Due to water main work, the striping through intersections of the Commonwealth Avenue Carriage Road and Manet Road, and the Carriage Road and Mt. Alvernia could not be done. We are pleased that the water main work has been complete and DPW has completed the required green paint for the eastbound bike lanes.
Legally, this is the eastern terminus of the Two-Way for Bicycles.
The two-way for bicycles do not legally extend east past Mt. Alvernia. Bicyclists are asked to take the footpath to Commonwealth Avenue and proceed east from there.
We are working on extending the two-way past Mt. Alvernia to Boston and Boston College.
The legendary course began in Hopkinton, MA and ended 26 miles later on Boylston Street in Boston, MA but the legendary HEARTBREAK HILL is in the heart of the City of Newton! Thousands of Newtoners came out to Commonwealth Avenue to cheer on the runners. Come see some images from the 2025 and the 2024 marathons as the runners made their way along miles 16 to 21, some of the most difficult of the entire 26-mile route of the famed Boston marathon.
Emergency Vehicle? NO Parking by the Berm!
The Beauty of Bristol Mini-Park (between Chestnut and Bristol)
2025’s Lead Men (Approaching Cedar St)
Talkin’ about Our Generation
Some repose, exactly as Frederick Law Olmstead designed it!
There are several landmark projects occurring in the City of Newton. One is called the “Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway Redesign” project. It is not to be confused with the “Commonwealth Avenue Two-way for Bicycles.” Information about the “Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway Redesign” can be found : here: Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway Redesign. It’s fully funded through MassDOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, and construction is supposed to begin in 2023.
TC112-50 Passes Traffic Council
TC112-50, which requested action to allow legal two-way bicycle travel on the Commonwealth Avenue Carriage Lane between Woodbine Street and Mt. Alvernia Road, passed last night, Thursday March 17, 2020. Support among the five members of Traffic Council was unanimous. The mandatory 20-day appeal period, ending April 6, came and went with no appeals. This project is also known as Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway – 2-way Bike Travel.
The measure was co-docketed by Councilors Andreae Downs, Jake Auchincloss, Alicia Bowman, Andrea Kelley, Mark Laredo, Marty Markiewitz, Emily Norton, Pam Wright, Vicky Danberg, Josh Krintzman, Maria Scibelli Greenberg, and Rick Lipof.
Impact of This Historic Vote
This historic vote will have far-reaching impact. It will positively impact bicycle and pedestrian safety. It will help Newton reach its Climate Action goals. It will:
help fulfill Frederick Law Olmstead’s goal of a linear park along Commonwealth Avenue “to which people may easily go when the day’s work is done, and where they may stroll for an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the bustle and jar of the streets where they shall, in effect, find the city put far away.. “;
support the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Task Force’s mission of providing safe routes for school children to get to and from school;
make life more pleasant for all who walk, run, or bicycle along the Carriage Road, whether eastbound or westbound;
help fulfill the Carriage Road’s potential as the unique resource that it is.
The five voting members of Traffic Council were Newton Transportation Coordinator David Koses; City Councilor Alicia Bowman; representing the Police Dept, Sgt. Wade; citizen representative Jeremy Freudberg; and from Newton’s Dept. of Public Works, Transportation Engineer Isaac Prizant.
Newton residents and community leaders Scott Oran, James Purdy from the Newton Citizens’ Commission on Energy, Jenn Martin from SRTS, and Jerry Reilly from Village14 and Newton Nomadic Theater all spoke eloquently to support passage of this motion. I am grateful to each.
With the 20-day appeal period now in the past, with no appeals, the City will begin making the street signs, such as the smaller STOP signs for the bicyclists heading east.
Thanks go out to all who played a part in this momentous vote.
Washington Street (Route 16) is heavily used by light and heavy vehicles, especially because the exit and entrance to the Mass Pike is not far away. As a result, the area where where Commonwealth Avenue crosses it in Newton creates unique dangers to all, particularly to bicyclists traveling west or east.
But this area has been especially notable: At Oldham Road, the Carriage Road is taken over by westbound Commonwealth Avenue traffic, so those lanes of traffic shift right (or north) to the Carriage Lane. For a distance, all lanes of Commonwealth Avenue north of the berm now are completely devoted to traffic heading east. Soon, one lane becomes devoted to right-turn only traffic, one straight ahead, and one left-turn only.
On many levels, the situation presents many dangers to bicyclists who, until now, have enjoyed a safe and “local traffic only” protected lane. Children, runners, anybody who has been enjoying the Carriage Lane is now fighting a for space with motor vehicles and trucks.
Here is a photo of this area, before the striping:
The view from vehicles on the Commonwealth Avenue Carriage Lane heading westbound, before they cross Washington St in Newton
The situation is not rectified until Arapahoe, when motor vehicles are directed back onto Commonwealth Avenue, and where a barrier was erected to keep motor vehicles out of this portion of the Carriage Lane. Bicycles could get through the barriers, but the space between them was narrow so cyclists would have to dismount, walk through the barriers, then continue on. Additionally, there was no signage giving them permission to continue along the Carriage Lane. In winter, the opening might be entirely blocked by snow.
Many bicyclists, while passing through this intersection, were being cut off on their left by cars and trucks. Why? In 20XX, I realized that there was a big shift in travel to the right, as all westbound vehicles tried to shift to the right, and this made crossing this very large intersection exceedingly dangerous for bicyclists.
In the summer of 2018 I realized that bicyclists needed striping through this entire intersection. I contacted the Director of Transportation Planning Nicole Freedman, who gave this her attention: She created a striping plan, and a bike box. Next, Mayor Fuller’s office set up a meeting at the site between me, Director of Transportation Planning Nicole Freeman, City Engineer Lou Taverna, Councilor Downs, Director of Transportation Operations Jason Sobel. The result of that on-site meeting produced many solutions to the danger caused by the lane shift, and many ideas for a safer future.
See the results of our discussion below:
A clearly striped bike lane keeping those faster cyclists who want to ride on Commonwealth Avenue safetly separated from motor vehicles. Greater separation between the two barriers are Arapahoe. “No Motor Vehicles” signage on the barriers, which allows bicyclists to continue separated from heavy vehicular traffic.
