After my trip to Fort Wayne, IN for the Mid American Trails and Greenways Conference, I flew to Boston and had the chance to ride on one of the new Hubway bikes (above), and check out the construction of a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge, called the North Bank Bridge, which sits near the I-93 Zakim Bridge (see the bridge under construction and a rendering of the final product below).
I was really there to meet with the Massachusetts Commissioner of Conservation and Recreation, Ed Lambert, and many of his staff. With the help of Gary Briere, director of recreation, and Eric Weis, trails coordinator for East Coast Greenway Alliance, we were able to explain to Commissioner Lambert the status of U.S. Bicycle Routes in New England and ask for his agency's help in getting things moving forward in Massachusetts. Earlier in the day, Gary and I met with Josh Lehman from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and explained our ideas and strategies. With all of these important agencies on the same page, I am confident we'll have U.S. Bike Route 1 through Massachusetts within the next two years, and a continuous route from Maine to Florida within five years (did I just set a challenge?)
That's a lot of states to work with -- and I couldn't do this without our partnership with the East Coast Greenway Alliance. Eric does a superb job working to make inroads with bicycle route and trail development along the East Coast. He also is the coordinator of the annual New England Bike Walk Summit, at which I was a session speaker. This was a great opportunity to bring together the New England cycling and trail development community. The session provided me with some great information for potential new corridors across the New England region.
Between meetings in Boston and the New England Bike Walk Summit, Gary and I did a bit of route research. A trip like this wouldn't be complete without a stop for some fried sea food and a ride on the beach in a lifeguard truck ... would it?
And we had a little time to meet some of the locals -- enter Mikey Perkins (in yellow), manufacturer of Sylvan wood composite bicycles. Gary (far left) was showing me a beautiful overlook called Mount Sugarloaf when we ran into Mikey and his photography crew.
Mikey is a geographer by education and bicycle builder by trade. He has toured extensively, so when I introduced myself, he knew Adventure Cycling. I knew I loved his bicycles -- especially the one called, "Adventure." Beautifully constructed, these bikes are built right there in Sunderland, MA.
Back on the road, Gary and I determined that there are some amazing and beautiful roads winding through Massachusetts. Connecting to the emerging trail system will be an added benefit for cyclists and the communities that are building them.
Photo of North Bank Bridge by Karl Haglund, Rendering by Ammann & Whitney. All other Photos by Ginny Sullivan.
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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and Mississippi River Trail, Inc.
Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/10/road-report-2-visiting-massachusetts.html
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