Boston announces plans for 10 new miles of bike lanes

The city plans to start construction on a new stretch of bike lanes along Boylston Street through the Back Bay.

In the coming weeks, Boston will begin construction on a Boylston Street bike lane as part of a plan to add 10 new miles of bike lanes over the next year.

The Boylston Street project will add a one-way separated bike lane on Boylston Street from Massachusetts Avenue to Arlington Street, according to the city. The project will also include the construction of a bus lane from Ring Road to Arlington Street.

“Today, people biking on Boylston Street contend with a busy street lacking a dedicated bike lane. There is also frequent double parking and commercial loading. As a result, several blocks of Boylston Street are high-crash corridors for bicyclists,” city officials said on the project’s website.

The new Back Bay bike lane is part of the city’s plan to transform Boston’s streets to better serve and protect pedestrians and cyclists. Officials say the goal is to expand Boston’s bike network so that half of the city’s residents will be within a three-minute walk from “a safe and connected bike route.”

On Friday, the city marked National Bike to Work Day by welcoming hundreds of Boston-area cyclists to City Hall Plaza for a free breakfast and expo.

When speaking to WCVB, Boston’s Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge addressed concerns over business and resident frustration with bike lanes and highlighted cyclist safety as a high priority.

“Sometimes we lose a parking space or two, or we have to make some changes to the street,” Franklin-Hodge said. “Ultimately, we’re always doing it thoughtfully, and we’re always doing it with the intention of trying to make a street that works well for everyone.”

The city said it will notify abutters before construction work begins on Boylston Street. After the bike and bus lanes are finished, crews will rebuild the sidewalk on the north side of the street, between Dartmouth and Clarendon streets.