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BOSTON — Bicycle advocates in Cambridge and Boston are asking the state to reconsider its plan to remove plastic posts from a bike lane on the Longfellow bridge.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is planning to remove the posts this weekend to make plowing the bridge easier during the winter months.
#MAtraffic #LongfellowBridge: Vertical flex posts separating bicycle & vehicle lanes removed for winter beginning Sun, Dec 16, to allow safe #MAsnow removal. https://t.co/khGFYILL3s @MassDCR
— Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) December 10, 2018
Some cyclists instead want the state to widen the bike lane so that plows can fit in it. Others have said state officials should use smaller plows to clear the line. But most cyclist groups in the area agree, the flexposts should remain as a barrier between cars and bikes.
The protected bike lanes were just added as part of a five-year redesign of the bridge.
Removing the flex posts that encourage drivers to keep a safer distance from the bike lanes seems the opposite of safe. Seems like the safer thing is to replace the flex posts with a solid barrier that can be plowed around.
— Bike Newton 🚲 #mobilitylanes #2019Goals (@BikeNewton) December 10, 2018
@Steph_Pollack how can you justify this? If you don't have the proper equipment to plow the PBL, work something out with @BostonPWD, which just bought 3 new machines.
— Jonathan Fertig (@rightlegpegged) December 11, 2018
cc @wutrain
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