23-05-2025
PVPC working on two-decade plan for bikers and pedestrians
The rail trails now scattered throughout the four counties of Western Massachusetts were once just a thought.
Twenty years later, the trails offer scenic escapes to bikers and walkers from the bustle of everyday life.
The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission is embarking on its mission to encourage more pedestrians and cyclists to use shared paths and roadways over the next 25 years, as part of its Regional Transportation Plan.
'These plans are powerful, (and) we can't do that without people sharing their visions and dreams,' Jeff McCollough, principal transportation planner at the commission, said of converting the public's transportation visions into reality.
The first plan was completed at the turn of the century in 2000, and revisions were made in 2008.
A lot of the commission's immediate goals include improving safety and security measures for bikers and pedestrians, according to a draft of the plan.
'We are focused on removing barriers, so that all of us, depending on ability, can feel engaged in those activities,' said McCollough. 'If you can stay active, you can stay independent.'
The plan will tackle major capital improvement projects — like connecting Northampton to New Haven, Connecticut, via the Columbia Greenway in Westfield. It also will ensure that both city streets and rural roads are safe for all people in transit, McCollough said.
There also will be some smaller projects in the works. 'People tell us they just want to be able to get across the street from the post office to the library,' he said.
In 2019, a statewide regional transportation plan encouraged increasing the number of bikers on the road, while also working to eliminate fatalities and injuries.
Then, the pandemic, McCollough said, brought a surge of bikers who have remained on the roads and trails to this day.
Anecdotally, he said, 'the number of bikers doubled and quadrupled in some locations, and we are still riding that curve.'
McCollough pointed out that more bicyclists on roads — shared with passenger cars and other vehicles — means more people will be looking out for bikers down the line.
'There is safety in numbers,' he said.
In that same vein, McCollough said rural roads can be just as dangerous as city streets for bicyclists and pedestrians.
'There are narrower roads, no shoulders and the lack of light are an invitation to disaster,' he said, urging the public to speak up about intersections or state highways that could use some guidance from the commission or the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
The commission already has received several survey responses from the public, he said. Mostly, people have said that they mainly care about the maintenance of the roads.
'We have these pristine, beautiful trails, and people want them to stay that way,' he said. 'They want them to be just as exciting for the next generation as it is for them.'
People are encouraged to weigh in on what they would like to see in this next plan through an online survey, or by emailing or calling the commission. The survey will be available until June 30.
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Read the original article on MassLive.
