Is West Roxbury Lacking in Cyclists?

Our trying winter stretched longer than most would have liked, but the Little League parade has come and gone, the days are getting longer, and flowers are starting to pop out across the city.

Believe it or not, spring has arrived, and with it comes Boston's massive number of bicyclists, taking once more to the road.

But, despite the fact that in less than five years, Boston has gone from being considered one of America's worst biking cities to one of its best - the city rolled out an astonishing 20 miles of bike lanes in 2010, and has rolled out 35 in the last three years - West Roxbury still seems to be lacking as a serious cycling community.

"[The neighborhood] is not very well designed for it," said Adrian "Adi" Jojatu, co-owner of on the VFW Parkway. "It's pretty crowded, there's lots of traffic, it's not the best neighborhood to bike in."

Jojatu's words are strong, but an even greater indicator of West Roxbury's low volume of cyclists may be the fact that for ten years he's been the only bike shop in the neighborhood, and before he and his father opened shop, the neighborhood was without one at all. (A second shop - the Busted Knuckle Bike Shop - will be opening on Centre Street this summer.)

"There's so much extra parking, but there's hardly any bike lanes," Jojatu added. "There's very little for bikers."

Jojatu suggested, however, that in terms of location, West Roxbury is an ideal location for bike commuters. It's right next door to Newton and Brookline, and the rest of Boston - so strapped for parking - is, of course, also easily accessible by bike.

The big question about cycling in West Roxbury is similar to that of the chicken and the egg. Yes, the neighborhood is at least somewhat lacking in an infrastructure that fosters to cyclists. But in a neighborhood with a higher elderly rate and strong family culture, the question is whether a cycling infrastructure would breed a cycling culture, or if the neighborhood culture would not foster cycling.

Greg Hum, the co-founder of Boston University Bikes who runs a cycling blog - said that a cycling culture cannot develop without changes in infrastructure.

"You need to get people to want to bike," Hum said. "Which means you need to make it a feasible option. You need to make people feel safe, and you need to make it enjoyable. You need to change the infrastructure to make it fun and safe."

District 6 City Councilor said that the neighborhood's culture historically may not have fostered biking, which he theorized has historically been dominated by the "under-30 crowd." But he thinks the city's initiative over the last half-decade to improve Boston's bike culture has created "a rise across the board in cycling across the city."

"I do think times are changing," he said. "I think come spring and summer, we'll see more folks biking around West Roxbury."

But will the neighborhood need those infrastructure changes in order for that to happen, which would likely have to include more bike lanes and perhaps a bike path connecting parks and recreation areas?

"There could always be more done," he said, "but if you look at the areas from the Arboretum to Millennium Park, and parts of Centre Street, I think there's room for a good ride."

Jojatu disagreed, though, saying West Roxbury simply did not have sufficient space for either recreational riding or commuting. He said that should the city want to have discussions about improving the neighborhood's cycling infrastructure, he'd be happy to offer his thoughts and comments.

For now, only the increasingly warmer weather will tell if West Roxbury will see a bit more pedaling this spring and summer.