Biking the Boston 'Burbs (Trails, MDC, & Towns beyond Hubway area)

Google-Fu Challenge:
(and I know this exists, I just can't find the right kewords)
I want to find at least one story along the lines of:
"_______ Town Chief of Police testifies that bike paths reduce crime at hearing in __________ Town as the latter considers a bike path"

I seem to remember that to mollify the NIMBYs in, say, Sudbury or Bedford, they called the Chief from a peer city, that might have been Lexington or Concord to testify and his testimony was to the effect of:
As a young officer [many] years ago, and before we got a bike path, I remember that [my town] had many residents deeply concerned that a bike path would bring crime to our city and inflict trash and noise to abutters. Now, after [many] years experience, and as Chief of Police, I can testify that all fears were overblown and that those expressing the fears now see the path as a safe and enjoyable amenity for recreation and transportation.
Click to expand...

Similarly, I wonder if anyone has captured the "our minds were changed" progress of "regular people." in some "reputable source" (such as Wikipedia would accept).

Unfortunately, I only have the personal experience of talking to "Liz B, longtime resident of Arlington MA" whose house, like mine, backed up to the Minuteman (though I only lived there 2000 to 2005) and who said--but only privately to me
I remember when the trains to North Station. When they told us a bike path was coming we were all worried about strangers and crime, but none of it happened, and it is great to have it [the Minuteman] back there.
Click to expand...
 
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2.74 miles of the Mass Central Rail Trail (locally known as the Wayside Trail) is nearing completion in Waltham - sounds like the Linden St Bridge part is still a while off. Exciting to see a big chunk of this trail system get closer to Boston. Photos and some deets here:

 
Concord is undertaking a transportation planning process starting with public engagement to identify transportation-related things in town that could be improved. Part of that is having a map (linked below) where people (anyone, it seems...) can add pinned comments or like and dislike others' comments to show support for ideas. The Reformatory Branch Trail is the focus of many comments, with a large number of folks downvoting any suggestions to make any improvements to the path. The path has the potential to be part of a regional network, so I think anyone should feel free to weigh in.

engagestantec.mysocialpinpoint.com

Social Pinpoint - Concord Comprehensive Transportation Plan

Concord Transportation Plan
engagestantec.mysocialpinpoint.com engagestantec.mysocialpinpoint.com
 
Great to see the I-95/Route 1 barrier to those trails getting breached, though it does emphasize the lack of connection to Peabody Square and Salem. I wonder how long before we see a "trail-use" agreement for the all-but-defunct railroad branch in that area.
 
Anybody know what happened at the public meeting last night?

"public hearing for the phase one project will be on Thursday, March 7, 2024"

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mass.streetsblog.org

After a 4-Year Delay, Belmont Gears Up to Build Its First Segment of the Mass. Central Rail Trail - Streetsblog Massachusetts

On Thursday, the town of Belmont and MassDOT will host an in-person public hearing on the preliminary designs for a one-mile extension of the Mass. Central Rail Trail, a project that will be known locally as the Belmont Community Path. The proposed multi-use trail would extend along the MBTA’s...
mass.streetsblog.org mass.streetsblog.org
 
Vagabond said:
Anybody know what happened at the public meeting last night?

"public hearing for the phase one project will be on Thursday, March 7, 2024"

View attachment 48375

View attachment 48376

mass.streetsblog.org

After a 4-Year Delay, Belmont Gears Up to Build Its First Segment of the Mass. Central Rail Trail - Streetsblog Massachusetts

On Thursday, the town of Belmont and MassDOT will host an in-person public hearing on the preliminary designs for a one-mile extension of the Mass. Central Rail Trail, a project that will be known locally as the Belmont Community Path. The proposed multi-use trail would extend along the MBTA’s...
mass.streetsblog.org mass.streetsblog.org
Click to expand...
Yes, big milestone as the State takes over from here. Full house turnout. Unfortunate it took literally decades to get to 25% design. Includes a tunnel under the MBTA tracks to the high school, which was a big selling point (and added to the delay because of MBTA design back-and-forth, eventually agreed to cut-and-cover approach that will only interrupt train service over a long weekend). Lots of Town and State electeds voicing support. Only 1 or 2 abutters voicing concerns. If all goes well it would be funded for construction by 2026 TIP:
https://hwy.massdot.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=609204

Does not include Phase 2, which is still being worked locally to get to 25% design.

Follow https://www.facebook.com/belmontcommunitypath for updates.
 
Arlington said:
Google-Fu Challenge:
(and I know this exists, I just can't find the right kewords)
I want to find at least one story along the lines of:
"_______ Town Chief of Police testifies that bike paths reduce crime at hearing in __________ Town as the latter considers a bike path"

I seem to remember that to mollify the NIMBYs in, say, Sudbury or Bedford, they called the Chief from a peer city, that might have been Lexington or Concord to testify and his testimony was to the effect of:


Similarly, I wonder if anyone has captured the "our minds were changed" progress of "regular people." in some "reputable source" (such as Wikipedia would accept).

Unfortunately, I only have the personal experience of talking to "Liz B, longtime resident of Arlington MA" whose house, like mine, backed up to the Minuteman (though I only lived there 2000 to 2005) and who said--but only privately to me
Click to expand...
The Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail have tons of positive research for rail trails. Several different studies note crime is not a problem across multiple rail trails.

Rail Trail Studies

Rail Trail Studies which offer information about the impact of multi-use paths on neighborhoods, business and home values.
brucefreemanrailtrail.org
 
Arlington said:
Google-Fu Challenge:
(and I know this exists, I just can't find the right kewords)
I want to find at least one story along the lines of:
"_______ Town Chief of Police testifies that bike paths reduce crime at hearing in __________ Town as the latter considers a bike path"

I seem to remember that to mollify the NIMBYs in, say, Sudbury or Bedford, they called the Chief from a peer city, that might have been Lexington or Concord to testify and his testimony was to the effect of:


Similarly, I wonder if anyone has captured the "our minds were changed" progress of "regular people." in some "reputable source" (such as Wikipedia would accept).

Unfortunately, I only have the personal experience of talking to "Liz B, longtime resident of Arlington MA" whose house, like mine, backed up to the Minuteman (though I only lived there 2000 to 2005) and who said--but only privately to me
Click to expand...
I know the Lexington Chief of Police has testified to this effect more than once. For that matter, I grew up there, and when the MMB went in a lot of the abutters put up fences between the path and their backyards. Within a few years, most of those fences had gates installed in them.
 
DCR has given notice to proceed on a contract to extend the Wayside Rail Trail from the Weston end to Jones Road in Waltham. The project will repair the old railroad bridge that runs over the commuter rail tracks.
 

Lowell/Dracut/Methuen - resurfacing and related work on Route 110

A Public Informational Meeting will be held by MassDOT to discuss the proposed Lowell – Dracut – Methuen – Resurfacing and Related Work on Route 110 project in Lowell, Dracut, and Methuen, MA.
www.mass.gov www.mass.gov

The revised design moving forward will no longer be proposing a shared use path along the south side of the road. Instead, there will be bike lanes on either side of the road, buffered from the vehicle lanes by area painted buffer containing flex posts.
Click to expand...


The guardrail protected SUP has been downgraded.

:(
 
Vagabond said:
Anybody know what happened at the public meeting last night?

"public hearing for the phase one project will be on Thursday, March 7, 2024"

View attachment 48375

View attachment 48376

mass.streetsblog.org

After a 4-Year Delay, Belmont Gears Up to Build Its First Segment of the Mass. Central Rail Trail - Streetsblog Massachusetts

On Thursday, the town of Belmont and MassDOT will host an in-person public hearing on the preliminary designs for a one-mile extension of the Mass. Central Rail Trail, a project that will be known locally as the Belmont Community Path. The proposed multi-use trail would extend along the MBTA’s...
mass.streetsblog.org mass.streetsblog.org
Click to expand...
This is awesome for Micromobility/bike Park-and-ride connections to Alewife. I could see a lot of current users who ride the 70-73 buses to harvard switching to bike to alewife then take the Red Line from there.
 
Was in a meeting with staff from the Town of Sharon today where I learned about a really cool program they're running. They bought 20 e-bikes with the intention of doing this e-tourism program where people would take the train to Sharon and ride around this route with route to hit all their parks and Lake Massapoag and stuff. The program as intended was a flop, but it turned out there was a lot of demand from Sharon residents to rent the bikes (which were split 10/10 between the train station and the community center) for just normal travel. They're now re-tooling the program and pricing mechanics to be more oriented for resident use and making first/last mile connections to the train station.

I'll be following this closely as they re-tool the program. Would love to see this as proof-of-concept for limited bike share programs in the burbs in town centers and transit nodes. E-bikes really change the game here in making it viable.
 
Does anyone know when the new bike path in Waltham will open? To the casual observer, it's looked complete for months but has "path closed" signs at the entrances.
 
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