Rail Trail e-Newsletter December, 2023 #84

Hello all,

Happy holidays all! What a year 2023 was. Here's some of my highlights.

After the passing of Tom Kelleher, our NN Treasurer and Cartographer, we were blessed to quickly bring-on a couple of great volunteers. Danny Noenickx as our Cartographer and Glen Pransky as Treasurer.
Hiring an acclaimed consulting firm to write a report that answers a never before asked question in New England. What would a completed 100+ mile long trail mean to the Commonwealth?
Raising $75,000 quickly to pay for the report from 3 visionary New England based foundations.
Pulling-off a major conference on this subject in Natick in October.
This e-newsletter has grown to be over 15,000 people each month.
We have other initiatives that will soon be unveiled. Stay tuned.

The big news in this e newsletter is that the former RR bridges on the developing sections of the MCRT in Weston and Waltham are now funded to be renovated and made into a part of the trail. Other big news is that Southampton Mass has moved forward on the planning and design of their section of the New Haven & Northampton Canal Greenway.

We also have a few stories about cities moving forward on some critical projects. Stories about entrepreneurs setting up their dream jobs, near their rail trails. And among others, is a link to a report about an impressive network of dead RRs being converted in southwest NH--just over the border from the Winchendon, Mass area.

Happy New Year!

Craig Della Penna, Board President

Norwottuck Network, Inc.

62 Chestnut St. Northampton, MA 01062

413 575 2277 Craig@MassCentralRailTrail.org

In the GREEN area, we have news about the

Mass Central Rail Trail

and or one of its connecting paths

After nearly 30 years of being under

development, two projects are finally

coming to a conclusion.

The old RR bridges over Rt 128/I-95 and over the Fitchburg Commuter Rail at Weston-Waltham are now funded to be upgraded and finished for the MCRT.

Gov. Healey Adds $24 Million for Trail Projects from Pandemic Relief Funds

STREETSBLOG MASS 12-21-23

Earlier this week, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced a new round of investment to advance regional trail projects with a focus on environmental justice communities. (This will not only fund the reno of two former RR bridges over Route 128/I-95 and over the active Fitchburg Commuter line, but a number of other rail trails too. CDP)

And good news from Southampton too!

Southampton Greenway trail advancing, at long last

By MADDIE FABIAN

Staff Writer. Daily Hampshire Gazette11/24/2023 SOUTHAMPTON — Responding to a parent asking how old his 2-and 3-year-old boys will be by the time the Southampton Greenway is constructed, Friends of the Southampton Greenway member John Sheehan said, “We asked ourselves that 30 years ago.”

Click on the image above to go to an infographic.

More detailed information about the N-S trail can be seen at the site for the umbrella group. New Haven & Northampton Canal Greenway.

Thanks to Christy Bannish and Norm Berg for that site.

The pairing of Weston and Southampton

The two stories above are very fitting to be paired together. You see, both Weston and Southampton voted down the idea of converting their dead RR into a trail. One in 1996 and the other in 1997

Both were resurrected in different ways.

Weston came back because we spotted a theft of a short section of the corridor in Berlin, which led the MBTA to decide to lease the entire 24 miles of the Wayside section to the state parks agency--DCR.

In Southampton, we went back in and created the Friends of Southampton Greenway (not the radioactive word, "Rail Trail") and after almost 4 years of monthly meetings, usually with speakers from places like Southampton who built their trail, the town voted to move forward the trail idea.

Communities on the

on the MCRT and their websites

Did you know that many communities (or groups like land trusts) on the MCRT alignment are working on their section of the trail?

Here's a link to a two-page infographic about the history of the MCRT

Here's a link to the report that answers the main question. "What would a completed MCRT mean to the Commonwealth and the communities along the way."

Here are links to websites where you can learn who the contact person is, when these groups meet, when hearings are being planned and how to sign up to get notices sent directly to you.

Belmont: Link here to the town appointed committee.

Belmont: Link here to the Belmont Citizens Forum.

Belmont: Link here to the Friends of the Community Path Facebook group.

Somerville: Link here to the Friends of the Community Path Facebook group.

Waltham: Link here to the Waltham Land Trust's site.

Waltham: Link here to the Waltham Bike Committee.

Waltham: Link here to the City's page about the MCRT.

Weston: Link here to the town's page about the MCRT

Weston: Link here to the history of both the RR and the advocacy to create the trail. Over 25 years of advocacy. It is now open.

Wayland: Link here.

Sudbury: Link here for the N-S intersecting trail--Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.

Berlin-Hudson: Link here to the new FaceBook group.

Berlin: Link here goes to the town's Rail Trail Committee. They also have a pretty nice website with pictures of the existing dead RR corridor along other maps and images of a future trail. Link here.

Wayside segment of the MCRT: Link here to a regularly updated history of DCR's efforts on building out this complicated trail.

Clinton Greenway Conservation Trust: Link here. updated info.

Clinton Tunnel: Link here to a story on WBZ Boston TV about the tunnel. And link here to a more recent story on MassLive about tunnel and efforts to restore it.

Wachusett Greenways section in the center of the state: Link here.

Wachusett Greenways Facebook page with a link to their E-newsletter: Link here.

East Quabbin Land Trust: Link here.

Palmer coming soon

Ware: Link here to the Facebook group about this segment of the MCRT'.

Belchertown: Link for the site for Friends of the Belchertown Greenway.

Amherst, Hadley on DCR's Norwottuck section of the MCRT: Link here.

Northampton area: Link here to the Friends of Northampton Trails website.

Northampton area: Link here to the Friends of Northampton Trails Facebook.

Here's DOT's Feasibility study about how to piece together the middle sections of the MCRT.

And here's the report that describes what a completed MCRT will mean to the Commonwealth and the communities along the way.

AND IN THE WHITE AREA,

OTHER NEWS AROUND THE REGION

Gateway Cities in Poughkeepsie NY and Hartford CT get their rail trail projects going

This new trail is open year-round in Poughkeepsie Nickie Hayes, Poughkeepsie Journal, 12-19-23

The first phase of Dutchess County's urban trail project, the Marcus J. Molinaro Northside Line, has opened to the public.

At a gathering on the trail Dec. 16, Dutchess County Executive William F.X. O’Neil unveiled the trail's new name and announced it is now open for public use year-round. Read more

Here's links to a couple of sites about this great new urban trail.

https://www.dutchesscountyurbantrail.com/

https://northsideconnected.com/projects/urban-trail/

CT city boosts efforts for trail linking to ECG. It’s about much more than recreation. By KENNETH R. GOSSELIN gosselin@courant.com Hartford Courant 12-17-23

From the more than century-old rail line in Hartford’s Asylum Hill, it’s hard enough to see a way clear to the office towers downtown, let alone a connection to the city’s riverfront.

But Doug Suisman envisions a path to the city’s Riverside Park and its boathouse that’s maybe a 20-minute walk from Asylum Hill, far less by bicycle. Read more. (Attention friends in VT, this will involve a rail-w-trail along the New England Central RR--the same RR that tells you that they'll never allow a rail-w-trail. Also, this is the first time my Google search has ever picked up a story in the Hartford Courant about a rail trail. Very notable day. CDP)

A COUPLE OF STORIES FROM THE UPPER EAST SIDE OF NYC WHERE A LONG AWAITED TRAIL JUST OPENED

East Midtown Greenway Opens To Huge Crowd And Rave Reviews

"We all love it," one person shouted on the opening day of Manhattan's newest park space.

The greatly anticipated East Midtown Greenway opened to much fanfare on Tuesday (Peter Senzamici/Patch) 12-19-23

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — For Chevalier, a French Bulldog who just turned 1-year-old, the opening of the East Midtown Greenway on Tuesday seemed to be a personal doggie birthday present. Read more

Watch this short video from local TV in NYC.

Another interesting take on the project. Read more.

How a rail trail sparked a fight pitting outdoor recreation against rare species

By Amanda Gokee, Globe Staff, 12-19-23, CONCORD, N.H. — David Carroll has spent his life studying turtles and wetlands, the subject of a handful of books he has authored and hundreds of drawings and paintings. Read more.

Three of America's picturesque hiking trails are now considered national parks, and one of them cuts through Massachusetts.

The 235-mile New England National Scenic Trail, which stretches from the Long Island Sound shoreline in Connecticut to the New Hampshire border, is now recognized as a unit of the National Park System. Read more.

Did you know that the densest area of dead steam RR corridor in North America is within 150 miles of my office in Florence. MA? Here's what is being developed in the SW region of NH. Just over the border from Mass.

Monadnock Region, NH Rail Trail Collaborative

Annual Report.

Read the Report

Learn more about the inspiring team effort being led by Mike Kowalczyk.

Can someone in the Winchendon, Mass area contact me about this? I think it is time to connect this to the MCRT. Drop me a line. CraigDP413@gmail.com

AND IN THE ORANGE AREA;

Interesting, "HIGH ALTITUDE" Stories From Around the Country and Sometimes Beyond.

The Dutch love to cycle. So much so that there are more than 35,000 km (over 21,747 miles) of cycle paths snaking through the Netherlands. Two of those bike routes have now been topped with photovoltaic cells to produce renewable energy while they face skyward.

Construction company the BAM Royal Group and the Colas Group's Wattway subsidiary have joined forces to install the latter's Wattway Pack panels on 1,000 m2 of bike paths in the North Holland province and another 1,000 m2 in the North Brabant area. Read more

Cape boating, fishing, biking contribute millions to state's outdoor recreation economy

Denise Coffey Cape Cod Times 12-23-23

Playing isn’t just good for the body and mind. It’s good for the economy — especially on Cape Cod. Everything from beachgoing to waterskiing, boating to fishing contributed billions to the state’s economy in 2022.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis tagged the economic impact of outdoor recreation at $11.7 billion in Massachusetts. Those numbers ranked boating, fishing and bicycling at the top of the list in economic value. Read more

A couple of more stories about entrepreneurs opening their businesses near the trail

Twelve years later it’s still going strong. Mike Switzer interviews Mary Walsh, co-founder of Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery in Greenville, SC.

Listen to this short interview.

Rail Trail Flatbread Co. opens 2nd restaurant, investing in Milford, Mass.

By Chris McLaughlin I cmclaughlin@masslive.com

When The Rail Trail Flatbread Co. hosts its grand opening Tuesday, Dec. 12, owners say it won't just be a capstone to years' worth of renovations that turned a former bank into a restaurant in the heart of downtown Milford, it will also recognize their team's commitment and a promise of potential for those involved. Read more

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

The new Norwottuck Network is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation specifically set up to help get the longest rail trail in New England--the Mass Central Rail Trail --built-out, operational and notable.

We can help do that by making small, mini-grants available to local groups and communities that will bring restore/renovate/replace historic mile-markers on the corridor. Or help fund kiosks that will call out forgotten railroad or industrial history of that locale.

Or if and when we need to, (or are asked to) we will commission major reports to answer the "elephant in the room" questions, never asked.

We will want to work with the state park agency Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on standardized kiosk designs.

We will keep you all posted as to developments as we go. We have made it easy to DONATE through the Network for Good.

Here's some of the Podcasts

I've been on.

Amazingly, Constant Contact alerted us that this newsletter is in the top 10% of all of Constant Contact's newsletters, worldwide, in terms of readership engagement. Imagine that!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE NOTIFICATION LETTER.

Phone: 413-575-2277 or Email Me

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