Mass Rail Trail News: July 16 2012
Tom Connors
Road forks for two bike trails in Acton: One bike trail in Acton advances; other falls back
Project leaders present vision for Quequechan River bike trail (Fall River to Taunton via Somerset and Dighton)
Story:
Map
Bicyclists now barred from road (Weston)
2010 Bike Commuting Data Released
Tables:
2010 Bike Commuter Statistics for 375 cities (all cities over 65,000 population that had bike commuter estimates)
2000-2010 Bike Commuter Statistics for 70 Largest US Cities
Scientific American: Why America's Love Affair with Cars Is No Accident
The auto industry campaigned against the relatively bloody rise of cars in the early 20th century via TV, the term "jaywalker" and school safety patrols
Bike-path dream lives in Billerica
BILLERICA -- Technically, he's still chairman of the Yankee Doodle Bike Path Committee.
And technically, the committee didn't dissolve after selectmen voted earlier this month to discontinue further work on planning a path until funding issues could be ironed out.
On Friday, Chairman John Piscatelli said he's not quitting the bike-path dream. Piscatelli, who enjoys participating in triathlons, is the only one on the five-person committee who regularly rides.
During the past month, after the decision was made to shelve pursuit of a bike path, no other issue has prompted more letters-to-the-editor from Billerica residents. Piscatelli never penned any of them, but he is adamant a bike path can be built.
As proposed, the first phase of the path would extend between the high school and Concord Road underneath a set of power lines maintained by National Grid.
National Grid has said it would allow access to the land as long as the bike path could be sometimes used by electrical workers to fix lines. On Friday, Piscatelli said Pan Am Railways has already stripped tracks from a section where the path would go and would be receptive to requests to sell the land to the town.
The roadblock for the committee, according to member and Selectman Dave Gagliardi, is Cabot Corp., a Boston-based company that produces ink cartridges and owns land on both sides of the power lines.
Cabot has told the town that since its facility lies under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, it would not be allowed to grant an easement to the town.
Piscatelli said he's not convinced the DHS would stonewall the town's bid for the path.
"Tell me again how a company that produces printer cartridges would not be allowed under Homeland Security to allow a bike path to cross a wooded part of their land," said Piscatelli.
He added that he's hoping to set up a meeting between himself, Cabot CEO Patrick Prevost, DHS officials and Billerica state Rep. Marc Lombardo, who recently secured $150,000 through a House transportation bond bill that would go toward design plans if a conference committee comprised of Senate and House officials gives it the green light.
"I've received a whole bunch of private emails from residents wanting to draft a bike-path warrant article for this fall's Town Meeting," said Piscatelli. "The question is this: Do you want the warrant article to call for spending town money on engineering, to form another committee or to start another funding debate?"
Piscatelli, who also serves on the Finance Committee, said at Monday's meeting he brought members up to speed on the status of the path. He said he mentioned the possibility of another Town Meeting warrant article that drew concern from Town Manager John Curran.
"He (Curran) said another warrant article could create a tension or a mood that could hurt the Town Meeting process," said Piscatelli.
A petitioner's warrant article drafted by Lombardo that would have drawn $125,000 in town money to fund a portion of the design costs failed by three votes last fall. Gagliardi, who argued against Lombardo's article over concerns that it would be foolish to spend the money without first obtaining the easements, was then picked by selectmen to serve on a revived Yankee Doodle Bike Path Committee that had been dormant for years.
Other members tapped by selectmen to serve on the committee include current Finance Committee member Rino Moriconi, who resides in a townhouse attached to an over-55 River Street development that sits adjacent to proposed route of the path; Pierre Allain, a retiree who volunteers at Billerica Access Television; and Don Gadbois, a retiree who is a Town Meeting representative.
Selectmen Chairman Andrew Deslaurier said Scott Richards, a neighbor who is an avid bicyclist, applied but was not picked. Deslaurier acknowledged that Richards lacked town government experience but said he supported his neighbor's appointment, although other selectmen did not.
Deslaurier was also the lone vote against suspending the bike-path committee. On Friday, he acknowledged there were other priorities that should be addressed, such as improving the town's sewer system, but added that he sees "no reason" why a bike path cannot also be completed.
"The thing is that this path is something that people want," he said. "I think it will become a reality if we stay committed."
Rail trail expansion moving forward
The Daily News of Newburyport
NEWBURYPORT — Plans to begin Phase II of the Clipper City Rail Trail and Harborwalk are picking up steam. City Project Manager Geordie Vining said las.
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Boston MPO Approves Over $8 Million for Bruce Freeman Rail Trail
Patch.com
In a stark contrast from March's Town Meeting, the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization approved earmarking federal funding for Phase 2A of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail along with dozens of other transportation related improvements around Eastern ...
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State budget plan pays out locally
The Daily News of Newburyport
The second phases of both the Newburyport Clipper City Rail Trail and the Salisbury Border to Boston Trail have been funded and programmed by the state ...
http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x691118188/State-budget-plan-pays-out-locally
Costello also announced the state’s approval rail trail expansions in Newburyport and Salisbury. The second phases of both the Newburyport Clipper City Rail Trail and the Salisbury Border to Boston Trail have been funded and programmed by the state Department of Transportation through the Transportation Improvement Plan, he said.
Enhancement transportation funds will be used to extend the Salisbury trail from Mudnock Road to the New Hampshire border. The project has been allocated $3.85 million for the work, which is eligible to go out to bid in fall 2015.
In Newburyport, Phase II of the Clipper City Rail Trail will extend the path 1.5 miles along the Merrimack River, through the city’s South End residential neighborhood and into Newbury. The project will include enhancements such as sculptures, murals, interpretive panels and customized signs. The project cost is estimated to be $3.2 million and it will be eligible to be bid in the fall 2014.
Bike to the future
Fervor for cycling is on the rise around Boston, and so are plans for new paths and bridges. But will it be enough to convince more than half of us to ditch our cars and become two-wheeled enthusiasts?
(Photos by Cambridge Community Development Department (left) and Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent)Cycle tracks like this one (left) in Cambridge will be key to attracting more riders, experts say; the new $10 million North Bank Bridge (right) under the Zakim connects parks in Cambridge and Charlestown for bikers and pedestrians.
Aqueduct trails could be open by end of summer
By Laura Krantz, Daily News staff
July 10, 2012
FRAMINGHAM – Give the green light a month ago, towns across MetroWest are racing to let people enjoy the aqueduct trails.
Officials say people could be walking their dogs, running and strolling along the grassy knolls as soon as this summer.
Framingham wants to be the first. Officials hope to meet next week with neighbors.
“We thought it was time to have some discussions with abutters and neighbors,” said Bob Merusi, the town’s director of parks and recreation.
After years of advocacy by legislators, organizations and the public, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority in late May said it would open sections of trail along inactive aqueducts.
The trails cover underground pipes that are secondary or backup pipes for the MWRA, which pumps water from the Quabbin Reservoir in western Massachusetts to 61 cities and towns. The agency also provides sewer service to many MetroWest communities.
The aqueduct trails stretch from Clinton to Boston and pass through Northborough, Southborough, Framingham, Natick, Wayland and Weston.
Anticipating the MWRA policy change, Framingham officials had been working for months on a plan to open a 1-mile stretch of the trail off Potter Road.
Merusi said so far informal feedback is positive.
To make the private MWRA trails public, communities must submit access and safety proposals and receive MWRA approval.
All 13 communities within the aqueduct network are interested, said MWRA spokeswoman Ria Convery.
According to the application, there is likely no cost to the town beyond a $100 processing fee.
The MWRA will still mow the trails at least once a year but towns will be responsible for other maintenance and any policing required.
“We’ll do the big stuff on an annual basis and they’ll do the day-to-day,” Convery said.
In Northborough, several committees plan to meet this month to discuss opening a section of trail connecting the Sturrup Brook and Cedar Hill trails, said Bob Mihalek, chairman of the Northborough Trails Committee.
Natick has two aqueduct trail projects under way. In addition to the ongoing Cochituate Aqueduct trail project, the town wants to open a trail along the Sudbury Aqueduct, said Conservation Agent Bob Bois.
Thanks to a federal grant, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council is helping towns open sections of MWRA trail. Council staffers plan to meet with Natick officials before they submit an application, Convery said.
“I’m hoping that this summer we’ll see the first openings,” said planning council Deputy Director Joel Barrera, who is also Gov. Deval Patrick’s representative to the MWRA Board of Directors.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council has $40,000 in federal grant money from the Centers for Disease Control to help promote the trail project, part of the federal Affordable Care Act’s emphasis on preventative care.
In addition to day-to-day maintenance, towns will be charged with policing the newly opened sections of trail.
Natick Lt. Brian Grassey said without knowing the scope of the projects, it’s hard to know the potential impact to police work.
Weston is also working to open part of the trail, but Conservation Commission member George Bates yesterday didn’t want to discuss it.
“There’s been some talk, but nothing has changed,” Bates said.
The town is talking with trail neighbors, he said, because it would like to connect the trails across their land.
Southborough, Sherborn, Newton and Wellesley have also begun talks of opening the trails, according to Convery.
Bridge connecting Cambridge and Charlestown opens for walkers, bikers
If the other bridges are completed as planned, they will connect three parks built by the Big Dig: Cambridge’s North Point Park, Charlestown’s Paul Revere Park, and Boston’s Nashua Street Park, forming their own version of an emerald necklace. Bicyclists, joggers, and river walkers will be able to move almost seamlessly between the rest of the river, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, and Boston Harbor.
Bicycling and pedestrian bridge linking Charlestown, Cambridge set to open
The bridge is a key piece in a larger initiative to promote cycling and connect the city and surrounding areas through more than just highways.
The bridge, partially paid for with $10 million in federal stimulus funds, opens after two years of construction Friday at 2 p.m. when the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Transportation, and Energy and Environmental Affairs host a ribbon cutting at the North Point Park entrance to the bridge.
MassBike: Federal Transportation Bill A Step Backwards
The federal transportation bill, a focus of much analysis and anxiety (we've written most recently about it here and here), was finally passed through congress late last week. It's not good news. This bill, which was largely based on the Senate's legislation MAP-21, is being considered a "step backwards," a "failure," a "missed opportunity," and "devastating."On our part, we kept in communication with the staff of Representative Ed Markey (Massachusetts Seventh District), a member of the committee that produced this legislation. Mr. Markey, who has consistently supported dedicated bike funding, wrote an excellent piece on why he declined to sign the Conference Committee Report for the legislation (found here). Despite strong bipartisan support for our cause from the entire Massachusetts delegation, this legislation cut bike and pedestrian funding by 33% (or more, depending what individual states do - more below).
The Analysis
Our national partners are still working through all of the details of the 1,676 page document, but basically it lumps the three federal programs which previously had dedicated bike/ped funding (Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and Recreational Trails) into one "Transportation Alternatives" category. Whereas the three prior programs had a combined funding total of $1.2 billion in 2011, the new "Transportation Alternatives" has a total funding level of around $800 million per year.
Furthermore, states can opt out of up to half of that amount, instead funding highway maintenance, bridge repair, or any other transportation need. So, depending on how many states choose to opt out of that half of the funding, the real cuts could be as high as 66%.
Finally, there is a clause in the bill called a "Mandatory Sidepath Law." This would require bicyclists riding on federally-owned roads (generally in national parks) to ride on a sidepath if the road doesn't meet certain standards. This clause sets a dangerous national precedent for compromising our hard-won right to the road.
In short, this is not a good day for the biking/walking world. Read a thorough analysis of the bill by America Bikes here.
Next Steps
The question, then, is what does this mean for us in Massachusetts? We are fortunate to be in a state that has solid policies and initiatives in place to promote biking and walking, including GreenDOT (MassDOT's sustainability policy) and theHealthy Transportation Compact.
Nonetheless, we must work even harder to ensure that biking and walking are priorities for our state agencies and policymakers. Because so much flexibility is now given to the state to spend bicycle funding on other things, groups like MassBike must work even harder to make the case that investing in biking is crucial to having a healthy, livable state. It is through continued efforts like Bay State Bike Week, theBike/Walk Summit, and advocacy on major projects that we can maintain the state's support. And, importantly, collaborative efforts like Transportation for Massachusetts will be key to creating a united voice for our cause
If you have time, please contact your U.S. Representative and Senators to let them know that you appreciate their support. (Don't know who they are? Find out here.)
Also, consider joining or donating to MassBike. We are supported primarily through our members, and so truly could not do it without you.
MBTA approves leases for 9.1 miles of the Bay Colony Rail Trail
Map: Connecting the dots for Boston cyclists
These significant off-street bikeways — existing, planned,and wished for — would create a much-needed backbone for Greater Boston’s cycling network. Scroll below the map for details on what the numbers and colors depict.
IN GREEN - Major completed bikeways/shared-use paths:
1. Bike connections along Mystic Lakes to Winchester Center
2. Bike to the Sea (Northern Strand Community Trail) Malden and Everett portions (nearly complete)
3. Bike paths along Mystic River in Medford and Somerville
4. Alewife Greenway multiuse path from Alewife T Station; connector path into Belmont opening this summer
5. Minuteman Bikeway from Bedford to Cambridge connecting to Somerville Community Path
6. Fresh Pond bikeways and connection to Alewife T
7. North Bank Bridge connecting Cambridge to Charlestown, expected to open in July
8. East Boston Greenway extending to Frankfort Street
9. Memorial Drive bikeways (Dr. Paul Dudley White Path) continuing out to Watertown
10. Esplanade and Soldiers Field Road (White Path) bikeways to Waltham
11. Emerald Necklace bikeways, including Fens, Riverway, Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond
12. Southwest Corridor (aka Pierre Lallement Bike Path)
13. HarborWalk linking UMass Boston to Castle Island
14. Current Neponset River trails
IN ORANGE: Major planned bikeways/shared-use paths
1.* Tri-Community Bikeway from Winchester Center to Stoneham
2. Bike to the Sea extension through Revere and Saugus recently approved
3. Extension of East Boston Greenway to Constitution Beach via Massport agreement
4. Multiuse path along Rutherford Avenue from City Square to Sullivan Square within 10 years
5. Two bicycle/pedestrian bridges, one across the Charles River and one over railroad tracks near North Station, expected to be built by 2015
6. South Bay Harbor Trail to connect Southwest Corridor to Fan Pier
7. Bicycle- and pedestriancrossing improvements to Route 9 in Brookline
8. Bike paths to link Arnold Arboretum, Franklin Park, and Southwest Corridor once Casey Overpass is torn down in 2014
IN RED: Major missing links
1. Bike to the Sea path extension to Lynn Beach (not approved by Lynn officials)
2. From Alewife Greenway to the Medford side of the Mystic River
3.* From the Bike to Sea path in Everett to Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown
4.* Broken connections to Deer Island and Revere Beach
5. Through Belmont Center to proposed Mass Central Rail Trail
6.* From the Somerville Community Path to the Charles River; the path could be built in conjunction with the T’s Green Line Extension but is unfunded
7.* Along the Watertown Branch Rail Trail from Fresh Pond in Cambridge to Watertown Center
8. Bicycle and pedestrian underpasses proposed but unfunded for River Street, Western Avenue, and Anderson Memorial bridges along Boston side of the Charles River
9. Proposed but unfunded Grand Junction Pathway, linking Somerville Community Path to the Charles
10. Bowker Overpass between Storrow Drive and Boylston Street prevents connecting the Emerald Necklace with the Charles River
11. No off-street connection between Southwest Corridor and Fens
12. From Arnold Arboretum to Jamaica Pond
13. Missing links along Neponset River Greenway between UMass and Blue Hills Reservation
*Small portions of these are built or planned for.