BICYCLING AND WALKING

Bicycling and walking provide an alternative to motorized roadway travel, especially when they can be used in conjunction with transit, and thus they are instrumental in reducing motorized, single-occupancy-vehicle travel and improving air quality.

This section highlights how the region’s transportation infrastructure accommodates the bicycle and pedestrian modes.

Bicycling and Walking to Work
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, over 87,000 residents of the Boston metropolitan area walked to work, constituting just under a six percent mode share for all commuters in this area. The mode share of walking as the primary means of traveling to work decreased between 1990 and 2000 for commuters residing in the Boston metropolitan area, while commuting by bicycle increased slightly according to census journey-to-work figures.

From 1990 to 2000, the number of Boston area residents who reported bicycling as their main means of traveling to work increased by over 1,000, to 9,100 bicycling commuters. This figure does not include those who used a bicycle for a portion of their commute trip, for example those who bicycled to a rail station where they transferred modes from bicycling to transit.

Transit Station Access
Based on the 2000 census figures, approximately 54 percent of the population within the Boston MPO region lives within walking distance of MBTA transit service. This statistic reinforces the importance of promoting public transit use, particularly by providing a safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists in the areas served by transit.

Walking is the mode used for approximately half of all trips to MBTA rapid transit stations: it is the mode chosen for 56 percent of trips to the Red Line, 43 percent of trips to the Blue Line, 47 percent of trips to the Orange Line, 70 percent of trips to the Green Line D branch, and over 90 percent of trips to the other Green Line branches. Therefore, providing and maintaining convenient, pleasant, and safe access to transit stations is important to enhance the experience of existing pedestrians as well as promote the use of public transit. Facilitating pedestrian access includes providing sidewalks, sufficient lighting, properly placed and designed wheelchair ramps, and pedestrian street crossings.

CTPS staff performed an inventory of pedestrian crosswalks and bicycle rack availability and use at transit stations.

For a discussion of pedestrian crosswalks at transit stations, click here.

For the results of the bicycle rack inventory (and use) at transit stations, click here.

For a description of improvements to bicyclist and pedestrian access to six MBTA stations, please click here to visit a recent report.