Many twists and turns in Bike Path debate; Town officials want to wait
Published on September 27th, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - Town officials and Tri-Community Bikeway Chair-man Cameron Bain aren't peddling the same path.
Stoneham Selectmen won't ask the Oct. 23 Town Meeting to appropriate the $67,000 needed to kickstart the bike path design phase.
"The decision does not have to be made now," said Stoneham Town Administrator Jeff Nutting.
Nutting said he did not think the town should spend any money earlier than necessary because of tightening budget needs.
"We don't have a commitment from the MBTA that we can use the land," Nutting said. "Also, Winchester hasn't appropriated any money yet, and since their next town meeting is in April, we can wait until May to decide about the money."
Winchester, Woburn and Stoneham — the three communities of the proposed tri-community path — must each put up money for the design phase, but all three communities will be reimbursed 100 percent.
Bain said he could get a commitment letter from MBTA specifying Stoneham's right to build a bike path on the old railroad line owned by the MBTA.
"If we have something in writing, securing the rights, the project can go ahead," said Doug Cope of Mass Highway Public Affairs.
The 80/20 percent federal/state enhancement funds have already been obligated, Cope said. Bain's group won a spot on the list, and Mass Highway administers the projects.
MBTA spokesperson John Carlisle has not yet confirmed or denied Bain's assertion that a commitment letter is forthcoming.
"I've heard it's not going to happen for awhile," Nutting said.
The path as envisioned by Bain runs along the old railroad line land and links up with proposed trails in Woburn and Winchester. This land was dedicated for use as a linear park by Town Meeting in October of 1995 and 1998.
But selectmen are talking about rerouting the trail, altering the standing proposal of a loop snaking the rail line from Pomeworth down along Montvale Avenue toward Woburn.
"We should look at all our options," Selectman Al Conti said at an August meeting. He wants to consider directing the path down South Main Street toward Spot Pond.
Selectmen and the Finance Board discussed the project last week.
"I can understand not spending the money now, but I don't think Main Street makes sense from a safety perspective," said Finance Board member John Warren.
Bain and others say the Main Street route is too hilly and has two many intersecting driveways and streets. Bain quoted figures from the Boston Globe which said that eight people died in on-road bike accidents in 1998, six in 1999 and at least five already in 2000.
"Bike paths aren't 100 percent safe, but they are a lot safer than roads," Bain said.
The Pomeworth to Woburn loop rolls through land used for parking by Stoneham Towing, Lake Industries and Cunning-ham Construction. But all three companies have repeatedly and publicly renounced their rights to the land and explicitly stated that they would make way for a bike path.
Bain is considering sponsoring his article as a citizen, fighting it out on the Town Meeting floor.
1) new Conti quotes
2) Carlisle return call
3) Call Bain for some more facts about dollars and timing, whose in (towns, state agencies) and when will what (approvals,appropriations, work) happen
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