Information about biking in and around Milton, Massachusetts from the Milton Bicycle Advisory Committee
Bike To Market - Farmer's Market Coupons Thursdays 1-6 PM, June through September Wharf Street Be sure to bike to the Milton Farmers Market, wearing a helmet, and we'll sponsor a $2 off coupon that you can use at any vendor! Our bike to market coupons are intended to encourage more people to bike to the market rather than drive to an area with limited parking. For more information, please visit their website. Milton's Walk or Wheel Wednesdays / Safe Routes to Schools: All of Milton's public elementary and middle schools participate in the Safe Routes program. As a result, the crosswalks at the intersection of Brook Road and Canton Ave are slated to be upgraded. Check with your school for more details. http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/ Blue Hills Cycling Club The BHCC hosts weekly rides both on and off road. Check them out and join them at http://www.bluehillscycling.com NEMBA mountain biking NEMBA hosts mountain bike rides in the Blue Hills each week. For more information, check out the SE Mass NEMBA events page. To Be Determined - Limebike bikeshare Currently in negotiations over contractual terms. Bikeshare is a convenient, affordable bike rental service. Limebike offers dockless bikes that unlike Boston's Blue Bikes (formerly Hubway), don't need to be locked to a docking station. Limebikes have GPS built in to them, so you can look them up on a smartphone app. You find the nearest one on the map, scan it to open the lock, and ride the bike to your destination. When you are done, simply close the rear-wheel lock. The bike sends a signal that your ride is over, and you will be billed $1 per half hour. Please be sure to leave the bike in a public location like the buffer between the sidewalk and the road, safely out of the way to avoid blocking the sidewalk or the road. Limebike will serve Milton and a dozen other greater Boston communities. For more information, please visit our Bike Share page. Visit the Calendar page for more details  A scene from the 2009 Blue Hills Classic bike race  Bike wheel art on the Neponset River Greenway, courtesy of the Milton Art Center  | In Memoriam - Marjorie Jeffries We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Marjorie Jeffries. She was a passionate advocate for outdoors conservation, bicycling, the libraries and many other town matters. Marge co-founded the Milton Bicycle Advisory Committee, started the annual bike sale to raise funds that help support our local bike safety programs, and she established the Farmers Market coupons for people who bike to the market each week. Everyone who bikes in Milton owes her a debt of gratitude. Marjorie's family ask that contributions be made in lieu of flowers to
 Lincoln Street Shared-Use Path - Complete Streets Pedestrian Improvements on Lincoln Street have been made possible by Complete Streets grant funding awarded to the Town by MassDOT. The project consists of installing a double-wide sidewalk along Lincoln Street to provide safe pedestrian and bike access between Thacher Street and Pierce Middle School via Brook Road. 2018 DCR re-paved the Blue Hill Summit Road In October, DCR milled and paved the Blue Hill Summit Road. The project also included drainage improvements, which should allow the road to drain better and be less icy in the winter. The access road is the tallest hill climb in the Greater Boston area, and vehicle traffic is limited, so it is a great place for a challenging hill climb. Just be careful on the descent, as there are many hikers, wildlife, and there may be road debris after storms. DCR increased the shoulder width on Chickatawbut Road In July, DCR striped narrower travel lanes on much of Chickatawbut Road in the Blue Hills Reservation. The shoulders are now wider and more bike-friendly. DCR installed a bike lane on Blue Hills Parkway southbound In June, DCR eliminated a travel lane and replaced it with a bike lane, from Blue Hill Terrace St to Canton Avenue. DCR installed new crosswalks and resurface Brush Hill Rd and Truman Pkwy To address safety concerns DCR installed radar speed signs on Truman Parkway and Brush Hill Road earlier this year. In October, they lowered the speed limit from 40 mph to 35 and 25 mph, and they will installed new crosswalks to provide access between the neighborhood and the Neponset River Greenway. MassDOT to rebuild Granite Ave / Squantum St Intersection MassDOT will rebuild the intersection of Granite Ave and Squantum Street. The new signals will improve turning traffic flow, the new curbs will have shorter, safer crosswalks, and there will be a short section of new bike lanes on Granite Ave. Link: Milton Scene Edge Hill Road Construction Milton DPW re-built Edge Hill Road, including new curb bump-outs to improve visibility at crosswalks, new crossing signals, and new bike lanes!  BIG NEWS! Neponset Greenway trail extension opened May 19, 2017 DCR announced that the Neponset Greenway extension between Central Ave and Blue Hill Ave would open late in the day on May 19. We saw hundreds of people out walking or biking on the trail, enjoying the great views of the river and the trolleys. This trail link finally connects the east and west ends of the trail, so now you can bike off-road all the way from Hyde Park to Dorchester. Spring Neponset Greenway Bike Ride (v1) We hosted the Spring Neponset Greenway Ride on April 29, and enjoyed great weather for our trip from Milton to Castle Island and back! A total of eleven riders made the journey, and we checked out sites along the way. Please note that MassPaths will host a repeat of the ride on May 27th, partly due to a scheduling conflict and partly because we *hope* the new trail extension will be open by then! Neponset River Greenway construction status There are two construction projects along the Neponset River Greenway. You've probably seen that the bikeway crossing at Blue Hill Avenue / Blue Hills Parkway was opened in December. The adjacent project, connecting from Blue Hill Avenue to Central Avenue, is expected to open in probably in April. Work is on hold for the winter. Remaining work includes finishing handrails on bridges and overpasses, and installing a protective shield at the trolley catenary wires. Stay tuned, we expect to have bike rides along the trail this Spring! Construction Season! The Town of Milton DPW, MassDOT and the Department of Conservation and Recreation are working on a variety of local road and trail projects, including:
Neponset Greenway Ride Led by MassPaths and the Neponset River Greenway Council, this bike ride on March 19 traveled from Castle Island in Southie to Readville and pointed out the existing Neponset Greenway trail and ongoing work that will soon connect the separate pieces. Expect to see Port Norfolk Park in Dorchester open in June, the Neponset Greenway between Central Avenue and Blue Hill Avenue to open in October, and work on the Blue Hill Avenue crossing to start this summer! DPW Day Open House / Bike Drive / Used Bike Sale Thanks to all who donated bikes, helmets, scooters and more! Your contributions helped put more than three dozen bikes back into use, and will contribute at least a dozen more to Bikes Not Bombs' mobility programs. The support of the community will help the Bike Committee organize and promote events, sponsor Bike-To-Market discounts at the Milton Farmers Market, and sponsor local bike safety initiatives. Unquity Road and Canton Avenue Water Main Work The Town is installing a water main under parts of Unquity Road and Canton Avenue. Work has already started at Unquity Road near the Ulin Rink. Watch out for work crews in this area. The road surface should be re-paved in October or November. Neponset River Greenway Construction On April 13, DCR presented their plans for construction of the Neponset Greenway between Central Ave and Mattapan Square. Construction will be staged in Mattapan, and some work will be done on the Milton side between the trolley tracks and the river. DCR will not add a direct connection to any Milton neighborhoods, but they will not block the existing Capen Street footpath, either. The work site behind Ryan Playground in Mattapan has already been set up, and equipment and supplies are en route. The project will continue for about 24 months, with the trail opening in late 2016 and final landscaping completed in early 2017. For more information, please view this document from DCR. (PDF format) Click on the image for a detailed view of DCR's construction plans from April 27 to May 8.  Senator Brian Joyce listened to our requests for safety improvements at the Mattapan Square Intersection. This project is the result. It will connect the Neponset trail from Mattapan to Brush Hill Road in Milton, and add some bike lanes. Road crossings are reduced from 7 to 2. We'd like to see a few small tweaks, like bike boxes to get into turn lanes. What other improvements would you like to see? Click on the image to enlarge it:  For more detail, you can download the full file from the Milton DPW: Neponset River Greenway Phase 2 Groundbreaking  DCR, local representatives and advocates participated in the Neponset River Greenway Groundbreaking event on December 22, 2014. When completed, the trail will finally connect from Central Avenue to Mattapan Square. Construction will start in the spring, and take about 18-24 months. Thanks to all our local advocates and representatives for having the vision and dedication to make this project happen! Blue Hills Toys Ride Thanks to SE Mass NEMBA and DCR for hosting the Blue Hills Toys Ride on December 14! It was a fine day for a ride, with different groups riding trails throughout the Blue Hills, and a truckload of toys were collected for needy families. Milton Awarded Bicycle-Friendly Community Designation In November, the League of American Bicyclists announced their most recent Bicycle-Friendly Communities. We are delighted that they selected Milton as a Bronze-level BFC! Milton has made a lot of progress in the past few years, and we're planning even more improvements in the future. 2014 improvements: - Neponset River Greenway construction on Truman Highway - Sharrows on Centre Street - Bike lanes on Central Avenue - Bike-lane-width shoulders and new sidewalk on Granite Avenue - Bike-lane-width shoulders on Unquity Road - Bike lanes on Blue Hills Parkway - Regular bicycle traffic counts on roads and at schools New Bike Lanes Installed on Central Avenue! Thanks to the Milton DPW and their contractors for following our recommendation and adding bike lanes on the newly-re-surfaced Central Avenue in October! We now have an additional 3/4 of a mile of bike lanes, connecting from Pierce Middle School, the Brook Road bike lanes, and the Reedsdale Road sharrows to the Neponset Greenway! Roadwork Notices: Neponset River Greenway Construction (Dorchester) - DCR contractors started rebuilding the permeable surface at the Dorchester salt marsh. Work was scheduled to be completed by mid-November, but a contractor snafu means that the trail will remain unfinished until the spring. The trail will not be blocked off, so it can be used, but the base surface may be difficult to ride on. Officially, an on-road detour is in place from Butler Station to Granite Avenue. Neponset River Greenway Construction (Hyde Park & Milton) - DCR contractors started construction at the southern end of the Greenway in late August. The southbound sidewalk and right lane of Truman Highway from Stop & Shop to the Neponset Valley Parkway (Hyde Park and Milton) will be closed to traffic for the next few months. Construction should be completed by April. Neponset River Greenway Construction (Mattapan and Milton) - DCR informs us that the section of trail between Central Avenue and Mattapan Square has come in over budget. Local representatives are working to find ways to allocate more funds, and DCR is looking at options to reduce costs. They are optimistic that construction will begin early in 2015, to open in summer or fall of 2016. Eliot Street Traffic Study - The Traffic Commission is planning a change in traffic patterns at Eliot Street and Blue Hills Parkway, in part to improve safety along the Neponset Greenway. Changes could go into effect in September. Read more about this at http://02186.mytownmatters.com/?p=38681 Granite Avenue - July 2014 - MassDOT recently resurfaced Granite Avenue from Squantum Street to the Boston line. We asked them to increase the shoulder width and put in safer storm drain grates, and they did, finishing this project in July. Unquity Road - July 2014 - DCR resurfaced and re-striped most of Unquity Road along with a little of Chickatawbut RD and Hillside St in April and May. Thanks to DCR for increasing the width of the shoulders, adding two miles of bike-friendly riding in the Blue Hills! There are still some narrow sections on Hillside St (left side of photo) but the new shoulders (right side of photo) now make up the majority of Milton's Blue Hills routes.  Blue Hills Parkway - May, 2014 - DCR resurfaced and re-striped the Parkway, northbound from Canton Ave to Brook Road (1.3 miles) and southbound from Brook Road to Blue Hills Terrace Street (0.5 mile) AND ADDED BIKE LANES!  Granite Avenue at Squantum Street - Repaving completed (April) Senate Passes Final Transportation Bond Bill – Milton receives $24.2 million in authorizations - April 18, 2014 Thanks to Senator Brian Joyce and Rep. Walter Timilty for including funding for local road improvements! Over the next five years, this funding will support projects to improve Granite Avenue, Blue Hills Parkway and Adams Street for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. Milton Bike Lane and Trail Snow Reports Also see MassPaths.net for regional snow reports Information: The Town of Milton is preparing a Master Plan. For more information about the Bicycle Advisory Committee's master plan recommendations, click here. Click here for information about Milton's Safe Routes to School program. Click here to learn more about our campaign to make the intersection of Neponset Valley Parkway / Brush Hill Road / Milton Street safer. Click here to visit the BikeMilton page about the Neponset River Greenway extension between Central Avenue and Mattapan Square. Potholes? Report them to the Town Department of Public Works: |