There will be many more places to park your bicycle in Somerville this spring. The city should see 10 corrals, which each hold 14 bikes, installed at destinations by April 1, according to transportation planner Sarah Spicer.  At the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee's March 20 meeting, Spicer, who serves as a liasion between the committee and the city's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, told members that it was likely that corrals would be installed here:  Broadway, in East Somerville, in front of Mudflat Studio Winter Hill, near Winter Hill Bakery Bow Street Near …

Update, Feb. 28, 1:33 p.m.: Hubway will come in the spring, but may not arrive for March, according to Senior Transportation Planner Sarah Spicer. "The Hubway system will not launch in March," said Spicer. "Our goal has consistently been spring; now we are looking at late spring as we finalize the regional agreements that are enabling the system to takeshape. We will know a more specific date after these agreements are finalizedin the coming week or two."   The Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee met last Tuesday at City Hall. Here are some highlights from their discussions:  On Hubway: The…

If you left your bicycle outside this weekend, susceptible to damage from snow, dirt and ice-melting salts, there are a few things you should do to get it back into good working order, according to local experts.  Clean it, and keep it clean. Tyler Oulton, who owns Ball Square's Paramount Bicycle shop, writes on his website that cleaning a bicycle is the most important part of winter maintenance. Taking mild soap and a sponge to the frame will not only remove dirt, he says, but also get you to check for damage or deterioration. He recommends looking for wear or rust on the break pads, correct…

With temperatures in the 20s, you might have given up bicycling for the winter. But don't just lock your bicycle to a parking sign or rack in Union Square and expect to see it there come spring or even the next warm day.  Somerville doesn't have a policy on the books for removing bicycles, said city spokeswoman Jackie Rossetti. But if someone calls 311 to report one that's been supposedly abandoned or illegally parked, the Department of Public Works will monitor the bike for two weeks, she said, before taking it away to its repair garage. If no one claims it after about six months, the …

As reported last week, a member of the Somerville Bicycle Committee has been thinking up routes other than Beacon Street that cyclists could take to travel between popular destinations. Beacon Street, with its uneven pavement, isn't the safest route, the committee has said, though it's the most used one in the city. Getting from Porter Square to Inman Square and back  For travel from Porter Square to Inman Square, Brian Postlewaite came up with a route parallel to Beacon Street, which has roads, he said, that are in better condition. The route takes riders down Elm Street, Somerville Avenue, …

With travel along Beacon Street becoming progessively worse, members of the Somerville Bicycle Committee have suggested that the city post signs directing cyclists toward alternative routes to popular destinations like Porter Square.  Member Brian Postlewaite said during the December meeting that he would develop a map with possible routes that he would present to the rest of the committee.  While bicycling on Beacon Street is unlikely to get much better before 2013, there should be several new programs and facilities created for cyclists this year.  The Hubway bike share program should …

  During the last year, the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee, city officials, cycling enthusiasts and local organizations have established and upgraded programs and infrastructure that have bettered bicycling in the city. They've also focused on getting rocky roads fixed and removing other obstacles to riding safely.  Here are 10 of the biggest stories on bicycling from 2011: 1. The League of American Bicyclists names Somerville a bicycle friendly community. 2. The city paints 11 miles of new bicycle lanes and sharrows as part of its "11 in 2011" campaign.  3. Hubway, Boston's bike share…

  New signs will soon greet pedestrians, cyclists and drivers as they enter Somerville to let them know that the city is a "bicycle friendly community." The city has received two signs inscribed with that message from the League of American Bicyclists, which awarded Somerville the distinction earlier this year for its expansion of bike paths, campaigns to promote cycling and other initiatives.  The committee decided that the signs should be placed at entrances into the city with high levels of traffic so that as many people as possible could see them. Members suggested that one go on Broadway…

After meeting with officials from several departments in City Hall, members of the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee said they were disappointed that the city couldn’t carry out some of the proposals they had put forward for consideration. Alex Epstein and Charlie Denison represented the committee at the November 4 meeting, which is held yearly so that the committee can discuss their ideas for bicycle infrastructure and programs with the people who would approve and put them into place.    The city officials who attended the meeting were Hayes Morrison, the director of the Department of …

The city has made some exploratory suggestions for having bicycle markings painted on several Somerville streets in 2012, said a planner from the Somerville Transportation and Infrastructur Division at a November meeting with the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee. Sarah Spicer said that the Department of Traffic and Parking has suggested striping the following streets: Bow Street, between Somerville Avenue The north side of Summer Street (westbound) Broadway, from Medford Street to Central Street  Spicer said that in the spring, the city plans to have lanes painted along Union Square's …

The thought of bicycling through the winter might seem impossible, but members of the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee, many of whom bicycle year-round, said it’s not that difficult or uncomfortable, as long as you’re prepared.  Read their tips for maneuvering in frigid weather and down icy roads and keeping your bicycle in good riding condition.  Somerville Patch: What do you wear when bicycling in the cold, sleet and snow? Brian Postlewaite: I wear cycling in the winter what I wear walking in the winter: a heavy wool coat, winter boots, thick gloves and helmet liner (not cycling I …

The city plans to install seven more bicycle corrals this spring through a grant from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, according to Sarah Spicer, a representative from the city's department of transportation and infrastructure.  The announcement elicited a collective "wow" from the members of the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee, who met Nov. 15 at City Hall and who regularly encourage city officials to expand bicycle infrastructure.   The Department of Public Works recently installed two bicycle corrals, one of which takes up a parking space in front of Davis Square's Diesel …

If you’ve been in Union Square lately, you might have noticed a new pop of color on the sidewalk adjacent to Creative Union Gallery’s vibrantly decorated storefront. Steps from the bicycle lane on Somerville Avenue stands a switch box covered in pastel and black-and-white bicycles, with the message: “Bike more, drive less.” Somerville artist Doug Moore painted the switch box under the aegis of the Somerville Arts Council, who launched the Switchbox Project in 1997 to encourage local artists to take their talent to the streets by painting the rectangular, gray boxes on the city’s sidewalks …

The Somerville Bicycle Committee will continue to urge the city to smooth the uneven pavement on Beacon Street, according to minutes from the Oct. 18 meeting.  The committee has sent a letter to the mayor, the Department of Public Works and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure asking officials to repair the road, which is the one bicyclists use most in the city. In the letter, the committee suggested that the city lay new pavement over the sections of the street that are in the worst condition, and it calculated that filling the potholes and flattening the patched ones would …

The 2011 Tour de Somerville, with the theme, "Arts in the 'Ville," took cyclists past 68 of the city's art galleries and studios, stopping at several, including Fringe and Artisan's Asylum. If you missed the Oct. 15 event, you can take your own tour with maps provided by the Somerville Bicycle Committee.  Click here for a map of the tour, minus the stops in Davis and Union squares. Then click here for the stops in those parts of town. To get to and learn about each place, follow this guide, which Ron Newman, a member of the Bicycle Committee, created.  Did you take photos of video at Tour de …

Until earlier this month, Somerville residents who wanted to register their bicycles with the city’s police department had to go to the Union Square station or call or e-mail the officer in charge of the free service.  No longer. A few months ago, the Somerville Bicycle Committee suggested that the city create a page on its website that would allow residents to quickly register online, and the city did just that.   Residents can click here to register their bicycles. You must provide your name, address, phone number, birthdate, the bicycle's make and model, serial number and distinctive …

When the Somerville Bicycle Committee meets in November with city officials, members plan to push for cycle tracks, a plan for bicycle programs and a Complete Streets policy, according to conversations at the committee's Sept. 20 meeting. In the past, the committee has proposed that the city install cycle tracks along Beacon Street. Cycle tracks, popular in many European cities, would create a physical barrier between moving vehicles and bike lanes. Such a barrier could be a curb or even a row of parked cars.  As for the creation of a plan for bicycle programs, committee member Alan Moore …

As Somerville was setting up for Fluff Fest on Saturday, cyclists met in Union Square to embark on a group ride toward Boston's North End neighborhood, where they would join other environmentalists from the region at the Moving Planet rally to oppose climate change.  Some 40 cyclists, many of whom were Tufts University students, made up the convoy, which was led by Maureen Barillaro, of Somerville Climate Action (SCA).  Before taking off from Union Square, Barillaro urged the group to "lead the fight against fossil fuels."  SCA has taken up the 350 Challenge, a global movement that in …

To the delight of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike), Congress has agreed to continue funding bicycling and pedestrian programs through March 2012, according to a Sept. 16 post on the group’s blog. Last week, the MassBike, which has a Metro Boston chapter, drew attention to the possibility that states could run out of federal funding for bicycle programs if the Senate failed to quickly and unanimously pass a major transportation bill that was set to expire Sept. 30. Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn had threatened to stall a vote on the bill, according to NPR, because he believed the part …

A new used-bicycle shop opened in Davis Square in late August, but word has already spread quickly about Bike Boom, a small shop tucked away in an alley at 420 Highland Ave. Last Sunday, two college students from Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood discovered the shop, and each bought road bikes for $275.  The store also stocks vintage and modern three-speed and mountain bicycles. In addition, owner Roy Ornath and his employee Mike Fink tune up and repair bikes, as well as sell parts and gear.  Ornath, 31, used to race long-bikes as a child growing up in Israel. Three years ago he moved to …