Description

The North Bank bicycle and pedestrian bridge is not being cleared by the Department of Conservation and Recreation after winter snow storms. I believe the DCR considers the bridge a recreational amenity rather than an important commuter route. This is simply not the case.

I want to report that many people, including myself, use the bridge as a commuter link between Cambridge and Charlestown. It is a much better bicycle link than the adjacent Gilmore Bridge (whose sidewalk is also not being properly cleared and de-iced... see SCF report on this bridge as well).

I don't understand why the DCR thinks the bike/ped bridge is unworthy of its resources. In fact, it's one of the most important "parks" in the Boston area, since potentially hundreds of commuters rely on it daily. I am one of dozens upon dozens, if not hundreds, of Ph.D.s who work at a huge Mass General research campus in Charlestown and live in Cambridge. I'd like to think that our commute is worth of a modest public expenditure to clear the bridge. If anything, the DCR should be going out of its way to encourage bicycle commutation, even in the winter, as an alternative to driving.

Why invest millions of public dollars in a healthy commuter link and then let it sit unused for several months each year rather than spend a modest amount clearing it of snow? That is a very poor use of public resources.