Banner image: Route 189, where the sidepath will be located. Photo credit: Steve Mitchell, East Coast Greenway Connecticut Committee Chair, contributed to “East Coast Greenway — spanning from Maine to Florida — will link Bloomfield and Simsbury“, by Emily DiSalvo, The Ridgefield Press, Jan. 2, 2023. Hartford-area active transportation enthusiasts and East Coast Greenway users canContinue reading “2023 Trails: Bloomfield to Simsbury”
Author Archives: jsbrubaker
A group ride on the (leafy) Windham and Derry Rail Trails
With the unseasonably warm weather this weekend in New Hampshire and the rest of New England, how could you not want to get outdoors? On Saturday, four of us planned a there-and-back trip on the Windham and Derry Rail Trails. We started at a crowded Canobie Lake depot parking area for the Windham RT onContinue reading “A group ride on the (leafy) Windham and Derry Rail Trails”
2022 MassTrails grantees announced
81 trail improvement projects across Massachusetts are being funded by the 2022 cycle of the MassTrails Grant Program, as announced by the Baker-Polito Administration late last month. The program is a collaboration of the Governor’s Office, MassDOT, MassDCR, and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, an inter-agency effort that hints at the multipleContinue reading “2022 MassTrails grantees announced”
Twin Cities Rail Trail, Phase 1, is open
The inaugural section of the Twin Cities Rail Trail between Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, officially opened this past Wednesday. Though people have already been using it in its near-finished state, excited advocates wasted no time in enjoying the “official” version via a very early summer solstice dawn stroll, as posted on the TCRT Facebook page.Continue reading “Twin Cities Rail Trail, Phase 1, is open”
Stop at Potter Place when you ride the Northern Rail Trail
As we celebrate Juneteenth National Independence Day and state Juneteenth holidays, we are obligated to remember the terrible legacy of slavery and celebrate the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Confederate states, where slavery trudged painfully onward for years after the Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863. …it was not until June 19th, 1865,Continue reading “Stop at Potter Place when you ride the Northern Rail Trail”
Design funding is secured to extend the Eastern Trail south
Back from a long writing break! We’re well into trail riding and construction season here in New England, and there’s been so much progress on trail development. I have a lot to catch up on. Starting in Southern Maine, the vision for completing the Eastern Trail took a big step forward last month. On BikeContinue reading “Design funding is secured to extend the Eastern Trail south”
Belmont Community Path gets to 25% plans
Source of featured image above: https://belmontcommunitypath.com/ Hello Infrastructure Week! In this week in which the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed by President Biden, there’s a lot of New England trail news. Actually, some of it is older, I’m just catching up. Hopefully I’ll get to good news from the Ocean State andContinue reading “Belmont Community Path gets to 25% plans”
Massachusetts ups the ante on bike-ped bridge to casino
The headline is understated, but I had to get the pun in there. On October 22, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts committed to funding the long-planned bike-ped bridge over the Mystic River that will connect Assembly Station in Somerville with the Encore Casino in Everett. The 785-foot structure will pass under, and then bow around, theContinue reading “Massachusetts ups the ante on bike-ped bridge to casino”
Two ribbon cuttings
I’ve written about biking on the new Cochituate Rail Trail after it “unofficially” opened. Well, now it’s official. The ribbon cutting happened on September 28, with lots of smiles beaming through the rain, as politicians and advocates contemplated this new community asset that they had. This is a milestone on our transformation as a region,Continue reading “Two ribbon cuttings”
Farmington Canal Heritage Trail Phase IV under construction
It’s a short extension of a long trail, but it’s an important one. Public officials and cycling advocates tossed shovels full of dirt Monday [Sept. 13] to celebrate the start of construction of the city’s final leg of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail—which when finished in December 2022, will finally connect downtown to Long Wharf…Continue reading “Farmington Canal Heritage Trail Phase IV under construction”
Jeff Brubaker 