| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 2091.1 | ARRT | PASTA::PIERCE | The Truth is Out There | Fri Jan 03 1997 13:16 | 7 |
| 2091.2 | ARRT Homepage | CHIPS::LEIBRANDT | | Fri Jan 03 1997 14:22 | 4 |
| 2091.3 | | NETCAD::MORRISON | Bob M. LKG2-A/R5 226-7570 | Fri Jan 03 1997 15:33 | 12 |
| 2091.4 | | PCBUOA::KRATZ | | Mon Jan 06 1997 15:14 | 6 |
| 2091.5 | Hudson to Clinton line | ASDG::OSHAUGHNESSY | | Mon Jan 06 1997 15:14 | 9 |
| 2091.6 | | NETCAD::MORRISON | Bob M. LKG2-A/R5 226-7570 | Mon Jan 06 1997 17:47 | 9 |
| 2091.7 | | NETCAD::MORRISON | Bob M. LKG2-A/R5 226-7570 | Fri Feb 28 1997 19:45 | 10 |
| I answered my own question. A meeting was held on the Mass. Central bikeway
in Hudson a few weeks ago. This project is alive, but is in competition with
other rail trail projects for state funding. Nearly all funding for design
and construction is from the state, with possibly a small amount of federal
funding. Maintenance and police protection are the responsibility of the
towns thru which it passes.
The proposal is to run the trail from just west of Berlin Center to the
Waltham/Belmont line, with a possible extension along the (very much alive)
Fitchburg Division rail line to Alewife station, thereby connecting with the
Minuteman Bikeway.
|
| 2091.8 | RTC | ICS::CLELAND | | Wed Apr 23 1997 17:16 | 12 |
| Rails to Trails Conservancy
http://www.railtrails.org
RTC
1100 17th Street, NW, 10th floor
Washington, DC 20036
Ph# 202-331-9696
Fax 202-331-9680
Membership $20/year
|
| 2091.9 | | REGENT::POWERS | | Fri Apr 25 1997 13:00 | 19 |
| At this year's Annual Town Meeting (which closed last week), Sudbury
overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution endorsing the construction
of the bikeway and supporting the idea of the town maintaining its extent
through Sudbury should it be built.
Among the interesting points of discussion....
The main opposition to the resolution was from people who wanted to
protect the possibility of reinstituting commuter rail. As it happens,
the rail right of way is better protected as a bikeway than as an idle
rail right of way. Ironically, the MBTA will promise to maintain the
bikeway and hold the deed to the land IF it becomes a bikeway, but they
can't guarantee not to sell off parts of the right of way if it's just
an idle right of way. Apparently, some parts of the right of way were
sold off in Belmont before the first leg of the bikeway was built.
Thus, the argument goes, if we need commuter rail in 10 or 20 years, it's
better to build the bikeway now and try to steal it back from the recreational
public than to risk losing it in the short term.
- tom]
|
| 2091.10 | | NETCAD::MORRISON | Bob M. LKG2-A/R5 226-7570 | Fri Apr 25 1997 15:39 | 13 |
| I'm sorry to hear that the MBTA can't guarantee that the ROW will be
preserved if the bikeway is not built. I thought the state was committed
to preserving all former RR rights of way if the railroad was abandoned
after some date around 1975. (The problem with the Acton to Marlboro ROW
is that the railroad was abandoned long before 1975 and a few pieces of the
ROW were sold off. Same problem with a possible extension of the Minuteman
Bikeway thru west Bedford and Concord.)
As far as I know, converting an existing bikeway back to a railroad has
never been tried in New England. I expect that if this were tried, there
would be too much opposition to make it possible. Also, most local ROWs
are not wide enough to allow a commuter rail line and bikeway to exist side
by side with a reasonable separation between the two, although such arrange-
ments are common in Europe.
|