2-wheelers can roar to Route 128

By Christina Pazzanese, Globe Correspondent  |  September 19, 2004

Bikers who enjoy riding along the Charles River will soon be able to cycle in a single, continuous route from Route 128 to the Museum of Science without risking life and limb in traffic.

By November, the Department of Conservation and Recreation expects to open new riverbank paths for cyclists and pedestrians from Auburndale to Watertown Square as part of a 15-year, $9 million project. The nearly 6 miles of new paths, which pass through previously inaccessible riverbank sections of the Charles, will link with existing bike paths in Boston, Cambridge, and Brighton for the first time.

''It's probably the single most significant thing that's been done for the river since 1950," said Robert Zimmerman, executive director of the Charles River Watershed Association. ''I can't tell you how remarkable it is this is being done."

Paths from Bridge Street in Newton to Watertown Square have been very popular since they first opened in 1998.

It is ''a phenomenal success, everyone uses it," said Peter Brooks of the Watertown Bicycle Committee. The committee is ''very happy about the DCR and [that] they are actually doing this work."

Brooks added he'd still like to see the state pay more attention to the Dr. Paul Dudley White bike path, a popular commuter route for cyclists. Built in the 1950s, the 17-mile path along the river from Watertown to Boston ''badly needs renovation," said Brooks, citing broken pavement, intrusive tree roots, and a lack of traffic signals at road crossings.

''You might as well ride on the road, and people do," said Brooks.

Unlike the Dudley White path, the new 9-foot-wide paths are made from an organic, soft surface that looks like sandy dirt, but is actually a sturdy, concrete compound that resists washouts and puddling. Several path sections that cross wetlands feature hand-made wooden boardwalks. The entire stretch features marked crosswalks and is completely handicapped-accessible.

Mark Jacobson, who runs Charles River Canoe and Kayak in Newton, said many of his customers are excited about the paths and he expects the improved access to the riverbanks will help not only his business, but shift public perception of the Charles.

''For so many years, people turned their backs on the river and put parking lots and chain-link fences on it, and now, people are rediscovering what was here a hundred years ago," said Jacobson, whose firm also operates a boathouse in Allston. ''There were so many boats here. It was a huge recreational resource. People are really just rediscovering the area."