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Here's the 2020 Archive for the Norwottuck Network's 

Free E-Newsletter about Trail Development in the Northeast.


Rail Trail Newsletter November 2020

  • In the most complicated stretch of the Green Line extension, cyclists will rise above it all

  • This old abandoned train tunnel in Clinton could soon become the crowning jewel of the Mass. Central Rail Trail 

  • Swampscott Rail Trail work continues in early November

  • Steady progress on popular new Ulster County rail trails which will link to NYC

  • Cape Cod Rail Trail extension moves into third phase

  • Going places: NYS’s Empire State Trail comes together: Biking the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in Hudson Valley

  • Press release from Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection:

  • State Grants Give Green Light to ‘Pawtucket Greenway’ in Lowell, Massachusetts

  • History Abounds on the Rail Trail

  • In the most complicated stretch of the Green Line extension, cyclists will rise above it all

  • Proof: Bike Paths are Good for the Local Economy

  • Slow map: Mapping Britain's intercity footpaths

  • Town of Dighton Bike Path Initiatives

Rail Trail Newsletter October 2020

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  • Info from Sudbury about the Eversource /DCR project on the east-west Mass Central Rail Trail corridor

  • THE SJC DECISIION IN THE CASE OF SUDBURY VS THE MBTA.

  • After reversal in court, Sudbury neighbors vow to continue fight against Eversource powerline

  • Info from Sudbury about the purchase of CSX owned north-south corridor slated to be a part of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.

  • One day you may be able to bike straight from N'ton to Boston on the MCRT

  • Most People Don’t Know The Story Behind This Mass. Abandoned Bridge To Nowhere.

  • Quinnipiac Trail Bears A Visit by Brian Slattery. The Tidal Marsh Trail

  • Essex County, NJ passes resolution in support of Essex-Hudson Greenway By John Heinis 

  • CAPE COD TRAVEL GUIDE BLOG Back to previous BEST FALL BIKE RIDES By Kristin Amico

  • Peabody Mass Seeks to Bridge Gap in Greenway. (Here's another BIKE PED BRIDGE being built on a rail trail. 

  • Rose Kennedy Greenway Introduces Interactive Bloom Tracker

  • NEW! Evidence Based Infosheets on the Impacts of Trails

  • On the path to safer, more frequent bicycling--in the Berkshires By Danny Jin

  • Mark Hayward's City Matters: The one less traveled by

  • Sample of historic signage along a trail that should be considered to have the "Gold Standard" of signage along a trail.

  • Selectboard signs, sends letter of support after the 25% design presentation for Schell Bridge reconstruction project.

  • AND HERE'S ANOTHER, Multi-town, trail project in Mass. Welcome to the METACOMET GREENWAY!

  • Empire State Rail Trail is a linear vacation GHENT, N.Y. — by Ralph Gardner

  • Grassroots community effort succeeds to create major infrastructure addition for central Vermont

  • Will the COVID Bicycle Surge Last? By Scott Mullen 

  • Some visions for post-Covid cities – and how they hold up. Chris Michael, Lydia McMullan and Frank Hulley-Jones. 

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Rail Trail Newsletter September 2020

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  • Info from Sudbury about the Eversource /DCR project on the east-west Mass Central Rail Trail corridor

  • Big news on the Hudson section of the DCR / Eversource project on the MCRT. 

  • Info from Sudbury about the purchase of CSX owned north-south corridor slated to be a part of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.

  • Guest columnists Markelle Smith, Kristin DeBoer and Kristen Sykes: The ‘Great Outdoors’ gets a federal boost.

  • NOT JUST THE HIGHLINE. . . Mass. spot named among 10 ‘lovely’ parks worldwide that were former railroad lines

  • WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Community members helped celebrate the completion of Westfield’s newest mural along the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail.

  • Bay State Bike Month is September in 2020! From Cape Cod to the Berkshires and everywhere around and in between.

  • Construction workers lift Salisbury rail trail bridge into place

  • Northampton trails group gives people a leg up onto bikes. NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Public School’s free meals program

  • CT Trail Census project sponsors, ON THE TRAIL, hosted by Neva Taylor.

  • Work to begin on Newport, VT lakeside recreation route touted as an economic driver with an international connection 

  • The Broken Algorithm That Poisoned American Transportation

  • The Complete Business Case for Converting Street Parking Into Bike Lanes

  • An annotated, chart-filled review of 12 studies from around the world.

  • IF you thought that the MBTA was the only transit agency helping build rail trails, you'd be wrong.

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Rail Trail Newsletter, August, 2020

 

  • MASS TRAILS ANNOUNCES ANOTHER GRANT ROUND. SECTIONS OF THE MASS CENTRAL RAIL TRAIL GETS THREE AWARDS.

  • CLINTON GREENWAY CONSERVATION TRUST GETS GRANT TO PURCHASE THE SECTIONS OF THE MCRT IN CLINTON

  • CLINTON GREENWAY CONSERVATION TRUST has been awarded a grant from MassTrails 

  • WCVB, Boston Channel 5 has an award-winning show called Chronicle.

  • Creating rail trails in Massachusetts are a community effort

  • Dedham voters reject 2-mile rail trail proposal Rail trails don't just happen, they don't just get built like houses or highways.

  • CHRONICLE Producer and Host, Ted Reinstein shares his experience with the Minuteman Bikeway and the Upper Charles Trails

  • Boston area Conservation Commission Approves Bike Path Extension (and you thought building a bike-ped path was easy. 

  • 'Two roads diverged': Robert Frost's words greet Derry rail trail travelers

  • Northern New England's Longest Rail Trail is now funded to be finished.

  • Open Space Institute buying dead RR in NJ from Norfolk Southern Railroad

  • Eagle Scout + Birdhouses When Adam Arthur, a member of BSA Troop 32 Acton, Mass started planning for his Eagle Scout Project

  • Rail trail proponents hard at work, creating a 93-mile-long state park By Anne Wallace Allen

  • Trails Blend Health and History By Thomas P. Caldwell

  • New report calls for a 425-mile protected bikeway that would connect NYC’s five boroughs

  • Two-Wheel Traffic Up on Bridges, But Cash-Strapped City Can’t Expand Crowded Bike Lanes

 

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Rail Trail Newsletter, July, 2020

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  • SOME VISIBLE RAILROAD ARCHEOLOGY IN SUDBURY - photos and stories about the location of the South Sudbury Station

  • TWO FEASIBILITY STUDIES FOR CONNECTING REGIONAL TRAILS TO THE SOMERVILLE COMMUNITY PATH

  • PROGRESS ON THE COMMUNITY PATH IN BELMONT --A part of the Mass Central Rail Trail

  • 'Haiku in Hadley' greets visitors to the MCRT

  • Schell Bridge planners seek input on adjacent park design By ZACK DeLUCA 

  • Why East Coast Greenway should be a focus of federal stimulus by Dennis Markatos-Soriano.

  • On June 27th, over 6,200 votes were cast on the Rail Trail referendum. This was the highest voter turnout

  • Swampscott Rail Trail under-construction Wow! The first segment in the protracted Swampscott Rail Trail

  • Art on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail CONCORD, MA

  • Massachusetts Rail Trails on Chronicle. Here's the first of a series of segments about the burgeoning network of rail trails

  • A Productive Summer for Lynn, Saugus, and Malden Seems like there's more people than ever using community trails

  • MassDOT holds an official 25% Design hearing on-line.

  • Historic Standard Gage building in Poughkeepsie, NY to be renovated by Scenic Hudson

  • Quarantine Week 7: To hit the bike trail or stay home. For some, that's this week's question

  • Meet the Pedal People, Northampton’s Bike-Powered Cargo Haulers. Mass Streets Blog had a nice

  • I’ve Seen a Future Without Cars, and It’s Amazing.

  • Why do American cities waste so much space on cars?

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Rail Trail Newsletter, May, 2020

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  • A television interview about construction underway on the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail in downtown Westfield, MA.

  • MORE NEWS ABOUT MILE-MARKERS ON THE MCRT CORRIDORThe city of Northampton, Mass and a local artist recently

  • Progress Report on the Belmont section of the MCRT. 

  • FACEBOOK POST ABOUT HOUSES CLOSE TO FORMER RR CORRIDOR called: "Abandoned Rails"

  • Does your MCRT org need a genuine MCRT parade float?

  • Homelessness on the trail By Jim Kenyon, Valley News Columnist

  • SNETT TRAIL CLOSURE ADVISORY, MAY 11 – AUGUST 31, 2020!

  • 80-mile trail connecting Southern Tier to downtown Buffalo now in the works

  • An interesting report about Bennington VT from almost 20 years ago.

  • Connecticut rail trail usage spikes during pandemic with people eager to escape coronavirus isolation

  • History & Scenery Meets Tranquility on Saratoga County Bike Path

  • The 2020 Hudson River Access Plan: Protect the public’s right to access the Hudson River Shoreline!

  • Rail Trail Gets Resurfaced in Castleton VT RUTLAND HERALD

  • The NHRTC Presents……. The New Hampshire Rail Trails Challenge The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition 

  • Proposed Bike path from Sakonnet Bridge to Fall River moves to next step - TIVERTON, RI

  • Here's a primer on the Bay Circuit Trail seen on Chronicle, a Boston TV 5 show.

  • About the Bay Circuit Trail & Greenway, The idea for the Bay Circuit Trail & Greenway first arose in 1929.

  • The Impact of Highway Removal on Cities. ROBERT STEUTEVILLE 

  • Changing the Built Environ-ment: The New Normal for Public and Private Spaces? Opening Streets to Pedestrians

  • Pedestrians to take over parkways in Boston and Watertown By Matt Berg Boston Globe 

  • Drivers Not Wanted on Oakland’s ‘Slow Streets’ - LAURA BLISS

  • Here's a radio interview with Chuck Flink, owner and president of Durham, NC-based Greenways Inc.

  • Seattle to permanently close 20 miles of streets to traffic so residents can exercise and bike on them.

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Rail Trail Newsletter, April, 2020

 

  • West Boylston section of the MCRT is CLOSED! WEST BOYLSTON

  • Valley residents hitting area trails to combat cabin fever By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer NORTHAMPTON, MA

  • Biking in the Valley: Even with COVID-19, bicycling is the way to go for many By STEVE PFARRER 

  • Somerville Community Path Extension presentation by Alta Planning + Design. View a ~20 minute Presentation

  • Beaver Brook Greenway opening celebrated. A network of volunteers, the Broad Brook Coalition

  • City purchases 44+ acres of Diocese-owned land to link the Mass Central Rail Trail

  • Short video of a little house I have for sale that is next to and near to the conservation lands

  • Dedham Vote Postponed, an Important Endorsement and an Impromptu Volunteer Cleanup day - with Proper Social Distancing

  • News from the Plainville, CT section of the New Haven to Northampton Canal Green-way Trail.

  • The issue of gentrification after building a big tourist attraction in a Gateway city. In this case Poughkeepsie, NY and the Walkway.

  • Oakland, CA to restrict cars on 74 miles of streets paving the way for bikes and peds.

  • Brookline Boards Endorse Car Lane Closures to Give Pedestrians More Space By Christian MilNeil

  • Pedestrians to take over parkways in Boston and Watertown By Matt Berg, Boston Globe

 

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Rail Trail Newsletter, March 1, 2020

  • A formal Request for Proposals to remove the rails and ties on the City of Waltham's portion of the Mass Central Rail Trail 2020

  • From the MassTrails Team; Bicycle/Pedestrian Counts Pilot Program

  • Update from Belmont on the Mass Central Rail Trail Project Updates: What’s Been Done to Date

  • Community Path Began Decades Ago

  • Community Path Update 

  • Highlighting history at future recreational bridge.

  • News from the Plainville, CT section of the New Haven to Northampton Canal Green-way Trail.

  • Advocates Put Dedham Rail Trail On April Ballot

  • Work Starts On Remainder Of 11.5-Mile Northern Strand Trail

  • Bill Branson invited to enjoy delights of biking a rail trail

  • Newton Mass Wins $400K Grant For Upper Falls Greenway, Intersection

  • Trail traversing former Williams Lake Property made permanent part of Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in NY.

  • Fall River's Mt Hope Green-way meeting coming up

  • The Bike Path’s Long Journey Continues

  • Green Infrastructure: Case studies for permeable pavement.

  • We’re From the Government and We’re Here to Build a Bike Path

  • This is one of the best books ever done about a single community rail trail. Very thorough on all aspects of the pathway.

  • Here is an image that illustrates the proximity of the two trails to each other.

Rail Trail Newsletter, February 1, 2020

  • Walter E. Bickford, environmentalist and former MassWildlife commissioner 

  • Building Trails All over the city of Northampton. Goal is to have 80% of the population within easy access. 

  • An Op-Ed Piece by Sharline Nabulime who gave the most dramatic testimony at the Energy Facilities Siting Board last month. 

  • The town of Hudson's Cons-Com held a meeting about the Eversource/ DCR project on the MCRT that unveiled the design and plan for the MCRT in Hudson and Sudbury.  

  • This image above was sent to me by a rail trail friend from Natick who noticed that the featured real estate listings were very close to both the Mass Central Rail Trail in Wayland and the Upper Charles Trail in Holliston. 

  • The MCRT's Feasibility Study is finishing up and will be released this spring. 

  • Dedham Rail Trail Referendum Question 

  • BIG NEWS! – Prospect St Tunnel Funding approved!! 

  • $1.3M grant awarded to link rail trail in Franklin and Bellingham, Mass 

  • MassTrails Wants To Fund Your Trails Projects Grant applications are due by February 1. 

  • The completion of a 93-mile rail trail across northern Vermont would help link an ever-expanding network of recreation trails across New England and beyond, advocates say. 

  • Lamoille Valley RT UPDATE 

  • This Epic Massachusetts Railroad Bridge Hike Is Truly Spectacular 

  • Bourne Bike Path Group To Seek More State Funding 

  • GROTON MA – The Squannacook River Rail Trail has metaphorically cleared another hurdle by literally clearing land. 

  • Ground Breaking in Westfield, MA 

  • Winchester, MA to improve navigation along the Tri-Community Greenway 

  • U.S. Congressman tours latest rail trail section 

  • Get Rolling on These 7 Dreamy Bike Paths. It's not the destination; it's the journey. 

  • The Surprising Link Between Parks and Violence Prevention

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