Four DotBikers and a handful of other riders braved the unseasonable weather on a 17 mile loop that started in Milton but rode primarily in Dorchester and Mattapan. The ride was lead by Doug Mink a long time Boston bicycle advocate and Boston Natural Areas Network board member. The route included a trip through Dorchester Park, Clam Point, and a planned ride down Gallivan Blvd. with a left on Adams St. was narrowly averted at the adamant suggestion of the Dot Bikers, who insisted on a ride down Minot St. instead. It warmed up about halfway through the ride (possibly due to a stop at Philip’s Candy House - with free hot chocolate) and overall was a lovely ride down one of Boston’s best cycling routes.
Doug provided a wealth of information about the history and current status of efforts to create a continuous bike path from the Blue Hills Reservation to Castle Island in South Boston. The group stopped at several points where he described the efforts to get the existing bits of the Neponset River Greenway path in place and the obstacles that have made further progress slow. It was rather astonishing to hear of the extent of anti-cycling uproar at community meetings, and even in official documentation that describes, for example, cycling as facilitating criminal activity.
Of particular interest was an update on plans for improving the Harbor Walk connection between Tenean beach and UMass. This segment, which requires negotiating several unintuitive turns from Tenean to Freeport to a Morrisey Blvd. sidewalk can put off all but the most determined riders. Back in 2001, groups working with Boston Gas had negotiated an easement for a path between Victory Park and the draw bridge on Morrisey Blvd. that would have avoided both the Freeport-Morrisey intersection and the high-speed ramp traffic coming off I-93. However, change in ownership of the gas depot to KeySpan and security concerns after 9/11 quashed that plan. With the recent change in ownership to National Grid it might be a good time to revisit this plan and contact DCR to work toward a traffic free Harbor path connection. DotBike will follow up with Doug to get all the details and contact information.
