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]
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]
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]
To the Editor: I am a long-time Boston-area bicycling advocate, CyclingSavvy Instructor, and League Cycling Instructor, responding to the article by Jeff Roth in the July-August Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter. I am pleased to see progress on the Belmont Community Path and the Alexander Avenue underpass; also proposals for traffic calming and roundabouts. However, the article states: “Protected bicycle lanes (PBLs) lower crash rates by a factor of two to 23 times . . . ‘Dooring’ crashes, which account for 20% of bike/car crashes, disappear almost completely with PBLs.” The term “protected bike lanes” wraps itself in its own conclusion. [READ MORE]
By John Dieckmann After we published an article on rail trails in our January newsletter (“Bikeway Building Booms Beyond Belmont”), well-known cycling advocate and expert John Allen pointed out that we didn’t include the Cochituate Rail Trail in Framingham and Natick. Since then, I have had the time to ride this trail and write this update. The Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) runs from the village of Saxonville in Framingham to the Natick Center commuter rail station along the right of way of the abandoned Saxonville Branch Rail Line. It is the culmination of advocacy dating back to the early 2000s. [READ MORE]
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]
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]
By John Dieckmann When completed, the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) will run from North Point Park in Cambridge to downtown Northampton, a distance of 104 miles, following the abandoned right of way (ROW) of the former Mass Central Railroad. The MCRT has been a long-time work in progress, with some segments completed, others in the works, and others yet to be pursued seriously. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently completed a feasibility study of the western part of the MCRT covering 68.5 miles from the Amherst-Belchertown border to Hudson. The area east of Hudson through to Waltham has been [READ MORE]
By Elizabeth Harmer Dionne Belmont’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) has recommended the following projects to Town Meeting for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding in FY2022. Phase I Consulting Services for Payson Park Renovation Organization: Friends of Payson Park (Linda Oates, Susanne Croy, Jay Marcotte) CPA Category: Recreation Amount requested: $35,000 This is the first step in renovating Payson Park, which suffers from inadequate access, crumbling infrastructure, and haphazard layout. Phase I involves an assessment of existing site conditions, neighborhood consultation and feedback, a conceptual design, and a proposed budget for construction costs. Due to changes implemented by the CPC in [READ MORE]
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]
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]
By Meg Muckenhoupt Since aggressively upzoning the Alewife area a decade ago, Cambridge has permitted hundreds of thousands of square feet of new development in the Quadrangle neighborhood adjacent to Belmont, and bordered by Fresh Pond Parkway, Fitchburg line railroad tracks—and Concord Avenue. Now, even more development could solve some long-standing transportation issues, or it could make getting out of Belmont or traveling around the entire Fresh Pond area even more difficult. Why build in the Quadrangle now? Unlike the rest of Cambridge, the Quadrangle has a history of sparse development. Originally one of the lowest-lying areas of the Mystic [READ MORE]
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]
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]
By John Dieckmann and Jarrod Goentzel Progress on the Phase 1 design of the Belmont Community Path continued during the first half of 2020 despite coronavirus constraints. Nitsch Engineering, the design firm chosen by the town last fall, was able to hold a critical meeting in early March with Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and MBTA officials at which the MBTA clarified its requirements for access to the Fitchburg Line on the north side of the tracks. The MBTA feedback from that meeting keeps the project on track for submission of 25% design documents to MassDOT this summer, following a [READ MORE]
By Sumner Brown Ever since March 15, I have noticed fewer cars and more bicycles on Belmont’s roads. I also heard that bicycle stores have had unusual business activity. I called Peter Mooney, an owner of Wheelworks, the bicycle store in Waverley Square. Peter, how is business? Busy. That is Busy with a capital B. We are very busy. We are designated an essential business, for transportation. We have not missed a day. To maintain physical separation, we do not allow customers into our store. For service, customers call to make an appointment. Currently there is a ten-day wait for [READ MORE]
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]
By Kate Bowen Work continues with Nitsch Engineering and the Belmont Community Path Project Committee (CPPC) to bring the path to fruition. A public engagement meeting is anticipated in spring 2020. At that meeting, design solutions will be shared and discussed for Phase 1 of the two-phase project, including pinch points such as the former Belmont Municipal Light Department building. The Alexander underpass portion of the project (segment 1A), for which the town received a MassTrails Grant of $150,000, will also be discussed at that meeting. Nitsch Engineering presented two technical options for installing the tunnel alongside the functioning rail [READ MORE]
Belmont Timeline Featuring events significant to the Belmont’s history and Belmont Citizens Forum issues. 1654 The John Chenery house, 52 Washington Street, is built. The Chenery house is the oldest surviving house in Belmont. 1760 The Thomas Clark House is built on what is now Common Street. “Local tradition maintains that the Clark family witnessed the beginning of America’s War for Independence from the hill behind this house, seeing smoke and hearing the sounds of war breaking out on April 19, 1775.” —Joseph Cornish, BCF Newsletter, January 2011. It was moved in 2012, and finally demolished in 2014. 1805 “Ice [READ MORE]
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]