Category Archives: Uncategorized

A British study clarifies the problem with trucks

Posted on October 1, 2014 by jsallen

TweetI thank Bob Shanteau, California traffic engineer and cyclist, for this link. The paper, from the U.K., puts numbers on the problem with bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities in collisions with large trucks. A quote: Lorries are involved in around 4,200 … Continue reading →

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Report on Route 9 reconstruction in Natick

Posted on September 5, 2014 by jsallen

TweetOn Sunday, August 24, Natick residents Dick and Jill Miller and I had a look at the Route 9 project, which extends either side of the Oak Street intersection. We drove the length of the project in both directions, and … Continue reading →

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Boston’s Western Avenue Cycle Track — correcting the public record

Posted on September 4, 2014 by jsallen

TweetAccording to official and published sources, Boston’s Western Avenue cycle track: is 0.58 miles long was built in 2009, or 2010, or 2011. had no reported crashes in the time of the 2009-2012 Boston Cyclist Safety Report. improves safety, connectivity … Continue reading →

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Separate but equal

Posted on September 4, 2014 by jsallen

Tweet3:15 PM, Thursday, August 27, 2014: I’m riding home on the stretch of Western Avenue in Brighton a hundred yards or so short of Market Street. I’m riding outside the door zone of parked cars. This stretch is narrow enough … Continue reading →

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Massachusetts Motorized Bicycle and “Motorized Scooter” Law — a Mess

Posted on August 29, 2014 by jsallen

TweetMassachusetts law about motorized bicycles is a confused and disorganized mess. I’ll delineate the problems and make recommendations here. the law makes no distinction between electrically-assisted bicycles and ones with gasoline engines; definitions overlap; there are provisions which contradict the … Continue reading →

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Columbus Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue Follow-Up

Posted on August 4, 2014 by jsallen

Tweet[Note: this post has been updated thanks to Charlie Denison’s correct identification of the direction from which the bicyclist approached the intersection.] This post follows from my previous post about the right-hook collision of a garbage truck with a bicyclist … Continue reading →

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Window dressing

Posted on July 30, 2014 by jsallen

TweetI have already described the side skirts on Boston garbage trucks as window dressing. Maybe I should concede a little ground on that, as the cyclist in the most recent right-hook crash merely had severe injuries instead of being killed. … Continue reading →

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A Discussion of Massachusetts Rules on Crosswalks

Posted on July 1, 2014 by jsallen

TweetThis appeared on the BostonAreaCycling e-mail list. It deserves repeating. On Jun 29, 2014, at 10:13 PM, David Wean  wrote: Vehicle operators are required to stop once pedestrians enter the crosswalk (or when they are, IIRC, within 10 feet of … Continue reading →

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My letter to the FHWA about Connect Historic Boston

Posted on June 19, 2014 by jsallen

TweetMy letter is online.

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A longer response to Egan

Posted on June 4, 2014 by jsallen

TweetThis is a more extended response to the letter from Boston’s Chief Civil Engineer responding to my comments about the Connect Historic Boston project. My comments are at http://john-s-allen.com/pdfs/CHB_Comments.pdf and http://john-s-allen.com/pdfs/CHB_2014-03_comments.pdf Mr. Egan’s reply to my letter is at http://john-s-allen.com/pdfs/egan_response.pdf. … Continue reading →

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