The Newton Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force is an independent citizen activist group that works with the city and local organizations to secure safe, practical and convenient bicycle and pedestrian access in Newton, MA.
We invite you to get involved and attend our monthly meetings on the fourth Tuesday of
the month from 7:45pm-10pm in the cafeteria on the lower level of Newton City Hall. The next meeting will be on June 26. Meeting agendas are posted a few days before each meeting. The next Bike Friday commuter ride to Boston this year will be on Friday, June 15.
Please join our email list or email newtonbikeped@gmail.com to learn more and get involved.
Stay informed effortlessly when new announcements are posted here by subscribing to email notifications. Simply click the Sign In link on the bottom left of any of these pages. Then, on the Announcements page, click the "Other Actions" button and then select "Subscribe to page changes".Our biggest project right now is the development of the Upper Falls Greenway, converting an inactive railroad line into a walking and biking trail. There's a Friends of the Greenway group with a website and Facebook page, and the city of Newton has established a working group to coordinate legal, planning, construction, maintenance, and ongoing issues. Sign up on the group's email list to stay informed and even get involved. We coordinated another cleanup of the railroad right of way this year in conjunction with NewtonSERVES day on Sunday, April 29. Approximately 70 volunteers turned out and made the entire trail walkable from Easy St. (near National Lumber) to the Charles River, hacking away the jungle and bagging lots of trash.
We've made some great progress lately -- check out the striping and parking changes on Beacon St., Walnut St., and Commonwealth Ave. The citywide sidewalk snow clearing ordinance just passed, thanks in part to concerted efforts by task force members. There are numerous new bike racks all around the city. And the Newton Lower Falls bridge over the Charles River is now usable. We also advocated for changes to the city's laws about bicycles on sidewalks outside of business districts, enabling schoolchildren to safely bike to school.
Our monthly Bike Friday commuter convoys from Newton to Boston continue through the summer. Check the Announcements for further details.