspective as ABAC members.

Mr. Revilak would like to take the first two questions together: "What issues or topics does ABAC most often discuss or hear about in recent years?", and "What issues or town members do you think will be important for the Town to consider in the next few years?".

Committee feedback:

• Bikeway usage. The bikeway has become popular, and it can be crowded. In a sense, it's become a victim of it's own success. It's a multi-use path, used by people riding, walking, running, and skating. We hear a lot about speed and etiquette. There seems to be less courtesy and etiquette now.
• On-road traffic is an issue. This is another area where people need to show more courtesy.
• There's lots of distracted driving, walking, and cycling. People spend a lot of time staring into their phones.
• Road conditions are an issue, and bikes are more sensitive to this than cars are. Potholes might not be a big deal for automobiles, but they can be fatal for a cyclist.
• In some areas, the condition of the bikeway is an issue, particularly where there are root heaves. Root heaves should be fixed, and it seems to take a long time to address them.
• Some areas of the bikeway need drainage improvements.
• "When will be bikeway be widened?" is a question that comes up frequently. In the future, we might consider widening the path.
• The ramp leading from the bikeway to the high school is likely to attract a lot of kids to the bikeway. This is safer than riding on the street, but it may lead to an increase in bicycle/pedestrian conflicts.
• Sometimes there's a disconnect between the town's complete streets policy and the work that actually gets done. The town should be more proactive about implementing complete streets design measures. For example, we should put in bike lanes any time that a street is repaved.
• Focus on the flow of Mass Ave throughout the entire corridor, so that complete streets segments eventually line up and connect.
• There's been a big increase in biking and that's brought some growing pains. It's a success story, but with challenges.
• In the future, e-bikes could open up the hilly areas of town. There are also changing expectations about what bicycle facilities should be. We should look at what Cambridge and Somerville have been doing, and what's working there.
• We need to increase safety on roadways. You can't get everywhere on the bikeway.
• We should consider hiring another transportation planner, and more DPW staff to work on road safety improvements.
• There should be more businesses along the bikeway that cater to riders. The bikeway could be treated more like a main street, with business frontage.
• There's not enough bike parking for folks that want to patronize businesses along the bikeway. More bike parking and better signage would help.
• We don't have good access to Mass Ave from the bikeway in Arlington heights.

Question: "Where do you see opportunities to work towards mutual goals with other boards and committees?".

Committee responses:

• ABAC should continue to collaborate with the Transportation Advisory Committee.
• There's a classic conflict between bike lanes and parking.
• We could collaborate with the Arts and Culture Commission for art on the bikeway.
• There's no official town pedestrian committee. Having one might be beneficial, and we could collaborate with them.
• We could collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce. Bikes can bring patrons to businesses.
• We could collaborate with business owners to provide cargo bike parking for shoppers.
• We could collaborate with the disability commission. The biking population is getting older.
• We could collaborate with the Arlington Redevelopment Board, especially around car and bike parking in commercial developments.
• We should continue to collaborate with the Arlington Police Department.
• We haven't collaborated with the School Department, but there could be an opportunity there, especially in the area of bike education. Like driver's ed, but for bicycles. This might be appropriate in the late elementary or early middle school years.

Question: "Do you see any potential conflicts or points of compromise with what other boards and committees want to achieve?".

Committee responses:

• Staffing levels are an issue. There's not enough capacity to get work done. This also goes for the town budget.

Question: "What do you hope Arlington will look and feel like in the future? What do you hope would be the same or different in Arlington? What would you like Arlington to look like in 10--15 years?"

Committee responses:

• More public transportation on a smaller scale. Mini buses like Lexpress (for example) that could run along roads like Gray Street.
• I like the neighborhoods and small businesses. My ideal would be not having to own a car anymore.
• Keep the Minuteman Bikeway. It works well for us.
• I'd like better public transportation on main streets, a more frequent 77 bus, and separated bike lanes.
• Widen the bike path where possible.
• I'd like to see Arlington mimic Dutch towns of similar size, with complete streets and better walkability. We already have a footprint that kind of mimics that.
• Restore the 77 bus to pre-COVID frequencies.
• I'd like to see the Mass Ave and Appleton intersection done before 2035.
• The town should be more proactive about doing smaller, lower cost (mobility) projects.
• Plan to prevent tragedy, rather than just reacting to it.
• More integration of public transport and cycling. For example, being able to roll a bicycle onto a bus or train.
• Better, more innovative public transportation. For example, a version of the 77 bus that runs express to Arlington, skipping stops in North Cambridge.
• More bus routes from Arlington to the Alewife T stations.
• Update bus routes to reflect changes in the way that population and job centers have moved.
• Buses that run from Arlington to Green Line stations in Medford, or to Kendall Square in Cambridge.

New Business

The bridge painting project is nearly complete. (This is referring to artwork painted on bridges along the Minuteman Bikeway.)

Meeting adjourned.