Spotlight on                                                                                                                          

Trail Stewardship

Thanks to everyone who helped at Trail cleanup

 

More than 60 people took part in a cleanup of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail on Saturday, April 25^th. The effort was part of Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) statewide Park Service Day. Special thanks to M. Edwards Jewelers, the corporate sponsor of the Ashuwillticook effort, and to the Olde Forge Restaurant in Lanesborough which provided hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, and cold drinks.

 

 

Several organizations took part in the day's effort but the sizable M. Edwards contingent with their orange T-shirts stood out.  The major part of the cleanup involved sweeping winter debris off the trail, raking and picking up leaves, removing overgrown brush, painting portions of the rail fence and painting over graffiti.  Becky Barnes, DCR supervisor for the Ashuwillticook said, appreciatively, "this one day effort gave my own crew a great head start for the season."

 

Bike Path Planning                                                                                  

 

Progress Report

 

A recommended vendor for the Williamstown-North Adams Path design and feasibility studies has been forwarded to the State and is now awaiting a signed contract.  The Pittsfield Bike Path Committee has been rejuvenated with a number of new members. The group is considering alternative routes and strategies to get Pittsfield back on the "trail".

South County efforts were maximized by a successful multi-community meeting including Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge and Great Barrington. The Lee Committee, with the support of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, has produced a map of potential routes. Stockbridge, with support of funding from Berkshire Bike Path, has also developed a map of preferred bike routes. Both Great Barrington and Stockbridge have presented their initial ideas to their Selectboards and received enthusiastic support. While these groups are in the early stages of bike path development, they are actively developing community interest and potential routes.

 

The Lee Map and Fact Sheet and the Stockbridge Vision Map are both available on the BRPC website. Welcome to Sheffield as the eleventh community to join our countywide effort and to help us connect the trail to Connecticut.

 

> check out the new Stockbridge map

 

This year, the Federal Surface Transportation Act is due to expire and the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) will not be included in new legislation unless a member of Congress writes it in. Please call or write your congressman and ask him/her to support the inclusion of the RTP in the next transportation legislation.  Remind them of the importance of RTP-aided trails in combating our nation's obesity epidemic, and in improving awareness of our region's ecology, cultural resources, and history of a particular area, all of which have a positive economic impact.  Click here for contact information.

 

Massachusetts has received over $6 million in federal RTP funding and awarded approximately 263 grant projects to date, including multiple grants to Great Barrington to support recreational accessibility and local river clean-up and restoration efforts.  For more information, check the April 2009 DCR Connections Newsletter.

____________________________________________________________________