The bike path would cut a swath through a string of urban neighborhoods, bend around downtown Boston s waterfront, then connect with the Charles River. The trail would cross the river and continue through Cambridge and Somerville, before veering west and on to Bedford 20 miles away from downtown Boston. Such a bike ride is not possible now, without travelling for long stretches in city traffic, but bicycle lovers and fans of alternative forms of transportation say it could happen some day. Several new bike routes are set to be constructed in Boston, Cambridge and surrounding cities and suburbs, as bicycle advocates continue to press for the creation of a network of unbroken bike paths through the cities, unfettered by auto traffic. The reasons for creating such a network are obvious, say proponents.
Bike paths are a boon for the local economy, say the boards of tourism.
Environmentalists envision thousands of cyclists per day coming into the cities for work, and then heading out again without leaving a trace of carbon monoxide on the skyline. And even within the cycling community, there is disagreement about whether building bike trails is the right thing to do. But the average person in Boston would never ride a bike into downtown because of a hostile environment. We need to encourage bicycling, and to make it be perceived as safe. The South Bay Harbor Trail, a 3.5-miles path scheduled to be built in stages over the next several years, will run from the Ruggles MBTA Station in Roxbury to Fan Pier in South Boston, linking Roxbury, the South End, South Boston, Fort Point and Chinatown.