[pathfriends-active] Fwd: Community Path Status

[Karen Molloy]

Hi all,

News from the City regarding status of the Path.

-Karen Molloy
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On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 12:44 PM, Stephanie Hirsch
<SHirsch at somervillema.gov> wrote:
>
> The City just released an announcement regarding the Path extension. This announcement is excerpted below and is also available in full at http://www.somervillema.gov/NewsDetail.cfm?instance_id=1419. In summary, the Executive Office of Transportation has committed to pay for the plan and design of the extension, in conjunction with the Green Line work.
>
> In addition, Steve Winslow, the City's contact for the project, forwarded the following attached description. I will also past the text below so that it's easier to search the archives for it.
>
> ***********************
>
> EXCERPT FROM PRESS RELEASE FROM YESTERDAY 3/10/09:
> EOT Secretary James A. Aloisi, Jr. and Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that they have reached agreement on two important aspects of the extension of the Green Line through Somerville to Medford. In order to provide maximum pedestrian and bicycle access to the Green Line, and to support the City's efforts to expand alternative transportation routes, EOT has committed to underwriting the cost of planning and design for an extension of Somerville's Community Path. The extension, which will follow the Green Line's right of way through east and central Somerville, will fulfill a longstanding goal of bicycle advocates and city planners to link the entire city to a bike route that currently extends from Cedar Street all the way out to Bedford - some fifteen miles away.
>
> SUMMARY OF COMMUNITY PATH PLANS FROM STEVE WINSLOW:
> The improvement and extension of the Somerville Community Path were important priorities in the 2003 to 2008 Open Space & Recreation Plan. This work breaks down into three major project areas: (1) improvements to the existing Community Path in and around Davis Square, (2) extension of the Path from Cedar to Central Street and (3) extension of the Path from Central Street to North Point in Cambridge in coordination with the Green Line extension to Somerville.
>
> Overall
> A 2004 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Active Living by Design Program allowed the city to hire a project manager to oversee these projects. The City found funding to continue this staff support when the initial grant funding ran out.
>
> Davis Square to Cedar Street
> City staff worked with the Davis Square Task Force, Bicycle Advisory Committee, MassHighway and the MBTA to develop plans to connect the Somerville Community Path across Davis Square to the Linear Park near Buena Vista Avenue. MassHighway anticipates these plans will be implemented in 2009.
>
> The Garden Club has developed a schematic for improvements to the landscaping along the Path between Highland Road and Lexington Park. The City has committed $160,000 to design and construct the garden and received a $9900 grant from the state to address drainage in that area. The City plans to complete design and construct these gardens sometime after July 1, 2009.
>
> Cedar to Central Street Extension
> The completion of the Park at Somerville Junction between Woodbine and Central Street was a capstone for the past 5 years of work on this section. The Park project included several years of negotiations with Cambridge Health Alliance that resulted in the donation of the land to the City. OSPCD then secured a Brownfields grant from US EPA and an Urban Self-Help grant from the Commonwealth to fund park design and construction.
>
> The City completed a 25% design of the trail from Cedar to Central Street including several community meetings. The City successfully worked with Pan Am Railways on the official abandonment of the railroad's freight rights, helping to clear the way for federal and state funding. Congressman Capuano secured $800,000 in funds for this section and the City successfully applied for an additional $2.5 million in Congestion Management and Air Quality funds. The project has been slated to be funded in the FY 2011 Transportation Improvement Program with completion of construction anticipated in 2012. The City must further coordinate with the MBTA to ensure this section of the Path includes a direct and convenient connection to the new Lowell Street Green Line station.
>
> Central Street to North Point
> The City successfully completed an engineering feasibility study of the extension of the Path from School Street to North Point in Cambridge. This study established the feasibility of an off-road alternative and options for connections to new Green Line stations at Gilman Square and Joy Street. The City met with MBTA officials during development of the study and shared the results with the Green Line project team.
>
> Through the efforts of the City and community groups such as STEP, Groundwork Somerville and the Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Secretary of Environmental Affairs required the MBTA to develop a 25% design of the Community Path in conjunction with the development of the initial design of the Green Line. In August 2008, the MBTA released its preliminary concept for station locations and the Community Path. The City will continue to work with the MBTA and other state and federal transportation officials to complete design of this section of the Path and secure the funds to build it in conjunction with the Green Line.
>
> The Bigger Picture
> The Community Path will connect to the regional trail system in several ways. The Path will be the final link in the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail that will extend 104-miles along a former rail line from Boston to Northampton. The Path will also link into the Mystic Valley Active and Safe Transportation Network (M-VAST Network) that will run along the Mystic and Malden Rivers and the Alewife Brook.