July
Berkshire Bike Path Council                                                                                                     
July 2008 Update 


Everyday Trails

In my view, the most important trail is your everyday trail, the one closest to where you live. In Great Barrington, bike paths are an essential element in an exciting new vision for a community-wide trails network. The goal of the Great Barrington Trails & Greenways Project is to provide wide access to user-friendly trails for bicyclists and walkers and to encourage their everyday use throughout the community. Great Barrington is also exploring linkages with Sheffield and Stockbridge as part of our regional bike path. Hope you're enjoying summer!
 
-Marge Cohan, President, Berkshire Bike Path Council
Spotlight                                                                                                                                 
Great Barrington Trails & Greenways

Path work

"Trails these days, and especially bike trails,
are about much more than simply recreation." 


Great Barrington Trails & Greenways (GBTG) is a collaborative effort that is promoting the development of a townwide trail system that supports walking, biking, hiking, and boating. Deb Phillips, Alliance for A Healthy Great Barrington, and Christine Ward, Lake Mansfield Alliance, are two key project catalysts. Ward finds great energy in the GBTG's inclusiveness, "Our approach to community trails is to really involve the whole community. We want to have trail opportunities for everyone." According to Phillips, "Trails these days, and especially bike trails, are about much more than simply recreation, they enhance community health, provide alternative transportation, and promote environmental sustainability."  

The envisioned trail system (see Town-wide Vision Map) will provide safe opportunities to explore Great Barrington's rich historic and natural resources, promoting public health and fostering appreciation of these valuable community treasures. The African American Heritage Trail, a regional bicycle route that celebrates the lives and accomplishments of African-Americans who made their mark in Western Massachusetts and beyond, exemplifies this kind of linkage between celebrating history and promoting physical activity via trails. In addition to their recently-completed vision map, the GBTG project partners have organized volunteer trail work days, a series of monthly guided hikes, and are developing the "Central Loop", a route linking Lake Mansfield with the River Walk downtown.
                                                                                                                                          
Bike Trails Count!


Volunteers Needed! 

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has a new program to count trail users on the Ashuwillticook Trail and we need volunteers! The data will be used to understand of what types of activities people most enjoy while using the trail, and will help to build a foundation for predicting future use.  Most importantly, the data collected will also be used to advocate for greater trail development.   More than 1100 users were counted on Sunday, May 4th and 510 were counted on Tuesday, May 6th. 
 
To volunteer for a two-hour shift on Saturday, July 12 anytime between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM or Tuesday, July 15 from 7:30-9:30AM or from 4:30-6:30PM, plase contact Christine Neumann at cneumann@berkshireplanning.org for details and to receive a count form. For more information on the May trail counts, please visit the BRPC Bike Path Planning webpage (berkshireplanning.org/3/bike/).
                                                                                                                                             Upcoming Events 


Bike                                                                                                                                      
Farnum's Challenge on the Ashuwillticook Trail
Sunday July 27th, 2008 


This unique triathlon features Run-Oar-Roll teams that require at least one team member with a physical limitation. The course consists of a running leg and a bicycling leg, both on the Ashuwillticook and a canoeing leg on Cheshire Lake. Sponsored by Ad Lib, Inc. and Berkshire Bike Path Council. Visit the AdLib website at www.adlibcil.org for more information.
   

Great Barrington Excursions  
Check out Great Barrington's "GB Excursions" which includes Saturday morning interpretive walks with historian David Rutstein and Wednesday morning trail projects on the River Walk.



Visit Us!
We welcome your support and ideas on improving bicycling in Berkshire County. For more information, visit us at http://www.berkshirebikepath.com 
 


Coming in July: Spotlight on Pittsfield