Belmont Community Path Community Path Advisory Committee FINAL REPORT 7 June 2014 Brighton Street Trailhead (Belmont, MA) Report Authors: Committee Members Jeffrey Roth, Chair Cosmo Caterino Tommasina Anne Olson John Dieckmann, Vice Chair Charlie Conroy Kevin Sullivan Price Armstrong Amy DeDeo Vincent Stanton, Jr. Brian Burke, Sr. Joseph Noone Jeffrey Wheeler – Ex Officio, Liason for the Town to the Committee Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 3 A. What is the Belmont Community Path? ........................................................................................... 3 B. Potential Path Characteristics ........................................................................................................... 3 C. Data Gathering .................................................................................................................................. 3 D. Route Evaluations ............................................................................................................................. 4 E. Next Steps ......................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 6 3. Recommended Next Steps for the Belmont Community Path ............................................................. 8 A. Adoption of a Preferred Route ......................................................................................................... 8 B. Preliminary Engineering Feasibility Study ......................................................................................... 9 C. Questions Requiring Further Study ................................................................................................. 10 D. Coordination with Waltham Mass-Central Rail-Trail Segment ....................................................... 10 E. Continuing the Conversation .......................................................................................................... 11 F. Standing Belmont Community Path Committee ............................................................................. 11 G. Funding/Construction ..................................................................................................................... 11 4. Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................................................... 12 5. Background ......................................................................................................................................... 14 A. Mass-Central Rail-Trail Feasibility Study ......................................................................................... 14 B. Belmont Bikeway Preliminary Feasibility Analysis .......................................................................... 14 C. Metropolitan Area Planning Council ............................................................................................... 15 6. Overview of Reports on Crime, Economic Impact, and Safety of Multi-Use Paths ............................ 17 A. Evaluating the literature ................................................................................................................. 18 B. Crime and trails ............................................................................................................................... 18 C. Economic Impacts of trails – property values ................................................................................. 30 D. Trail Design Issues and Costs .......................................................................................................... 47 7. Other Trail/Path/Cycling/Walking Projects ......................................................................................... 62 A. The Mass Central Rail Trail .............................................................................................................. 62 B. Shared-Use Paths Connecting with Alewife Station ....................................................................... 63 C. The Minuteman Commuter Bikeway .............................................................................................. 63 D. Connections to Trails within Belmont ............................................................................................. 63 8. Community Feedback ......................................................................................................................... 64 A. Online Questionnaire ...................................................................................................................... 64 B. Mailed Questionnaire ..................................................................................................................... 67 C. Public Forums .................................................................................................................................. 69 D. Written Correspondence Received ................................................................................................. 70 9. Preferred Routes ................................................................................................................................. 71 A. Waltham Border to Clark Street Bridge .......................................................................................... 71 B. Clark Street Bridge to Belmont Station ........................................................................................... 79 C. Belmont Center ............................................................................................................................... 82 D. East Belmont ................................................................................................................................... 86 E. Safe Routes to School ..................................................................................................................... 95 1 F. Scoring and Ranking of Preferred Routes in Western and Eastern Belmont .................................. 95 Appendix A: Links to Online Resources ....................................................................................................... 99 Appendix B: References for Literature Review of Paths and Trails in Chapter 6 ..................................... 100 2 1. Executive Summary In August of 2012, the Town of Belmont Selectmen commissioned the creation of the Belmont Community Path Advisory Committee (CPAC) in order to study and make recommendations on the development of a multi-use path from the Waltham line to the Cambridge line. This was motivated in part by the 2012 MAPC report on the Belmont/Waltham trail, and was also motivated by the construction of the new path from Brighton Street in Belmont to Alewife Station. The CPAC was composed of 11 community members representing a diversity of backgrounds, home locations and interest in the potential Community Path. A. What is the Belmont Community Path? The Community Path is envisioned to be a shared-use resource for basic modes of transportation like walking, jogging, bicycling, in-line skating, and other non-motorized forms of mobility. A Community Path would connect Belmont into a growing network of walking and cycling routes in the nearby communities. A Community Path offers a wide range of possible benefits, such as providing a safe place for healthy activities by people of all ages and abilities, improving air quality, helping to relieve traffic congestion, stimulating local businesses, and enhancing Belmont as a place where people want to live, work, and shop. B. Potential Path Characteristics The general area of the Belmont Community Path would be roughly along the abandoned Massachusetts Central Rail Road (MCRR) right of way, from the border with Waltham to the border with Cambridge (where currently the Fitchburg Cutoff Path terminates at Brighton Street). There are two main complicating factors with this area in Belmont: A. Unlike in other parts of the state, the MCRR corridor in Belmont runs alongside the active Fitchburg Commuter Rail tracks. Building a path alongside an active rail line brings with it considerations on user safety and comfort. B. The MCRR corridor runs through residential areas in Belmont, notably behind the back yards of properties along Channing Road. Many of these homeowners have expressed concerns about the development of the path in that location. C. Data Gathering Data gathering for this project took the form of researching existing literature, and engaging the community for feedback. The CPAC gathered community feedback through the following: 1. The CPAC held 39 public meetings, generally two times per month, wherein community members were invited to make comment on the discussion topics. 2. The CPAC organized three site visits to potential path locations within Belmont, which were advertised as public meetings and open to the public. 3. The CPAC organized two bike rides to existing multiuse paths in neighboring communities which were advertised as public meetings and open to the public. These events stimulated ideas for what a Community in Belmont might be like.