Author Archives: jsbrubaker

Getting back to posting after a blog break. I’ve been working a lot and, on the weekends, playing baseball, and we’ve been house hunting, then moving, then doing house stuff. Last weekend, we took a break from the house stuff to ride on the Eastern Trail. We parked at Kennebunk Elementary School and rode northContinue reading “Back from a blog break with Eastern Trail updates”

The Northern Rail Trail has a “first-mile, last-mile” problem. But it’s also a “good problem to have”. In other words, what is overall an excellent resource for the Granite State has a minor problem. An Achilles’ heel, if you will. The packed-gravel trail winds its way 58 miles across the central part of New HampshireContinue reading “Update on Northern Rail Trail’s future leap into Concord”

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is the primary regional shared-use path in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. In a hilly region like the Berkshires, building a long-distance trail has its topographic challenges, but being on a former railroad bed that hugs the Hoosic River allows the trail to achieve a forgiving grade that extends more thanContinue reading “In Western Mass, Ashuwillticook Rail Trail continues to stretch out”

2020 was a year of progress for the extension of the Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) in Framingham and Natick. The project is one of several pieces of a Boston MetroWest regional shared use path network that has seen steady progress over the last few years. The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail has forged south through ActonContinue reading “Extension of the Cochituate Rail Trail is close to the finish line”

The Maine Trails Coalition has released the Maine Rail-Trail Plan, the coalition’s 250-mile trail vision for connecting communities across the state. The 250 miles comes from 13 projects the coalition would like to see built over the next decade (2020-30) and 5 longer-term projects. These trails would not be isolated: “Each of these projects connectsContinue reading “Maine Rail-Trail Plan Released”

People are spending more time outside during the pandemic. That fact has been clear for a while now, and the reasons are intuitive. While recreating, or relaxing, outside is not risk free, the contrast in infection risk level between outdoor and indoor activity is probably clearer than ever. As early as April 1 (no fooling!),Continue reading “New England trail use during the pandemic”

If you look at Google Street View for the Lake St. crossing of the Minuteman Bikeway in Arlington, MA, including the current and previous years’ images, it’s rare to find one that doesn’t show someone walking, biking, or jogging crossing, about to cross, or at least somewhere near the crosswalk. That’s not surprising, as theContinue reading “Minuteman Bikeway getting a crossing upgrade”

The rail trail corridor that traverses Salem, Windham, Derry, and Londonderry, NH, comprises the southernmost 15-or-so miles of the Granite State Rail Trail. There are just a few remaining gaps to fill to connect all the way from the Massachusetts border at Methuen (and the Methuen Rail Trail) and Manchester, the state’s largest city —Continue reading “Minor improvements to Windham and Derry Rail Trails”

New or refurbished public parks are often opportune projects for creating trail connections. A glowing example is Riverside Park on the banks of the Woonasquatucket River in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence. A partnership of neighborhood stakeholders and government agencies — led by what is now the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council — teamed up toContinue reading “Park project moves forward first phase of Merrimack River Greenway Trail in Concord”