Went out and bought myself a bicycle yesterday. Of course this is only a temporary–seasonal–cure for T-Rage, and, admittedly, it is a cure that engenders a host of potentially rage-inducing problems of its own. I have no illusions, much less utopian visions, about any mode of transportation in and around Boston. Each has its own dangers and drawbacks, and each is in conflict with the others. It’s a war of all against all, is what it is. I mean, jaywalking pedestrians saunter across busy streets, holding up traffic; renegade cyclists ignore road rules and traffic signals, putting themselves and others in danger; and Boston motorists–well, what can you say? They’re among the worst in the nation.

(According to CNN, “The GMAC Insurance National Driver’s Test found that nearly 20 million Americans, or about 1 in 10 drivers, would fail a state driver’s test if they had to take one today…. Drivers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states did worst. Twenty percent of test-takers failed there. The state of Rhode Island leads the nation in driver cluelessness…. Those in neighboring Massachusetts were second worst.”)

Needless to say, I didn’t dare take my maiden journey on the bike until I got a helmet.

This isn’t the first time I’ve ridden in the city, of course. I used to ride routinely from one end of Center Street to the other and along the greenway above the T tracks, when I lived in JP. But there are no dedicated bike trails in my neighborhood in Dot (surprise, surprise). JP has that greenway with actual bike trails, so you don’t have to worry about mixing with automobile or pedestrian traffic, and I’d definitely rather not if I don’t have to.

The main reason I got the bike is because it will be so much quicker and easier this summer to get to my garden in the Fenway by bike than it would be by T, where the only somewhat feasible route takes me to the other side of town where I have to transfer from the red to the orange or green line, not to mention having to walk several blocks to get to and from the T on both legs of the journey. Public transit takes me way the hell out of my way, basically, whereas I can pretty much go there directly by bike.

So there.

JFK/UMass, as anyone who uses the station well knows, is a kind of Disneyland for pigeons. There are so many places to perch–inside the station itself, on the platform, under the overpass–and so many people to poop on. What more could a pigeon want?

The second picture, above, is from the parking lot outside the station, on the Sydney Street side. This is in a high traffic area on the way to the station entrance that is obviously not very well-maintained by the MBTA. The Sydney Street side is where the new emergency phones have just been installed. The lighting under the highway has also been improved. I sometimes see a patrol car on Sydney Street as well.

But as for cleaning and maintenance, this side of the station is shamefully neglected. Last winter after a snow, it took about a week for the MBTA to throw salt on the walk on this side. Putting up netting to keep pigeons from perching under the highway and popping on people coming and going, at least in the parking lot and along the path, is the least the MBTA could do out there.