TELEGRAM & GAZETTE Worcester, Mass.
June 10, 2001
Bike path construction is slow goingBy Lynne Tolman
Another year, another mile. Actually, that's
exaggerating the snail's pace of bike path construction in Central
Massachusetts. By bike path, I mean a route that is separate from roads
and has a surface such as asphalt or crushed stone dust that can be
navigated on a road bike with skinny tires -- or a wheelchair. Trails
suitable for mountain biking are a different animal. The
first segment of the Assabet River Rail
Trail opened in Marlboro last month: a three-quarter-mile stretch of
asphalt. And approximately one mile of the Mass Central Rail
Trail in Rutland was surfaced with stone dust last fall. That's it,
period, for rideable new bike paths in the region since 1997. Neither of
these segments connects to any other completed segment.
Previously, the region's inventory of bike paths consisted of one
stone-dust mile of the Mass Central in West Boylston, and one paved mile
of the North Central Pathway in Gardner. Anyone looking for a longer bike
path is advised to put the bike in the car and head for the Norwottuck Trail
in Amherst, the Minuteman Bikeway
in Arlington, the Cape Cod Rail Trail
or the East Bay Bike Path
in Providence. The message to road cyclists: Stick to the
roads. That's fine for many riders, and around here we
have plenty of scenic, low-traffic back roads to pedal on. Sometimes even
the busy roads that are most useful for getting from Point A to Point B
are made more accommodating to bicyclists. But bike paths
become enormously popular when they are built, especially for families
with children not ready to pedal in traffic. They also get heavy use by
walkers, joggers and roller skaters. Contrary to typical objections when
bike paths are first proposed, they do not lower property values and they
do not put out a red carpet for criminals, according to the Rails to Trails Conservancy.
More than 65 bike paths are planned on old railroad beds across
the state, but there are numerous political and bureaucratic obstacles to
getting them built. A report
issued last month by the state Senate Post Audit and
Oversight Committee scolded Massachusetts for its poor track record in
establishing rail trails, noting a backlog of more than 90 bicycle and
pedestrian projects awaiting review and funding by the state Highway Department.
The report recommends streamlining the review process for such
projects, and allowing design reforms and more local control. It also
calls for the Highway Department to allot to rail trails some $75 million
in federal pollution control funds before the money's "use it or lose it"
deadlines pass. The report also commends the MBTA for no
longer charging communities to acquire its surplus rail lines for bike
paths -- a policy change made in December under pressure from the same
Senate committee, headed by Sen. Cheryl A.
Jacques, D-Needham. The painstaking progress being
made on planned bike paths in Central Massachusetts:
- Blackstone River
Bikeway, 45 miles, Worcester to Providence: Two bridges from
other parts of the state have been rebuilt and installed on a one-mile
segment in Millbury and Worcester, under and alongside the Massachusetts Turnpike-Route 146
interchange, that will be paved by the fall, as will another mile, from
Heritage Park to Millbury Street in Worcester, according to Len
Barbieri, special projects manager for the Pike. Between the two
segments will be a gap, so "you won't be able to bike it this fall," he
said.
Meanwhile, the Highway Department recently
approved $499,900 for design work from Central Street in Millville
to Route 122 in Uxbridge. A design consultant is evaluating 12 bridges
on the Blackstone-Millville stretch, state Highway Department spokesman
Doug Cope said. The Blackstone River Valley
National Heritage Corridor Commission and the Blackstone Valley
Chamber of Commerce recently formed a task force to keep the
complicated project on track. Rhode Island opened three miles of the
bikeway in Lincoln in 1998 and is working on another three-mile segment,
in Cumberland.
- Assabet River Rail
Trail, 12.5 miles, Marlboro to Acton: The first three-quarters
of a mile opened May 17 off Fitchburg Street in Marlboro. The design of
the next four miles, in Marlboro and Hudson, should be completed next
year, according to Cope. In March the MBTA transferred the right-of-way
in Hudson to the town at no charge and is expected to do the same for
Acton. After state review of the final design, construction bids can be
sought, and construction itself will take about a year, so
optimistically the ARRT is looking at a late 2002 opening for the
four-mile Marlboro-Hudson segment, according to Duncan Power, clerk of
ARRT Inc.
- Wayside Rail Trail, 23 miles, Berlin to Waltham:
Proponents are regrouping after a series of setbacks, including the
MBTA's 1999 proposal, since abandoned, to run a bus service on the
route, and the state's unprecedented suggestion that the towns pay for
the bike path design. Weston voted in 1997 not to participate, but a
report in The Boston Globe last month saying that was likely to kill the
entire project was incorrect. "The opposition of one town will not
prevent this from moving forward," Cope said. Trail users would just
have to detour onto public roads to get through Weston.
- Ware River Valley Greenway Trail, 13 miles, Ware and
Hardwick: So-called 25 percent design of the three miles in Ware, from
Grenville Park to the Hardwick line, is awaiting state review, according
to Paul Hills of the Ware Office of Community Development. But Cope said
the Highway Department has not received the 25 percent design. In any
case, said Craig Della Penna, New
England field representative for the Rails to Trails Conservancy, "no
one is pushing them to expedite this," and if no one clamors for it, the
Highway Department will not allot money.
- Quinebaug Valley Trail, 11 miles, Southbridge to
Webster: Last year the state Department of Environmental
Management was allotted $1.3 million to buy the right-of-way from
the Providence & Worcester Railroad. Trail proponent Ken Pickren of
Southbridge said he doubts DEM will make the purchase unless the towns
make a commitment to get the trail built, but the community hasn't shown
enthusiasm for the project. To improve motorists' sight lines at Routes
131 and 169, the state Highway Department last month dismantled an
abandoned P&W bridge over Route 131 in Southbridge, Cope said.
- North Central Pathway, 8 miles, Gardner and
Winchendon: The first mile was paved in 1997 along Crystal Lake, and the
towns purchased the rest of the right-of-way a year ago. They are
awaiting state Highway Department approval of the design of the next
three miles, and the state has committed $600,000 for construction, said
Robert Hubbard, executive director of the Gardner Office of Community
Development. The Highway Department "is saying they'll go out to bid for
a contractor in September," Hubbard said. He added, "From my perspective
this is painfully slow."
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