Letter: Counter falsehoods about Route 30 path

It’s time to counter the spate of falsehoods about the Route 30 Shared Use Path (SUP).

As a member of the Traffic & Sidewalk Committee in 2024 when Town Meeting approved the Route 30 Project, I know the design was very similar to the 75% design to be voted on this year. There was no attempt to hide MassDOT’s change from the sidewalk to a SUP. Diagrams were presented including an alternative sidewalk design with buffered bicycle lanes on Route 30 that separated cars from bicycles. This was rejected because it would have been wider than the SUP and would have removed more trees from both sides of the road. 

Most of the 2024 design changes were made in response to multiple site-specific public meetings. DPW asked MWRA if the SUP could be moved to the Hultman aqueduct. DPW asked MassDOT/Mass Pike if the SUP could be moved closer to the Mass Pike to maintain the width of the buffer at the “cut.” The answer was a resounding no to both.

Residents begged us to “T up” the Oak/Route 30 intersection. Cars turning onto Oak will encounter right angles, not the existing triangular mishmash of lanes. Westbound traffic turning onto Oak will have a left turn lane, improving traffic flow.

The construction at Routes 95 and 30 specifies protected bike lanes that connect into Newton along the carriage lane to Boston College. Ride the SUP with your family along the Charles River to feed the ducks by Norumbega. This is not a road that goes nowhere, as some claim. It will be an important thoroughfare.

In 2024, many high school students stated they needed this shared use path to ride to school. Abutters contesting this path never mention its value in students’ lifestyle, safety, and independence.

Linda Nelson, Livermore Lane