Rail Trail e-Newsletter June, 2024 #87

Hello all,

I hope you all are having a good spring/summer so far. Things are still busy around here. The big news is that we'll be setting up a test run for what could be an annual cross-state bike tour of the MCRT. Northampton to Boston. 3 days of biking. ONLY A DOZEN OR SO TRAIL AMBASSADORS will be on this multi-day event in Sept of 2024. We will have room to accommodate 25 or so day riders on each of the 3 day sections. We'll be having an outdoor lunch each day along with an evening dinner event. Both of which we'll be meeting with local leaders who are eager to get the Rail Trail Finished.

More details will be coming in future e newsletters so feel free to email me if you have questions right now.

best,

Craig Della Penna, Board President

Norwottuck Network, Inc.

62 Chestnut St. Northampton, MA 01062

413 575 2277 CraigDP413@gmail.com

In the GREEN area, we have news about the

Mass Central Rail Trail

and perhaps some of the 18 other trails that connect to it.

All readers of this e-newsletter should be donating to this Go Fund Me. The number of people getting this free e-newsletter can put this fund raiser over the top.

A Go-Fund-Me that needs your support

One of the lead advocates for the MCRT is Steven Hawk. Injured in a car crash 20+ years ago, he is in a wheelchair. He has a dramatic track record of success in moving the town of Ware forward on the idea of and betterments of the trail. However he needs a new wheelchair van in order to effectively continue his advocacy. Please help by donating. LINK HERE to donate.

A COUPLE OF HOT STORIES OF

INTEREST TO MCRT FANS

Looking for something fun to do on Sat. June 8th. Come out to Belchertown There is a walk to the rare Timber-bent Bridge over the Jabish Brook. More about the the Belchertown Greenway section of the MCRT.

A Cross State bike-ride

on the MCRT

Click here to read the letter

The 3 day ride with accommodations for the core group of 12 explorers is fully booked now,

but we have slots for 25 riders per day on the Western, Central and Eastern sections. You will need to sign-up to be included for one or all of those. There are no planned overnight accommodations for the 25 day-riders. This is a test-run with a small group of trail ambassadors.

To sign up, or have questions, send me a fresh email to: CraigDP413@gmail.com

(Do not just reply to the e newsletter

as it will not likely come to me)

If you're interested in biking on one, or two, or three days; let me know which of the blocks you are interested in coming on.

West = start in Northampton at Union Station

Central = start in Gilbertville section of Hardwick at or near the Stone Church at 283 Main St in Gilbertville

East = start in Hudson. tbd.

print the spreadsheet.

MORE HAPPENINGS ON THE DEVELOPING MCRT IN SUDBURY

A photo essay by Kevin LaHaise publisher of the Sudbury Weekly. See the photos and the progress thus far.

HERE'S A 3 PAGE UPDATE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION ON BOTH THE MCRT AND THE BFRT IN SUDBURY.

Read the 3-page update.

I get calls or emails inquiring about construction on the trails all the time. I'll start putting in, local updates as I learn about them. CDP

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's a link to a two-page infographic about the history of the MCRT

Here's a link to the report that answers the main question. "What would a completed MCRT mean to the Commonwealth and the communities along the way."

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 directly to you.

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.

Waltham: 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.

Wayland: Link here.

Sudbury: Link here for the N-S intersecting trail--Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.

Berlin-Hudson: Link here to the new FaceBook group.

Friends of the Berlin Rail Trail. newly stood up in 2023. Link here.

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 regularly updated history of DCR's efforts on building out this complicated trail.

Clinton Greenway Conservation Trust: Link here. updated info.

Clinton Tunnel: Link here to a story on WBZ Boston TV about the tunnel. And link here to a more recent story on MassLive about tunnel and efforts to restore it.

Wachusett Greenways section in the center of the state: Link here.

Wachusett Greenways Facebook page with a link to their E-newsletter: 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.

Here's DOT's Feasibility study about how to piece together the middle sections of the MCRT.

And here's the report that describes what a completed MCRT will mean to the Commonwealth and the communities along the way.

AND IN THE WHITE AREA,

OTHER NEWS AROUND THE REGION

Battle in RI Over Bike Lane Escalates — Council Blocks Mayor, Cost to Remove Is Estimated at $750K

Friday, April 19, 2024 GoLocalProv News Team

The ongoing battle over the future of the South Water bike lane in Providence hit a higher level. On Thursday night, the Providence City Council passed an ordinance which it believes blocks Mayor Brett Smiley from removing the lane unilaterally. Read more.

Only 25 years in the making so far, in NH

WOKQ 97.5 Ginny Rogers 5-2-24

There's exciting news coming down the line, and it's in the form of a rail trail in New Hampshire. The state of New Hampshire now owns the entire Hampton branch of the former Boston & Maine Rail corridor.

This is part of the East Coast Greenway Project connecting Maine to Florida. Read more. (I remember back in the 90s back when the RR, then called Guilford Rail, wanted to abandon this branch. And the owner of the last customer on the line--a plastics manufacturing firm, asked his friend-Tim Mellon, the owner of the RR, to not cease service for a few more years. That wish was granted and now it will become a part of the ECG. Finally. CDP)

New 3,000-foot floating boardwalk allows visitors to "walk on water" in Mass.

MARLBORO – A new floating boardwalk on Lake Williams in Marlboro, Massachusetts is allowing people to see the city like never before. Read more (Kind of shocking that this gets built without a peep of controversy, but similar projects involving trails through wetlands in both Spfld and Lynnfield --and other places--seem to be mired in years of hand-wringing and doomsday talk. CDP)

There’s new hope for a significant CT greenway. It comes after decades of complex debate.

A push to convert a desolate, 4-mile stretch of rail line in Hartford, into a Connecticut greenway with trails for pedestrians and bicyclists has run headlong into the state’s stance that the rails remain a viable freight transportation corridor.

But a new study shows for the first time that it is possible to combine the two uses in Hartford. Read more. (another part of the ECG, stuck for 20+ years finally starting to move fwd. CDP)

AND IN THE ORANGE AREA;

Interesting, "HIGH ALTITUDE" Stories From Around the Country and Sometimes Beyond.

Why is riding a Bicycle in the City Turning into a Culture War

Momentum Magazine by Ron Johnson

Is there a bicycle culture war happening on the streets right now? Read more. And here you Read here about a Boston Mayoral candidate who's platform centers on removing bike lanes. (WTF?? CDP)

Here's how they are building trails in England. Read more

World’s largest wildlife crossing on track to open by early 2026

What to know: The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing outside Los Angeles is anticipated to open by early 2026, providing a safe and sustainable passage for mountain lions and other animals over Highway 101. Read more

Colorado's Bold New Approach to Highways--Not Building Them. The state has made it hard to widen highways, and transportation officials are turning their eyes to transit. Read more

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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.

Or if and when we need to, (or are asked to) we will commission major reports to answer the "elephant in the room" questions, never asked.

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.

Here's some of the Podcasts

I've been on.

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CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE NOTIFICATION LETTER.

Phone: 413-575-2277 or Email Me

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