Rail Trail E Newsletter April 2021 #54 |
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Greetings!
Sorry for the delay this month. In my real estate world, we are in a crushing sellers' market making things very complicated for buyers who make up 50% of my business. I do have some interesting stories you've likely never heard about. For example, in NH, a good story about repurposing an orphaned, former highway bridge to be installed on a rail trail near Keene. Wouldn't it be great if a regional resource could be developed where surplus bridges could be inventoried, stored and made available for re-use. Any tech-oriented folks out there interested in this?
Another story is called Connecting the Dots. It shows how in Massachusetts, one event led to another that ultimately created an astounding network of developing trails. I'm developing another infographic about how the 161c and 40-54A regs have performed over the years. Buckle your seat belts for that one.
And for the real geeks out there, I've got a link to the Oral Arguments session of the Mass SJC where the Town of Sudbury is fighting the decision of the Energy Facility Siting Board that would allow the utility to build a more resilient, robust, grid by placing it under the existing dead RR tracks slated to become the MCRT. Ironically, the hearing was held when the state of Texas was having problems with their unresilient, unrobust grid. This will open your eyes.
Craig Della Penna, Exec. Director
Norwottuck Network
62 Chestnut St. Northampton, MA 01062
413 575 2277 CraigDP413@gmail.com
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In the GREEN area, we have news about
the Mass Central Rail Trail
and its connecting paths
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Weston students aim to brighten rail trail with mural art
by Michael Wyner
Wicked Local/Weston Town Crier
Weston High School students are planning to create 18 panels on both sides of the Concord Road underpass of the rail trail.
A group of 18 Weston High students are planning to create 18 different panels on both sides of the Concord Road underpass of the rail trail around the theme of "freedom."
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Click on the image above. That'll "CONNECT THE DOTS" for you from a rail trail "to-do" on Cape Cod in the early 70s, to the development of policies within the state that can be best described as visionary from our perspective 45 years later.
Step by step, this is going to amaze you.
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ORAL ARGUMENTS IN THE CASE BEFORE THE SJC, SUDBURY VS ENERGY FACILITY SITING BOARD ON MARCH 1, 2021 |
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Communities on the
on the MCRT and their websites
Did you know that many communities (or groups like land trusts) on the MCRT alignment are working on their section of the trail?
Here are links to websites where you can learn who the contact person is, when these groups meet, when hearings are being planned and how to sign up to get notices sent to you directly.
Belmont: Link here to the town appointed committee.
Belmont: Link here to the Belmont Citizens Forum.
Belmont: Link here to the Friends of the Community Path Facebook group.
Somerville: Link here to the Friends of the Community Path Facebook group.
Waltham: Link here to the Waltham Land Trust's site.
Walham: Link here to the Waltham Bike Committee.
Waltham: Link here to the City's page about the MCRT.
Weston: Link here to the town's page about the MCRT
Weston: Link here to the history of both the RR and the advocacy to create the trail. Over 25 years of advocacy. It is now open.
Sudbury: Link here for the N-S intersecting trail--Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.
Hudson: Link here for the NE-SW intersecting trail--Assabet River Rail Trail.
Berlin-Hudson: Link here to the new FaceBook group.
Berlin: Link here goes to the town's Rail Trail Committee. They also have a pretty nice website with pictures of the existing dead RR corridor along other maps and images of a future trail. Link here.
Wayside segment of the MCRT: Link here to a history of DCR's efforts on this.
Clinton Greenway Conservation Trust: Link here.
Clinton Tunnel: Link here to a story on WBZ Boston TV about the tunnel.
Wachusett Greenways area: Link here.
East Quabbin Land Trust: Link here.
Palmer coming soon
Ware: Link here to the Facebook group about this segment of the MCRT'.
Belchertown: Link for the site for Friends of the Belchertown Greenway.
Amherst, Hadley on DCR's Norwottuck section of the MCRT: Link here.
Northampton area: Link here to the Friends of Northampton Trails website.
Northampton area: Link here to the Friends of Northampton Trails Facebook.
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AND IN THE WHITE AREA,
OTHER NEWS AROUND THE REGION
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A boost for rail trail expansion in Southampton
by JACQUELYN VOGHEL
Daily Hampshire Gazette
4/6/2021
SOUTHAMPTON — The town is a step closer to constructing a long-awaited multi-use path linking the Manhan Rail Trail closer to the Columbia Greenway Trail in Westfield after securing a $100,000 state grant for the project.
The grant will help purchase the defunct rail bed that starts just over the Southampton border at Coleman Road on the Easthampton line.
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Columbia Greenway Rail Trail bridge installed across Main Street in Westfield
by Sy Becker
WWLP News
Apr 6, 2021
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Bicycle riders are jubilant about that new bridge in downtown Westfield is being built especially for them.
Passerby's got their first look at the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail bridge across Main Street since its installation late Monday night. It’s a vital connector with a network of New England rail trails. Read more. And btw, here's a link to new, developing website about the effort to rebrand this corridor with a unified name. New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway. |
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South Coast Feasibility Study
Fall River to New Bedford by Bike
The South Coast Bikeway Alliance is conducting a feasibility study with SRPEDD to close the gap between
Fall River and New Bedford through Westport and Dartmouth. The South Coast Bikeway Alliance and the communities of Westport, Dartmouth and New Bedford are working with SRPEDD to conduct a Feasibility Study that will help make this important choice. Read more.
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More Pathway Buildout Coming to NYC
March 5, 2021
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that $5 million in funding has been awarded to Hudson River Park Trust for construction of a new pedestrian and bicycle path along Route 9A from West 57th Street to West 59th in Manhattan, enhancing safety and access while contributing to the creation of a seamless link in the Empire State Trail between Pier 97 and Riverside Park. The new section of the path will be built on piles over the Hudson River.
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Keene to buy a bridge for rail trail expansion
by Mia Summerson
The Keene Sentinel
April 5, 2021
The city of Keene has decided to buy a bridge. Now comes the work of getting it here.
Previously sitting over Interstate 93 in Londonderry, the 1962 bridge will be used to expand the local rail trails.
“This bridge is going over Route 101 connecting the Cheshire Rail Trail, Eastern Avenue across to the Stone Arch Bridge,” said Councilor Janis Manwaring, chair of the council’s Municipal Services, Facilities and Infrastructure Committee, which recommended the city move forward with purchasing the bridge. “So that’s very exciting, to make the rail trail even longer.” Read more
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Dream of Connected NYC Greenway Re-Envisioned as Path to COVID Recovery
by Jose Martinez
The City
April 4, 2021
After long pushing for a 400-mile citywide network of protected multi-use trails, green groups are betting on President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan to help link the disjointed system of so-called greenways and propel New York’s COVID comeback.
Even before Biden unveiled his massive proposal in Pittsburgh Wednesday, more than 30 environmental justice, cycling and parks groups had sent a letter to New York’s congressional delegation. Their plea: a $1 billion commitment in federal stimulus funds to build out new and link sections of existing trails separated from automobile traffic.
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Visit the Peabody Bikeway
by PAIGE IMPINK
Tewksbury Town Crier
April 3, 2021
If you happen to be up along Route 128 near the North Shore Mall, the Peabody Bikeway is a small, flat, converted trolley line which has been converted to a multi-use path. The trail runs from the mall out into Peabody and back.
It is 3.5 mile roundtrip route, known as an out-and-back trail, and is built on what used to be the Salem and Lowell rail line from Peabody to Wakefield, perfect for biking or walking. Read more.
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New map of Troy, NY trails offers guide to adventures
Kenneth C. Crowe II
Times Union
April 2, 2021
TROY — The city runs 7 miles north to south along the Hudson River and its burgeoning trail network can lead hikers, bikers and walkers from the river through historic neighborhood settings to hidden pastoral gems.
There’s now a Troy Trails Map, billed as “a guide to exploring the natural landscape” in Troy, which aims to draw attention to trails in the city that otherwise might go unnoticed. Read more.
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Riding The Rails: Canalside Rail Trail
By Daniel Hales
Franklincc.org
Have you been to the Turners Falls canal -- which I think of as a little slice of Venice in western Massachusetts? I first experienced it on a magical, moonlit stroll with friends after one of the legendary fashion shows at Suzee’s Laundromat. However, I soon found that the canal is equally enchanting by the full light of day. Whether for exercise or enjoyment, biking or birdwatching, leaf-peeping or lounging, you need to make the canal connection. Best of all, the canal is only part of the package.
Franklin County is a treasure trove for bicyclists, but its crown jewel may be the beautiful 3.7-mile-long Canalside Rail Trail, built partially on old railroad beds. Read more.
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Framingham could become MetroWest trail hub by linking many of its walking, biking paths
by Jeff Malachowski
MetroWest Daily News
March 23, 2021
FRAMINGHAM — City leaders are eying the connection of some of Framingham’s popular walking and biking trails, including the Cochituate Rail Trail and the nearby Carol Getchell Trail.
Resident Ron Chick became interested in connecting the two trails after speaking with a Natick resident who walked the Cochituate Rail Trail, arrived in Saxonville, saw nothing and decided to turn around.
“That got me interested in how can we change that,” Chick said during Monday's City Council Environment and Sustainability subcommittee meeting. Read more.
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Area canalway trail usage increased in 2020
The Troy Record.
March 18, 2021
ALBANY, N.Y. — Use along the Erie Canalway Trail and Champlain Canalway Trail increased last year, according to the 2020 Who’s on the Trail report from Parks & Trails New York and the New York State Canal Corporation.
The Canalway Trail system as a whole saw an estimated 4.2 million visits in 2020, including just under four million visits to the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail between Albany and Buffalo and approximately 288,000 visits to the 90-mile Champlain Canalway Trail between Waterford and Whitehall.
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The Border to Boston Trail is a 70-mile shared use trail that links 20 communities from the New Hampshire border to Boston for non-motorized uses Read more
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Millerton, N.Y.: Unspoiled Beauty With a New Youthful Energy
By Steven Kurutz
The New York Times
March 24, 2021
The Dutchess County village used to be a place where New Yorkers had second homes. Now many are living the country life there full-time.
In 1998, Stephen Leven and his business partner, David Elwell, bought a farm in the upstate village of Millerton, N.Y., turning the old carriage house on the property into a roastery for their coffee company, Irving Farm New York. In 2003, the men opened a cafe on the village’s Main Street (their other seven locations are in New York City).
For years, Mr. Leven and Mr. Elwell, both city dwellers, alternated weekends on the farm. In 2014, Mr. Leven built a house nearby, but remained a weekender. And things might have continued that way, if not for Covid-19. Read more.
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Hudson River Valley Greenway announces $636,000 available for planning, trail grants
by Chelsea Siegal
NEW YORK NEWS
March 18, 2021
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Hudson River Valley Greenway announced on Wednesday a total of $636,000 is available through Hudson River Valley Greenway Grant Programs. For 2021, a total of $136,000 is available for Planning and Compact Grants and $500,000 is available for Trail Grants.
Troy residents encouraged to participate in citywide Earth Day cleanup program
Grant program guidelines and applications are available on the Greenway website and deadlines vary. Read more.
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Shared use paths—also called trails, multi-use paths, greenways, or bike paths—bring many benefits to their communities.
But how can this value be quantified?
Recognizing the lack of research and data around quantifying the impacts of active transportation infrastructure MassTrails—a multidisciplinary team of state agencies, including MassDOT, the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR), and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)— commissioned a team at Kittelson to explore, measure, and analyze the impacts of shared use paths. We partnered with MassTrails to study four shared use paths in Massachusetts (the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, Northern Strand Community Trail, Mass Central Rail Trail – Norwottuck Branch, and Cape Cod Rail Trail) using a combination of path counts from automatic permanent bicycle and pedestrian counters and paper intercept surveys to collect information from path users, residents, and business owners.
MassTrails and Kittelson shared our findings in a recent study titled Impacts of Shared Use Paths, one of the first documents of its kind to quantify how shared use paths improve the health, well-being, and quality of life of a community. While this data centers around paths in Massachusetts, findings like these can be used to support shared use paths everywhere, and help active transportation projects compete for transportation funding.
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AND IN THE ORANGE AREA
Interesting and Pertinent Stories From Around the Country and Sometimes Beyond.
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Streets that put people first, not cars. Cities around the world are reconfiguring their urban grids to support local communities and economies. Boston should do it too.
by JONATHAN BERK
The Boston Globe
MARCH 7, 2021
OVER THE PAST YEAR COVID-19 HAS FORCED DRAMATIC CHANGES in our communities, especially when it comes to outdoor public places. Gyms moved fitness classes into parks. Retailers found new opportunities for "sidewalk sales." Restaurants claimed parking spaces and roadways for outdoor dining service. And in the process, we've sensed how much better our cities and local economies can be after the pandemic.
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60 Charming American Towns You Haven't Heard of But Should Visit ASAP. Hit the roads less traveled.
by LAUREN SMITH MCDONOUGH, BRITTNEY MORGAN AND ALEX ARONSON
When you plan a vacation, most people tend to go to more popular places, right? It's usually cities they've read about or towns and attractions that have been recommended by friends and family. But that's about to change, because there are plenty of small towns in America that are worth traveling to, even if you didn't even know they existed. These 60 unheard-of towns across the U.S. might not have made it onto your bucket list yet, but they absolutely deserve a spot. Read more.
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The new Norwottuck Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation specifically set up to help get the longest rail trail in New England--the Mass Central Rail Trail --built-out, operational and notable.
We can help do that by making small, mini-grants available to local groups and communities that will bring restore/renovate/replace historic mile-markers on the corridor. Or help fund kiosks that will call out forgotten railroad or industrial history of that locale.
We will want to work with the state park agency Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on standardized kiosk designs.
We will keep you all posted as to developments as we go. We have made it easy to DONATE through the Network for Good.
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Amazingly, Constant Contact alerted us that this newsletter is in the top 10% of all of Constant Contact's newsletters, worldwide, in terms of readership engagement.
Imagine that!
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