Pedals & Pathways: New Bridge in Lowell, Buffalo Bike, Paris’ Bike-Friendly Transformation

Navigating Manchester’s Urban Paths

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hopes seem hardly worth having, just mount a bicycle and go for a good spin down the road, without thought of anything but the ride you are taking”

— Arthur Conan Doyle, 1895

I never knew the creator of Sherlock Holmes was such a cycling enthusiast!

In this edition, let’s talk about:

• New Bridge in Lowell
• Buffalo Bike
• Paris’ Bike Friendly Transformation
• In Praise of Used Parts
• DPW Repaving

New Bridge in Lowell

Lowell’s Rourke Bridge lies about a mile north of where Route 3 passes under the Drum Hill rotary in Chelmsford. This puts it about 2 or 3 miles west of downtown Lowell. It’s considered a critical transportation link over the Merrimack River. It was built in 1983 as a temporary bridge by the Army Corps of Engineers, with a planned lifetime of only 5 years. But now 40 years have passed and the bridge is still there, carrying 27,000 vehicles every day, or 10 million per year.

Today, as trucks drive over the bridge, banging metal sounds like an out-of-tune marching band. The bridge’s vehicle capacity is considered deficient while its bicycle and pedestrian features do not meet current multi-modal and ADA standards. Its supporting substructure is showing signs of deterioration. It is nearing the end of its useful service life.

While signs of wear are visible and audible, the bridge has never been deemed structurally deficient, whereas 8% of Mass. bridges *DO* fall below that standard.

MassDOT began studying how to replace the Rourke Bridge ten years ago, with a Feasibility Analysis of the bridge and surrounding streets. The study looked at replacing the bridge with a permanent structure, and whether the existing location is the most suitable. It developed a series of recommendations to improve mobility for residents, businesses and visitors.

Based on the Feasibility Study, MassDOT is now moving forward with the replacement of the Rourke Bridge. The process will include design, environmental permitting, and construction.

The replacement is expected to cost $200 million. It will have four lanes of vehicular traffic, bike lanes, walkways, and seating overlooking the river. It should be complete by 2028.

Following are slides from a 2023 public hearing about the new bridge design. I urge you to give them a look, they are quite impressive. Click here… Presentation slides as PDF.

And here is a Youtube video recording of that public hearing. It can be a little dry but again, the people doing the design really seem to be firing on all cylinders. I can only dream of Manchester having bridges across the Merrimack that may one day be as functional and gorgeous as the new Rourke Bridge design.

Buffalo Bike

Here’s a bicycle that will go far beyond most of our experience, certainly here in Manchester. For riders in other places, a bicycle can enable access to education, healthcare, jobs, commerce and industry.

A group called World Bicycle Relief makes extremely tough bicycles (13-gauge spokes, 11-pound steel frame, half-inch BMX chain) aimed at users in places with limited infrastructure, like Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They ensure there are distribution facilities, spare part supply chains, and trained local mechanics where people ride these bikes.

World Bicycle Relief have been described as the world’s leading non-profit social enterprise focused on bicycle utility. They aim to empower individuals. They provide bicycles in places where children may have to travel 10 miles to reach school, with no vehicular transportation, or where field medics visit patients on foot — just two examples of problems crying out for bicycles.

World Bicycle Relief make a bicycle called the Buffalo Bike, a steel alloy framed bike designed to be sturdy, durable, and easy to maintain. This bike is single-speed and has coaster brakes — they were aiming for extreme simplicity both of use and of  maintenance. A single bike weighs 24kg (53 lbs) and can carry 100kg (220 lbs) on the rear rack. They recognize that some riders might be doing things like carrying adult passengers or welding equipment to the bike frame.

Recently they have introduced a new version with the goal of servicing more terrain, allowing people in more rural areas to gain the benefits of cheap, rugged, reliable transportation. This version has two speeds, but remains free of derailleurs and shifting cables, which add complexity and fragility. World Bicycle Relief worked with SRAM to develop the new system. However they did have to add caliper brakes to this version.

The Buffalo Bike already has a good reputation in Zambia and Zimbabwe, where this new version is expected to retail for less than $200.

Read more about World Bicycle Relief and their Buffalo Bicycle here.

Here is another good piece.

and watch a positively enthralling video here.

Personally I found this a thrilling and heart warming story of how dedicated engineers can improve people’s lives.

Paris’ Bike Friendly Transformation

In case you haven’t heard, Paris, France has recently undergone a radical transformation. They have closed over 100 streets to cars, removed approx. 50,000 car parking spots and have added bike lanes, with plans to expand those bike lanes to cover about 800 miles.

This begin before the pandemic, got a boost during it and then again in preparation for the olympic games, and now seems to have firmly taken root. While initially greeted with some skepticism, that seems to have fallen by the wayside, with bike use now exceeding car use in Paris. Last year, 11.2 percent of trips are made by bike, 4.3 percent by car. In 2020, only 5 percent of trips were via bicycle.

To be sure, Paris is not Copenhagen, but it’s come a long way. Makes me want to cycle there.

Read more here.

And watch a great video here.

And here is a website that tracks progress. Warning, some of its content is in french.

In Praise of Used Parts

Spanking new shiny bike parts are great, but they usually have prices to match. Often those prices go way beyond the utility they offer. This is of course a personal choice, up to each individual’s judgement. Some of you may wish to give your baby the best!

My daily rider is a 30-year-old mountain bike (no baby anymore). It’s lived a decent life with no fenders, but as it’s now more of a road/trail/gravel cruiser, fenders seem like a good idea, for when puddles inevitably get in the way. Both the bike and myself have already gotten splashed far too many times, sometimes with pretty muddy water. Let’s face it, nobody needs that.

So I found myself in the market for some fenders. I could’ve gone to the Mercedes Benz of bicycle components, René Herse, but that seemed like overkill for this bike.

So I looked around to see what I could find in the local used market. There are many sources — eBay, facebook marketplace, shops, garage sales. Be creative, look around, ask around. I found a decent pair for a good price.

They’re not fancy but they’ll get the job done, which is exactly what I was looking for. I installed them just the other day. I really like how low the front fender drops behind the wheel — should protect the frame & pedals & my feet from a lot of spray.

After the weather recovers I’ll take them for a ride, see if they rattle or need any adjustment. (I expect they’ll need a bit, but hopefully nothing too major.)

But I am really looking forward to riding without getting muddy water sprayed on me!

If you go this route, you could find yourself needing some additional small bits of hardware — bolts, washers, fender stays. Rene Herse offers those things too, and the prices are pretty good.

DPW Repaving

As written about here by Andy Sylvia, Manchester’s Department of Public Works (DPW) hopes in 2025 to address a backlog of city streets needing repaving.

A map of the proposed areas to be repaved in 2025 can be seen below.

The following link will take you to an interactive version of that map.

The presentation made to the BOMA was informational, and included a recommendation that the board allocate $12 million annually over the next five years to address paving needs of the city’s roads at a rate of roughly 20 miles per year.

So far the board has not acted on this recommendation. Stay tuned for more information.

Andy’s article contains links 1) to a DPW map of pavement conditions, and 2) to the slides of the presentation. This is recommended reading.

Call for Input

We very much want to hear from you! Do you have any questions or concerns? What topics would you like us to cover? Send your feedback our way and we’ll get on it! We want to ensure this column meets your needs.

Stay safe and warm and have fun out there!