The Globe took an interesting angle on their coverage of the most recent design for the BU bridge:

"BU bridge plans could spur road rage"

Subtitle: "Some fear closing lane will choke traffic"

Really?  Hold on.  When I bike to campus I use the BU Bridge to cross the Charles, often during the morning or evening rush hour.  How often is traffic backed up just to get on the bridge?  Almost all the time, especially from Comm Ave.  And how many times have I had to contest with slow moving, bumper to bumper traffic on the bridge?  Zero.  Zero times.  Even with two lanes closed for construction, traffic absolutely flies over that thing.  Which is really what makes it frightening experience from a cyclist's perspective -- you're taking up a lane with fast moving trucks bearing down on your rear wheel.

And they're worried about the threat of road rage if they don't designate even more bridge lanes to motorists than they do during construction?  As DCR commish Sullivan says, "It's really the entrance points that are the constraining points that are keeping traffic from flowing." If it's auto commute time you're worried about, fix those and your cars and trucks will move just fine.  In the meantime, it would be nice if you gave the rest of us a little room to breathe.

Welcome back!  We hope your break was full of friends, family, relaxation, and as many instances of excessive eating as you could have possibly hoped for.  Mine certainly was.  

But now it's back to the grind.  To start this semester off, I'll briefly mention some recent stories in the Globe that you may have missed.  The first centers around a report by the Harvard Institute of Economic Research suggesting that attempts at stimulating local economies won't get very far without making the place a desirable place to live in (and in fact, livability often leads to economic stimulus).  The report actually dates back to 2000 (it's here, if you feel like reading through it), but I'm sure most of us will find that its findings are no less relevant now than they were nine years ago.

The second article presents an interesting perspective on how cities might affect us psychologically.  The gist is that cities slowly drive us nuts, and we have to mitigate their harmful effects on our psyches by regularly exposing ourselves to"nature" (loosely defined).  Not terribly groundbreaking on its face, but there is some interesting discussion regarding how we respond differently to different natural features.

The third piece notes that Gov. Patrick signed into law a Bicyclists' Bill of Rights, which the state's bicycle lobby has pushed for years.  Kudos to all involved.