biking – Page 2 – Belmont Citizens Forum

Belmont Community Path Costs Explained

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, May/June 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

May 082022

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]

Royal Road Dirt Jumps Made Lives Better

Bicycles and bike paths, Board of Selectmen, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Mar 032022

By Erik Rosenmeier My whole life I have walked, biked, and driven by a plot of land on Royal Road. I would see it on my way home from school, practice, or rehearsal, but, like most other people in the town, it never occurred to me that it could have any utility. That is, until the summer of 2020, when my friends and I brought our shovels, rakes, facemasks, and buckets down to that plot of land to build dirt jumps on which to ride our bikes. Most of us spent four to five hours a [READ MORE]

What is the Future of the Royal Road Woods?

Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Mar 032022

What is the Future of the Royal Road Woods?

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Skip to Bonus Material In 1844, when the Fitchburg Line was built, the Clark family owned a triangular lot bounded by the new train line, Common Street, and Clark Street. Wellington Brook ran along the north side of the triangle, just south of the Fitchburg Line. Royal Road and Dunbarton Street did not exist. After more than a century of Clark descendents the land was sold in 1931 to the Glendower Trust, a vehicle of real estate developers John Hubbard and Donald Kenyon. Hubbard and Kenyon laid out plans for Dunbarton Street and Glendower Road (shortly [READ MORE]

Whither the Royal Road Woods?

Bicycles and bike paths, Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Jan 042022

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Last spring, as playgrounds were being closed statewide to contain the emerging COVID-19 outbreak, a new Belmont pocket park came into existence where COVID restrictions didn’t apply. Conceived and built by a group of Belmont boys, the park is hidden from casual passersby by its topography and tree canopy. However, it is well publicized among its users, who have documented their exploits on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media (search for “Belmont Dirt Jumps”). Created for bicycle jumping, a sport that emerged from BMX bike racing, the park initially consisted of a network of crisscrossing paths [READ MORE]

Community Path Passes Phase 1 Milestone

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, January 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

Jan 042022

By Jarrod Goentzel, Sara Smith, and Eric Batcho The town recently passed a major milestone in the development of the Belmont Community Path when town consultant, Nitsch Engineering, submitted the 25% Design for Phase 1 to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Phase 1 is the section of the Belmont path from Brighton Street to the Clark Street Bridge just beyond Belmont Center, including a spur to the Belmont High School and Middle School via a tunnel under the MBTA Fitchburg line (bit.ly/BCP-P1-25). The Belmont Community Path is a critical two-mile link in the Mass Central Rail Trail, a 104-mile, [READ MORE]

Belmont Community Path Moves Forward

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 252021

By Sara Smith, Jarrod Goentzel, and Eric Batcho Momentum is picking up again for the Belmont Community Path, a critical two-mile link in the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT), a safe, off-road path that will ultimately link communities between Boston and Northampton. The 25% design is nearing completion, and the town has appropriated funds to begin securing the right of way. Both of these steps move Belmont closer to obtaining state and federal construction funds and bringing the path to fruition. Community path 25% design phase The town’s contractor, Nitsch Engineering, will complete the 25% design of Phase 1 in [READ MORE]

Bike Infrastructure Makes Belmont Safer

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2021, Newsletter, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jun 252021

By Jeff Roth Few Belmont residents use bikes to get around this small town of only 4.7 square miles, although most live hardly a mile from schools, recreation facilities, stores, transit stations, and restaurants. About 8.2% of Cambridge residents commute regularly by bike, but Belmont’s car-centered infrastructure likely is closer to the state average of 0.9%. Given that short, local trips are responsible for 60% of automobile pollution, how can we encourage car-free travel? Benefits of Walking and Cycling There are many benefits to expanding cycling and walking options in Belmont. People who cycle regularly for transportation and fitness have [READ MORE]

2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Board of Selectmen, Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Select Board, Sewers, Stormwater, Traffic, Transit, Water Quality Comments Off

Mar 012021

2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Each year, the Belmont Citizens Forum asks Select Board candidates questions about issues facing our town. This year, Mark Paolillo, who is running unopposed, provided answers. He was limited to 1,200 words. Describe your vision for preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of living, learning, working, and connecting. Preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of life must begin with making town finances stable and sustainable. This will require a more in-depth approach to long-term structural reform. Belmont should consider the use of performance management budgeting which measures resource input against the resulting output of services for each department. That will help us [READ MORE]

Bikeway Building Booms Beyond Belmont

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Environment, January 2021, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Dec 302020

By John Dieckmann. Photos by John Dieckmann In January, biking might not be on too many people’s minds, but with spring only a couple of months away, this seems like a good time to take stock of the regional rail trail network. The Belmont Community Path is a short but essential link in the long distance Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT), which connects to several other rail trails in its 104 miles from Northpoint Park in Cambridge, near the Science Museum, westward all the way to Northampton. This update covers the roughly 30 miles of the MCRT and connecting trails [READ MORE]

Community Path Proponents Offer FAQ

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, November 2020, Traffic Comments Off

Nov 062020

By Sara Smith, Eric Batcho, and Jarrod Goentzel What is the Belmont Community Path? The Belmont Community Path is a proposed shared-use path running just over two miles through Belmont along the former Central Massachusetts Railroad line connecting Cambridge and Waltham. It is a critical link in the 104-mile Massachusetts Central Rail Trail (MCRT) between North Station and Northampton. See a map and more details on the MCRT at www.masscentralrailtrail.org/interactive-google-map. Who is it for? The shared-use path is for a wide variety of non-motorized users, including walkers, runners, bicyclists, roller skaters/bladers, wheelchair users, and people walking dogs on leashes or [READ MORE]

25% Belmont Bike Path Design Presented

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2020, Town Committee Meetings, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Sep 032020

By Jarrod Goentzel Recent meetings offered a first look at the official 25% draft plan for the Belmont Community Path, which should include most significant features, and continued conversations with state leaders about how and when it can be built. On July 16, the Community Path Project Committee (CPPC) held a virtual public meeting for the design firm, where Nitsch Engineering presented draft 25% design drawings for the first two construction phases (bit.ly/20200716BCPpresentation). A video of the full meeting, including public questions and feedback, is available at Belmont Media Center (bit.ly/20200716BCPvideo). Phase 1 includes the rail trail from Brighton Street [READ MORE]

Community Path Began Decades Ago

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, History, March/April 2020, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 022020

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. It has taken over two decades of stop-and-start development to bring the Belmont Community Path to its current state of planning and formal design, but a timeline for construction of the path is finally in sight. The design and engineering of Phase I of the Belmont Community Path, from Brighton Street to the Clark Street Bridge, started last fall and should take about two years to complete. In the next two years, path plans will progress through three major milestones: 25, 75, and 100 percent design, as part of a Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) guided [READ MORE]

20 Years of Belmont Traffic

Bicycles and bike paths, January 2020, Newsletter, Parking, Traffic, Transit Comments Off

Jan 062020

By Sumner Brown Belmont has turned a corner about how we think of traffic. Twenty years ago, our hope was to find ways to make it easier for cars and trucks to pass through Belmont. Now our objective is to protect residential streets from rush-hour traffic and make life easier for pedestrians and bicyclists. The Belmont Citizens Forum has played a part in our traffic turnaround. In 2002, the Belmont Citizens Forum’s Planning and Zoning Committee brainstormed about Trapelo Road. They thought about bike lanes and lots of trees. The committee engaged graduate student classes at MIT and the Boston [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: Bicycling on Residential Streets

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, November 2019 Comments Off

Nov 042019

To the Editor: I read the article about traffic in the September/October BCF Newsletter with interest. I frequently ride through Belmont on my bicycle and sometimes drive through. I strongly support the rail trail, the underpass at Alexander Avenue, and the connection to Concord Avenue. But also, I am hoping that Belmont will take more advantage of its dense network of residential streets to provide improved bicycling through routes. The barrier across Claflin Street between Farnham Street and Alexander Avenue offers a good example of such a treatment, though it could be revised to be more bicycle friendly. Clearly its [READ MORE]

Mittens for Cold Weather Bicycling

January 2016, Newsletter Comments Off

Jan 142016

Cold hands are not a reason to stop bicycling in winter. You can fix cold hands with army surplus mittens that date from the Korean war. While there may be modern products that would work well for me, I have found that reasonable-looking bicycle gloves either do not keep me warm or are uncomfortable. I know other bicyclists who also consider these surplus mittens to be the best. My army surplus mittens are shells that have supple leather where I connect with my bicycles. They are intended to be used with knit liners. The liner material is wool and nylon. [READ MORE]

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