Flynn Avenue is an ideal east/west connector in the South End and was identified in planBTV Walk/Bike as a location for improved cycling routes. Over the past few years, the Department of Public Works has been working to make Flynn Ave safer for cyclists.
2019—Following new pavement and sidewalk work, Flynn Ave will be gaining new bike lanes. These bike lanes will bridge Oakledge Park with Pine Street and Shelburne Street, allow for safer trips to City Market, and make biking a more viable option for students commuting to school. The bike lanes between Briggs Street and Pine Street will continue this safer connection in both directions of the park. Between Pine Street and Shelburne Street there will be a bike lane in the east-bound direction for those traveling uphill towards Shelburne Street. There will be shared lane markings in the west-bound direction between Pine and Shelburne Street.
2017—Advisory lanes were added to Flynn Avenue to increase access to Oakledge Park. For several years the Department of Public Works and the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront have worked with Oakledge Park neighbors regarding parking impacts from visitors to Oakledge Park. Last year, parking was restricted on Flynn Avenue leading into the park and kiosks that allow hourly parking were added to Oakledge Park, which provides more parking options within the park itself. Without parking on Flynn Avenue, it will be easier and safer to walk from the park without vehicles unloading park supplies on the sidewalk, it will provide space for people to bicycle to and from the park, and it will allow more space for vehicles to drive on Flynn Avenue without feeling constrained by sharing the road with bicycles, parked cars, people unloading park supplies into the street, and other neighborhood traffic. In place of the on-street parking, advisory lanes can be added to formalize the options for bicycling into the park and to calm traffic as drivers share the wide center lane.
See below for some before and after photos of Flynn Avenue Advisory Bike Lanes:
