BCF Asks Path Experts Three Questions

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, March/April 2024  Comments Off on BCF Asks Path Experts Three Questions
Mar 012024
 
BCF Asks Path Experts Three Questions

To prepare for the upcoming Design Public Hearing on Phase 1 of the Belmont Community Path, the BCF asked three Community Path experts about what they think about the Community Path project today. We spoke to Mark Paolillo, Select Board member; Holly Muson, chair of the Community Path Project Committee; and Will Brownsberger, Massachusetts state representative. BCF Since you succeeded Russ Leino as chair of the Community Path Project Committee (CPPC) last year, you have had a ringside seat as this project advances. What has most surprised you about the mechanics of advancing the project? Are there lessons from Phase [READ MORE]

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What’s in a Name? Walking and Biking

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, January 2024, Newsletter  Comments Off on What’s in a Name? Walking and Biking
Jan 032024
 
What’s in a Name? Walking and Biking

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Data from various retrospective observational studies show that bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure enhance residential property values (reviewed in the article “Impact of Bike Facilities on Residential Property Prices” and in Chapter 6 of the Belmont Community Path Advisory Committee report). However, some of the most persuasive evidence comes from the simple observation that real estate agents—who are paid to market properties effectively and knowledgeable about what works—consistently mention paths when they are nearby. The easiest way to measure that practice is to scan the 100 to 150 word property descriptions near the top of listings. An [READ MORE]

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Community Path Could Have Bridge, Box

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, January 2024, Newsletter, Transit  Comments Off on Community Path Could Have Bridge, Box
Jan 032024
 
Community Path Could Have Bridge, Box

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Last May, the consultants hired by Belmont to design Phase 2 of the Belmont Community Path (extending from the Clark Street Bridge to the Waltham border) recommended a final route to the Community Path Project Committee (CPPC), which endorsed the recommendation and sent it on to the Select Board (see “Belmont Community Path Route Takes Shape,”September/October 2023  Newsletter, for details). The Select Board asked for more details on the right of way, which is the focus of current work. The Pare Corporation-Toole Design team proposed two audacious Phase 2 design choices: a new bridge over the [READ MORE]

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Belmont Community Path Route Takes Shape

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, September/October 2023, Transit  Comments Off on Belmont Community Path Route Takes Shape
Sep 012023
 
Belmont Community Path Route Takes Shape

By Vincent Stanton, Jr.  How should the Belmont Community Path get from the Clark Street Bridge to Waverley Square? How might it cross Waverley Square? How should it connect to residential neighborhoods? These and related questions have been under study for Phase 2 of the Belmont Community Path. In December 2022, Belmont hired Pare Corporation and Toole Design Group to design Phase 2, which extends from the Clark Street Bridge to Waverley Square. Amy Archer and Kathleen Fasser, the project leaders of the Pare-Toole team, led the 2016–2017 Belmont Community Path feasibility study, and more recently designed the Waltham segment [READ MORE]

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Waltham Preps Rail Trail Segment

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, January/February 2023, Newsletter  Comments Off on Waltham Preps Rail Trail Segment
Jan 032023
 
Waltham Preps Rail Trail Segment

By John Dieckmann The city of Waltham issued the notice to proceed with construction of the central Waltham segment of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) in May 2022. This segment runs 2.7 miles from Beaver Street by the commuter rail crossing west to Main Street at the Market Basket store. By mid-September, the tracks and ties had been removed and grading of the right of way had largely been completed with the exception of the short stretch from Linden Street to Beaver Street.  As of early December, the first course of paving was complete from the Garden Crest apartment [READ MORE]

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Belmont Community Path Phase 1 Funded

 January/February 2023, Newsletter  Comments Off on Belmont Community Path Phase 1 Funded
Jan 032023
 
Belmont Community Path Phase 1 Funded

By Jarrod Goentzel and Sara Smith The Belmont Community Path is becoming a reality. Full funding was secured for Phase 1 construction. Phase 1 includes the MBTA underpass from Alexander Avenue to the Belmont Middle and High School campus.  Design is underway for Phase 2 that completes Belmont’s two-mile segment of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT), which will eventually connect Boston and Northampton via 104 miles of off-road paths. The Belmont Community Path will help fill a critical gap along the MCRT as construction east and west of Belmont actively moves forward. Belmont’s TIP Funding  This spring the Belmont [READ MORE]

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Letters to the Editor: Belmont Hill Plans, Bike Trails

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Climate Change, Environment, November 2022, Open Space, Parking, Plants  Comments Off on Letters to the Editor: Belmont Hill Plans, Bike Trails
Oct 312022
 

To the Editor: New England in the fall is renowned for its beauty—the trees are blazes of color, birds, squirrels, and other animals are busily preparing for winter, and the occasional whiff of woodsmoke floats in the air. Driving up Prospect Street, one is met with the pleasant sight of the pristine lawns and stately brick buildings of the Belmont Hill School—a self-described educator of “men of good character,” where “boys are expected to collaborate and become part of something larger than themselves.” Which is why it’s such a shame that the Belmont Hill School is apparently ignoring its own [READ MORE]

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Mass Central Rail Trail Continues Expansion

 Newsletter  Comments Off on Mass Central Rail Trail Continues Expansion
Jun 202022
 
Mass Central Rail Trail Continues Expansion

By John Dieckmann Progress continues on the Wayside section of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) from I-495 to Boston. Two paved segments were recently completed: five miles, from the Waltham-Weston town line to Route 20 in Wayland at Russell’s Garden Center, and approximately three miles from Brighton Street in Belmont to Lowell Street in Somerville.   In addition, two major segments are under construction. The Somerville-Cambridge section being constructed along with the Green Line Extension will open in late summer and will complete the MCRT from Brighton Street to Boston in the vicinity of the TD Garden. Construction has [READ MORE]

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Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2022, Newsletter, Parking, Solar Power  Comments Off on Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?
Jun 202022
 
Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Additional material—including calculations of how much energy could be generated—is available in the full version . Below is the version which appeared in the print newsletter. – Ed. The imminent arrival of the Belmont Community Path prompts the question: what other productive uses might be devised for the Fitchburg Line corridor? One possibility is siting  a south-facing solar photovoltaic (PV) array along the tracks.  Conditions for a PV array Aspects of path layout relevant to design of a PV array include length, orientation to the sun, and the presence of a substrate to which PV panels can [READ MORE]

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Belmont Community Path Costs Explained

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, May/June 2022, Newsletter  Comments Off on Belmont Community Path Costs Explained
May 082022
 
Belmont Community Path Costs Explained

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. The Belmont Community Path is approaching an important milestone—a potential construction funding decision by the Boston region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Although municipalities, including Belmont, are responsible for funding path design and for securing the path right of way, state and federal governments fully fund path construction via the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Construction costs are generally about 85% of total project costs. TIP funds are allocated to cities and towns in the greater Boston area via a competitive process administered by the Boston MPO, which receives about 80% of its budget from the federal highway [READ MORE]

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