Massachusetts Comprehensive Statewide Bicycle Facilities Map

It has taken Massbike and other cycling advocates years to get to the point that they are at now. This is a big step in the right direction for better bicycling in Massachusetts and I am very proud of the hard work put in by Massbike and it's board of directors. I just received this email from the Commonwealth and it made my Monday a little brighter!

Text from the email:

"In recognition of Bike Week, the Massachusetts Bicycle Plan Update Project Team has completed development of an inventory and map of known existing and proposed bicycle facilities in the state.

The map identifies off-road shared use paths as well as on-road bicycle lanes and bicycle routes.

Off-road facilities include paved paths as well as unpaved paths. Unpaved paths are categorized as either existing (improved with a stabilized surface), or unimproved (with a surface currently useable only by mountain bikes or hikers).

On-road facilities include striped bicycle lanes as well as local and long distance bicycle routes. Most of the local routes shown on the map have been designated by the municipality in which they are located. Some represent short links that connect trail sections. Long distance routes include the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway from Boston to Provincetown and Falmouth, Adventure Cycling’s Atlantic Coast Route, and the East Coast Greenway.

Map Features
The facilities map was created in GIS and formatted for download in PDF format. The map is formatted with selectable layers, which enables you to turn the layers on and off. For example, you can display only existing facilities, or only off-road facilities. When you print the map, it shows only the layers that you have selected. Note that the map is formatted at 50" x 36", so it is best viewed by using the zoom feature in Acrobat. To view and select layers, click on the layer tab or icon on the left side of the screen.

You can download the map from our project website [...] directly under "What’s New" at MassBikePlan.

Note that the map size is 11MB and will take a few minutes to download.

In about a week, we plan to provide the first draft map of the proposed routes and links that comprise a planned network. The bicycle network will eventually connect and serve major population centers, transit stations, activity centers, and tourist locations."

Cheers!
-Nadine