3 ms·

I lived in Boston/Cambridge about eight years ago and found it to be the most bicyclist-unfriendly city I had ever lived in (there are certainly worse, I just h

I lived in Boston/Cambridge about eight years ago and found it to be the most bicyclist-unfriendly city I had ever lived in (there are certainly worse, I just haven’t had that misfortune). I’ve been honked at by obnoxious drivers before, but only in Boston would drivers routinely slow down to call me a “f----ing f-gg--t” for being on the road. NYC drivers might be jerks, but I never got the impression that they were actively malevolent. Brian McGrory, editor of the Boston Globe, penned this great little op-ed, “Make Boston Bicycle-Free” back in 2011. I wonder how he feels about this win for the f-gg--ts in his city. http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/15/make_boston_bicycle_free/ http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/...

biswaroop 8y ago
It's gotten far better. As a grad student who races for MIT and trains on the roads around Boston's suburbs, I've found most drivers to be surprisingly patient with us cyclists. There's the fair fraction of drivers who turn without signaling, but the only anger I've gotten from drivers is when I've run a red light (deserved it). The suburbs to the west are packed with road cyclists, and good weather weekends mean the roads are full of cyclists. The protected bike lanes have helped road commuters, and prevent angry interactions. The stereotype of Boston drivers being extraordinarily unfriendly to cyclists is outdated by now.
- dnadler 8y ago
  I'll second this. I commute to downtown via the southwest corridor bike path, and most of the drivers are pretty patient and give me enough space once I get on to the roads. The worst parts of the commute are usually the torn up roads by mass Ave.
- Eric_WVGG 8y ago
  Good to hear. I dropped by Boston last summer and was mildly shocked by how friendly everyone seemed, was wondering if I was just interacting with tourists or if they introduced prozac to the water supply.

biswaroop 8y ago

It's gotten far better. As a grad student who races for MIT and trains on the roads around Boston's suburbs, I've found most drivers to be surprisingly patient with us cyclists. There's the fair fraction of drivers who turn without signaling, but the only anger I've gotten from drivers is when I've run a red light (deserved it). The suburbs to the west are packed with road cyclists, and good weather weekends mean the roads are full of cyclists. The protected bike lanes have helped road commuters, and prevent angry interactions. The stereotype of Boston drivers being extraordinarily unfriendly to cyclists is outdated by now.

dnadler 8y ago
I'll second this. I commute to downtown via the southwest corridor bike path, and most of the drivers are pretty patient and give me enough space once I get on to the roads. The worst parts of the commute are usually the torn up roads by mass Ave.
Eric_WVGG 8y ago
Good to hear. I dropped by Boston last summer and was mildly shocked by how friendly everyone seemed, was wondering if I was just interacting with tourists or if they introduced prozac to the water supply.