Blogs

The Newton Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force launched a website to promote the conversion of the Newton Upper Falls Greenway. For a detailed map and more information, visit http://www.upperfallsgreenway.org.

The Rails-To-Trails Conservancy site reported recently on their 25th anniversary reception in downtown Washington, D.C., earlier this month, where Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was a featured speaker. According to the article, Secretary LaHood said that encouraging more biking and walking is one of the most important things we can do in the nation's battle against obesity and related illness. He also said the rail-trail program "has done more for health care than anything we've ever done in America. Rail-trails have contributed so much to people's good health over the last 25 years--also preventing heart disease, and providing the kinds of opportunities people have looked for, for a long, long time."

The Danvers Rail Trail Advisory Committee has created an excellent 57 page Development / Maintenance / Management document for their new rail trail:

PDF file is 6.8 mb, link is HERE  or HERE

BCRT organizers in Needham are holding an open public meeting on Wednesday, May 11th at the Broadmeadow School (120 Broad Meadow Road in Needham) at 7:30. All are welcome, especially Needham residents!

The agenda includes updates on the rail trail progress, including the exciting new developments that could lead to an unpaved trail in a much shorter time frame.

MassBike and the Bay Colony Rail Trail are hosting a tour on May 28th along the route of the old Charles River Railroad.  A portion of this route is the very corridor where the Bay Colony Rail Trail will be developed.

The Charles River Railroad was how they brought in all the gravel to fill the Back Bay. It was also the base on which entrepreneurs the second half of the 18th century thought that they could build one of the major railroads of Southern New England, with grandiose names like the Boston and New York Central Railroad, and later the New York and New England Railroad.  They were wrong, and the entire system, including what was left of the Charles River Railroad was taken over by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad at the end of the 1800’s.

http://www.nashobapublishing.com/groton_news/ci_17422032

Rail-trail committees create two-town plan

TOWNSEND -- After five years of hard work, members of the rail-trail funding study committees from Townsend and Groton have come up with a plan to build a nearly 4-mile recreational trail for a minimal cost to the towns.

We have reached an important milestone - the IRS approved our application for becoming a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We received the letter in the mail just in time for the outgoing tax year.

According to Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC), the American Automobile Association (AAA) recently advocated for the elimination of critical, established programs that fund trails, walking and bicycling from the trust fund that finances transportation. Although AAA says it supports all types of transportation, that doesn't seem to be consistent with the stated position, which would divert money away from walking and bicycling and toward the highway system.

More background on the AAA position, and Rails to Trails' rebuttals, are available on the RTC site here.

Soon enough, the Bay Colony Rail Trail will begin the process of exploring many sources of funding to develop a magnificent recreational path from Needham to Medfield. Total funding will be significant - we're estimating in the vicinity of $4 million - so we're eager that all trail-related funds remain open and viable for the foreseeable future!

Please click here to go to the Rails Trails site and sign their petition to AAA, and thanks for your support!