Cyclists in Cambridge will wait and see how conditions improve post-snowstorm, but once lanes are clear, they expect to be riding. This is in keeping with a jump in winter bicycling over the last decade, and points to safer bike infrastructure and maintenance.
Cambridge’s Department of Public Works (DPW) said it had worked around-the-clock on Sunday and Monday to clear roadways and pedestrian ways, including bike lanes, prioritizing main thoroughfares. The city deployed 75 to 80 pieces of snow-removal equipment it owns, and contracted for 100 more pieces, including smaller five-foot plows capable of attending to bike lanes.
Kristen Kelleher, a DPW spokesperson, urged cyclists to report icy or snowy bike lanes to SeeClickFix. Snow hauling operations on Tuesday onwards would improve visibility and biking conditions by relocating snow piles into Danehey Park and a Harvard-owned property in Brighton.
“When [the lanes are] clear, if they’re dry, I’ll definitely bike,” said Chris Cassa, longtime volunteer at Cambridge Bike Safety. Cambridge resident Jackson Moore-Otto agreed, saying “biking will definitely be the first choice” for him. Cassa said bikers appreciate the city’s efforts to clear lanes: “They’re working consistently through the night. We’re so grateful they’re putting in the work to do it.”
Bluebikes system data suggests winter cycling in Cambridge has skyrocketed, though stations only began running year-round in 2018. There were about 93,000 cyclist trips during the winter months of 2016, which increased to 278,000 trips in 2020 and 379,000 in the winter of 2025. City of Cambridge data tracks a steady rise in bike rides year-round, having increased 250% since 2004.
Nate Sharpe, a 20-year resident, noted the improvement of snow clearance on bike lanes over the years. Balmier winters, protected bike lanes, and consistent city maintenance all work together to improve biking conditions.
“We’ve been biking everywhere hell or highwater or snow or sub-zero conditions or pretty much any weather conditions that we get around here,” said Sharpe. His eleven-year-old twins Kadyn and Xyler regularly bike from Central Square to Cambridgeport to go to school, while most of their peers use public transportation, drive, or walk. “They’ve got tens of thousands of miles of experience under their wheels at this point,” Sharpe said.
The improved network of bike lanes in the city is a part of Cambridge’s Cycling Safety Ordinance, of which the city has completed two-thirds, according to Cassa. Cassa suggested cyclists check Facebook groups for bike path conditions such as iciness and snow clearance, in particular trails which run through multiple city jurisdictions like the Community Path Extension or Northern Strand Community Trail, which can have gaps in snow maintenance.
Why ride in winter?
Bikers make different choices depending on the day, but the predominant attitude amongst the experienced is if the lane is clear, they will not hesitate to take the trip.
“I don’t want to add minutes onto my commute or change my plans when the weather changes,” said Moore-Otto, who talked while biking home Sunday morning, the snow just beginning to fall. “The infrastructure has gotten better, snow clearance has gotten better, it just makes more and more sense.” Moore-Otto added that sidewalks often are the worst infrastructure to travel on during a snowstorm, because responsibility for clearance falls solely on private owners.
For Moore-Otto, a bike makes living in Cambridge both more affordable and more convenient, regardless of weather. “Necessity [is] the mother of invention,” Moore-Otto said. “I’m [cycling] right now, and it’s beautiful.”
A sentiment echoed by multiple bikers is the importance of gear. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear or bad clothing,” Sharpe says. Bikers zooming around the city sport bar mitts, snow tires, Gore-Tex pants, and balaclavas. Those commuting with kids in cargo bikes procure windshield-equipped enclosures.
While biking in winter does demand conquering logistics challenges, it also can create moments of camaraderie. “I saw a guy slow-motion collide into a snowbank,” Moore-Otto said, recounting a ride along the Charles River during a previous snowstorm. “Then, about a block down, I did the same thing, he pulled over and checked on me!”
Sharpe remembers biking home from the Seaport after dark in a snowstorm, enjoying the landscape on car-less roads. “It was a fun challenge and magical to be out in this winter wonderland in the city, but with nobody around.”
Despite largely excellent snow clearance and lane maintenance, bikers acknowledge risks that come with the weather. Longtime resident Zaida Block, who’s biked the streets of Cambridge since she was nine, said she avoids narrow streets like Rindge Avenue, especially during the winter. Moore-Otto noted he fell a couple weeks ago at Cambridge Commons due to black ice in the roundabout area.
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I had to drive around Cambridge a little yesterday, 1/28, and based on my observations the bike lanes are really not clear, and some are flat out impassible. The side roads also all still have snow on them. Biking is doable, but I wouldn’t call it particularly safe and you will probably get dirty. Use caution.