North Adams' Proposed Bike Path Connects Community Assets
.JPG) Maps of the proposed bike trail route will be reviewed at a public information on Wednesday evening at Greylock School. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city is laying down plans for a bike path in the West End.
The trail would run from downtown to the city's western border on Route 2, cutting mainly through municipal properties.
The approximately 3-mile route would line up with another 2.5 miles in Williamstown near Galvin Road.
"I think the route is really cool," Mayor Richard Alcombright said in a presentation prior to Tuesday's City Council meeting. "It takes in some city assets that weren't talked about several years ago."
An informational session will be held on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Greylock Elementary School for residents to provide input.
The last trail proposal in 2010 had encountered a number of objections from residents whose properties would have been affected.
This latest version seeks to reduce those concerns by sticking largely to municipal lands and riverbanks along the south side of Route 2 until crossing the highway by Brayton School to cut through former Sprague Electric property to Brown Street.
Lauren Gaherty, senior planner with the Berkshire regional Planning Commission, and City Planner Makenzie Greer presented the plans to the City Council on Tuesday night.
The initial idea for a North Adams to Williamstown pathway was raised around 2000, and further efforts were made after the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail opened in Adams and Cheshire in 2001.
The proposal in 2011 received $560,800 in a National Scenic Byways grant, with a matching grant of $140,200 from the state.
The city is working with $81,000 of that for planning on the ground. The balance, about $620,000, is being used by Williamstown for engineering on its end of the trail; some of that funding will also go to bring the North Adams engineering to 25 percent. Williamstown's path will run through town and Williams College property
The Scenic Byway money dictated efforts begin on Route 2 rather than along Route 8, where the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is set to be extended from Adams to McCann Technical School.
"The trail coming from the south, but our opportunity now is coming from the east," said Alcombright.
The designs for the proposed Mohawk Bike/Pedestrian Path is being built around input from residents during the Vision 2030 process and federal and state requirements.
"We heard, 'make it off road as much as possible,'" Gaherty told the council. "They want the trail to be scenic and somewhat wild."
The realigned route connects several of the city's assets in the West End, including Greylock and Brayton elementary schools, neighborhoods, the airport, Alcombright Athletic Complex, and proximity to the Northern Berkshire YMCA and Stop & Shop and Price Chopper supermarkets.
Both Gaherty and Greer cautioned that the route laid out so far is very preliminary and will depend on a host of factors, including community input, engineering and the state Department of Transportation.
The path would hug the north side of the Harriman-West Airport, which would require approvals through the Airport Commission and Federal Aviation Authority, and consideration of the eventual solar array planned for the property.
It would also mean at least one river crossing, possible wetlands disturbance, the use of a residential road (Barbour Street) and a tunnel through a railroad berm.
Pan Am Railways has not ruled out the tunnel, preferring it to a grade crossing. The railway has already signed off on a pedestrian tunnel under its rails near Western Gate Heritage State Park to allow access to the Berkshire Scenic Railway line.
"Pan Am was very cooperative through that process," Alcombright said. "I think they would be with this one."
Once exiting the tunnel just north of Avon Street, the trail would run over an old service road that cuts through the Sprague property, now owned by a holding company.
"I think what's more difficult is where there's very little real estate," Gaherty said. "It's where there's no real estate and steep slopes. ...
"I think that's where the challenges are going to be."
But connecting the trail to the downtown once it arrives at Brown Street won't be easy either.
Greer said Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is very interested in having the trail run through its campus, even considering a bridge and possible "tunnel" through its buildings along River Street.
If that is not feasible, a number of possible routes along city streets are being looked at.
"It's a very preliminary conception plan to see whether those plans are doable," Greer said.
Construction would be several years out. There's $4.7 million currently available and building both sections are estimated between $6 million and $12 million.
"We need to sort of get all of our ducks in a row and we become very good candidates for that funding," she said.
Among the goals is to provide a safe, accessible route for pedestrians and bicyclists to get work, school and other destinations. That mission aligns with the state's Safe Routes to School and Mass in Motion initiatives.
"I think this has tremendous possibilities," said the mayor.
Tags: bike path, scenic byways,
