Obstacles Delay Belmont, Alewife Bike Paths
By Ava Cheloff, Belmont Citizens Forum November 2006
Spend an hour in Lexington Center on a pleasant weekend afternoon. The number of bicyclists dipping into stores for a latte or a sandwich is staggering. Many of them are in Lexington because of the safe and pleasant riding on the Minuteman Bikeway that skirts Lexington’s downtown.
Suburban communities such as Weston, Massachusetts have scorned bike path with classic “not in my backyard” thinking. Residents express fears about safety, excessive littering, and “attracting riff-raff.” But the experience of Arlington and Lexington with the Minuteman Trail demonstrates the opposite. Bike paths contribute to a sense that a community is a “happening place.” They attract a surprisingly diverse crowd of out-of-towners who bring economic benefits to local business. Bikeways also encourage bicycle commuting, a boon to the environment and to community health.
There has been talk for years about developing a rail trail through Belmont. Why do we still not have a safe bike trail? Two separate projects are needed to develop a bike trail through Belmont. The physical division point between the two is the railroad crossing on Brighton Street, by the White Hen Pantry.
The Belmont-Somerville-Minuteman Extension
To the east of the Brighton Street railroad crossing is an unpaved trail in poor condition that leads to the Alewife T Station. The trail starts along the north side of the commuter rail track but soon veers off to parallel the Little River along the south side of the Alewife Reservation. At times it is quite lovely. Unfortunately, it is also prone to mud and puddles. Sections of the trail are too narrow to accommodate two bicyclists.
Significant improvements to this path have been in the state budget as part of the Belmont-Somerville Minuteman Trail extension. State Representative Anne Paulsen has played a major role in championing this project and keeping it alive through years of inertia at the state level. This project which is managed by the Massachusetts Highway Department, provides both for improving the existing Linear Park trail between the Alewife T station and Davis Square fand for constructing a finished path the Alewife T station and Brighton Street.
One reason the Belmont project has been delayed is that it is being treated as a part of a larger Somerville-to-Belmont bike path. Designs for both the Alewife-to-Somerville segment and the Alewife-to-Belmont path need to be complete before construction starts. The Alewife to Somerville portion of the project is more complicated than the Belmont path. The Alewife-Brighton route will run largely on the route of the existing trail. By contrast, the Somerville portion of the path involves bike-trail crossings of major roads, particularly Massachusetts Avenue. Since Somerville’s trail is already paved, its supporters may lack the sense of urgency that Belmont residents have. As a result, a strong consensus on the design for Somerville has been slow to develop.
Over the years, attempt have been made to separate out the Belmont portion of the project so that MassHighway could complete it more quickly. At this point, Rep Paulsen suggest that the cumulative pressure of all three communities—Belmont, Cambridge, Somerville—will be most effective at compelling the state to complete the work.
The good news is that people involved with the project report recent activity and momentum. Jeff Conti, Belmont’s Assistant Town Administrator, is actively working with his peers so that the project can be put out to bid. According to Steve Winslow, a long-time bike path activist currently working with the City of Somerville on their Community Path project, the Belmont-Somerville project has reached 75% design completion. It should be going out to bid for construction in late 2007.
Bike Trail from Brighton Street to Berlin
To the west of the rail crossing at Brighton Street is a vision—or competing vision—that could lead bicyclists across Belmont to paths in Waltham. Having a safe route across Belmont is a vital part of plans for the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail, which will eventually run for more than 100 miles from NorthPoint Park in Cambridge to Northampton along the path of the long defunct Massachusetts Central Railroad. Approximately 25 miles of the 100 miles have already been constructed. Local trail projects are underway along many other segments of the route, including the Wayside Rail Trail, the eastern portion of the trail that runs from Cambridge to Berlin.
Determining the path across Belmont is the complicated. Any route will include some travel on city streets, raising concerns of local residents as well as issues of rider safety. Several routes are being discussed for the stretch between Brighton Street and Belmont Center.
Alternative 1 - follow the railroad tracks to Belmont Center
Advantages:
* This segment of the trail is entirely off-road and crosses Belmont Center.
Challenges:
* The MBTA sold the land beside the tracks to private individuals many years ago. A trail would need to secure easements or, potentiall purchase some of the corridor.
* In the past, local residents have raised objections to having a path go past their back yards.
* Getting bicyclists of the trail in Belmont Center and onto Pleasant Street (or onto roads that lead to Pleasant Street) is not straight forward, because it involves crossing the commuter rail tracks. No alternative is ideal; this option will involve significant planning.
Alternative 2 – Use streets around the high school and Concord Avenue to get bicyclists to Belmont Center
Advantages:
* There are no rights-of-way to buy or abutters to please along the route. All it would take is some planning, signs, and paint. It could be a good temporary solution until a real trail is set up along another route.
Challenges:
* Again, we have the problem of safely routing bicyclists around Belmont Center. Having dozens of cyclists pouring into the unstructured intersection of Concord, Leonard and Common streets poses a safety risk.
* This approach put bicyclists on city streets for a longer stretch
Alternative 3 – Use Channing Road to get bicyclists to Belmont Center
Advantages:
* Like the Concord Avenue route, this path could be set up quickly on city streets.
* Channing is a quieter stretch than Concord Avenue. Bicyclists would have less risk of colliding with cars.
Disadvantages:
* This route requires an easement to allow bicyclists to pass directly from Brighton Street to the east end of Channing Road—which means it would take time to set up.
What to do?
As Selectman Will Bronsberger points out, this problem is not a political one—it’s a local engineering problem. We have the people in Belmont who can help surmount these challenges.
Rep. Paulsen reports that there will be a major push to work on the MassCentral Rail Trail in the next year or so. “We don’t want Belmont to stand in the way of this.” she said. “We need to come up with a safe route through town to connect with trails in Walham.”
One route to Watham is through the McLean property. In their memorandum of agreement with the town, McLean’s developers agreed to an easement for a bike path. Proceeding with a path would require further negotiations with McLean.
Interested citizens should check in regularly with town officials and their state representative about the status of this project. Having our elected representatives maintain pressure on MassHighway will be key to getting a bike path built at last.
--Ava Cheloff is a precinct 7 Town Meeting member and an avid cyclist who looks forward to the creation of a bike path through Belmont. See more Belmont news/issues at http://www.belmontcitizensforum.org
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