Manhan Rail Trail, Easthampton, MA

• What is the Bay Colony Rail Trail?

• Background on rail-trails

• Rail-trail exploration and development process

• Current status of BCRT

• Questions and concerns

Itinerary

• Needham: 2 miles from Needham Junction to the Charles River.

• Dover: 3.5 miles from the Charles River to Hunt Drive.

• Medfield: 1.5 miles to Harding Street.

Overview

The Bay Colony Rail Trail project is focusedon the inactive rail corridor betweenMedfield and Needham.

The entire segment is 7 miles:

A Rail-Trail is a Linear Park

Pere Marquette Rail-Trail, Midland, Michigan

• A rail-trail is the conversion of a inactive railway into a multi-use recreational path.

• Rail-trails offer a safe place for walking, jogging, cycling, crosscountry skiing, orhorseback riding.

• Rail-trails can be asphalt, crushed stone, cinder, or just plain dirt.

• In Massachusetts, there are:• 103 active rail-trail projects• Dozens of completed rail-trails

• Cape Cod Rail TrailWellfleet-Dennis, 22 miles

• Nashua River Rail TrailAyer-Nashua, 12.3 miles

• Minuteman BikewayArlington-Bedford, 11 miles

• Shining Sea BikewayFalmouth-Woods Hole, 10.7

miles

• Norwottuck Rail TrailNorthampton-Belchertown,

10 mi.

• Bruce Freeman Rail TrailChelmsford-Westford, 6.8

miles

• Assabet River Rail TrailMarlborough-Acton, 5.6 miles

Popular Rail-Trails in Mass.

Cape Cod Rail Trail

• Health: more recreation and nature opportunities.

• Transportation / Livability: improved viable and safe transportation routes.

• Environment: choosing active transportation reduces your carbon miles.

• Open Space Protection: Trails preserve and maintain natural settings.

• Community Identity: Trails create civic pride and engender neighborliness.

Rail Trail Benefits

Rail Trail between Dover and Portsmouth, NH

No Two Rail Trails are the Same

Each community defines its ownrequirements in terms of:• Surface (paved or not)• Landscaping• Barriers• Accessibility• Rules

Each town defines its ownapproach to handling things like:

• Parking• Animals (dogs, horses)• Motorized vehicles (e.g.

ATVs)Assabet River Rail Trail, Stowe

• Rail Trail projects are often measured in decades, not years.

Bruce Freeman (left) took 21 years just to complete Phase 1.

• The fastest Rail Trail project in Massachusetts to date is 6 years.

• Avoiding state bureaucracy helps

Wachusett Greenway is moving well through volunteerism.

• A Rail Trail project cannot succeed without support from each community.

• It takes time to earn that support, to define a trail that works for each community.

This is a Long Road...

Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, Chelmsford, MA

• Step 1: Conduct feasibility study. 6 - 12 months.

• Negotiate lease from the MBTA and remove the rail.12 - 18 months

• Then... begin the recreational trail funding / grant process.

• If it's a paved trail, expect five years to get federal funding.

• Avoiding federal funding, a rail trail can be built at a pace of 1/2 mile per year.

Typical Rail Trail Timeline

Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, MA

• Experience a rail-trail yourself. Listing at:

www.traillink.com

• Research Rail-trails at the Bruce Freeman site:

www.brucefreemanrailtrail.org

• Visit our web site to get involved.

www.baycolonyrailtrail.org

• Let us know your specific concerns:

baycolonyrailtrail@gmail.com

Some Next Steps for You...

Minuteman Trail, Lexington, MA

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