3/1/2024 0 Comments Assabet valley ipass loginThe railroads have been abandoned for decades – and no one envisions them coming back on these lines – but nobody wants to give away something for nothing. The toughest part is locking up the rights-of-way. New developments, including the Natick Collection – also known as the mall – are incorporating trail access into their plans. Rails and ties have already been removed on the Framingham section, and CSX, which owns the Natick section, will start removing rails and ties this month. The Cochituate Rail Trail is many years from completion – the process of getting a rail trail built is “tectonic,” Natick selectman and trail backer Josh Ostroff says – but progress is being made. Because of its transportation potential, Natick officials have begun exploring whether the trail could accommodate some kind of small, electric buses by people who don’t want to work up a sweat on their way to the office. Think of all the car trips that could be removed from the overcrowded roads of the Golden Triangle if people made their connections by the rail trail. It will also connect the residents of 1,000 units of new housing planned in the Speen Street area to, well, wherever they want to go. It will pass by Natick’s three largest employers: the mall, Boston Scientific and Natick Labs. It will connect to transportation hubs, including the downtown Natick commuter rail station, the Mass. The Cochituate rail connect important destinations, like Framingham High School, the Natick Mall and Cochituate State Park. But it also holds the potential to be a significant transportation asset. Like all rail trails, it will be a great recreational amenity. The most interesting rail trail project in the works may be the Cochituate Rail Trail, which will run from Framingham’s Saxonville neighborhood to downtown Natick. The initial six miles will eventually be extended through Stow, Maynard and Acton. The section from downtown Marlborough through downtown Hudson features scenic riverside rides, bridges over the Assabet and a bright blue caboose. The Assabet Valley Rail Trail has been getting good use for more than two years. Eventually, the trail will form a 20-mile loop through Holliston, Sherborn, Ashland, Hopkinton and Milford. The Milford section, the first part of the Upper Charles Rail Trail to officially open, is being put to good use. The trail passes by a small town-run pool teeming with youngsters. A man is fishing off a bridge near Cedar Swamp, his tiny daughter sleeping in a stroller nearby. On a leisurely walk on a recent weekend, I pass a pickup volleyball game. The trail is wide and nicely paved – a great place for those who use wheelchairs. We’ve got an aging population, and walking is great exercise for the elderly. A spur connects the trail to the Milford Senior Center, for good reason. It goes by Fino Field, the site of carnivals and American Legion Baseball games, and alongside the marshes of Cedar Swamp. 495, connects parks and conservation lands. This section, which runs 3 1/2 miles from downtown Milford to the other side of Rte. It’s a playing field that allows each player to participate at his or her own pace, a way for people, whether on legs or wheels, to get farther from traffic and closer to nature. Linear park gives people an environment to be enjoyed while moving. Hence the rail trail, the best kind of park for a sedentary age. Places to sit we need places where we can get the exercise we no longer get on the job. We added ballfields of varied shapes to accommodate organized games, and we’re still adding them as more kids get organized into more teams.īut most of us have backyards and decks for our picnics. Tenements a place to go where they could sit in the shade of a tree and have a picnic. If your town doesn’t already have a rail trail, there’s probably one in the works.Ī century ago, we built parks to give hard-working people in crowded This is the park for the 21st century, built on the back of 19th century railroads. A family – two parents, two kids – ride by on bicycles. They pass a couple in their 40s, on a leisurely stroll headed north. MILFORD – A couple in their 20s glides by on roller blades, heading south where the trail runs beside Louisa Lake.
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