BikeBedford.org

BikeBedford.org > Minuteman West - the Minuteman Bikeway Extension!

• My name is Joel Parks, I am the chair of the Bedford Bicycle Advisory Committee, and I have been a member of the committee for 9 years. I am here to give a brief overview of the potential for development of the town-owned railbed in west Bedford as an extension of the Minuteman Bikeway.
• The pre-cursor to the BBAC was the "Ad Hoc Committee for the Implementation of the Minuteman Bikeway," formed by our Selectmen in 1986 to support the creation of the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway.
• The Minuteman Bikeway from Cambridge to Bedford Depot Park area has been in use for well over a decade now, and by all reasoned accounts is a resounding success. The question that many Minuteman Bikeway users have had for years now is: When will the bikeway be extended to Concord?
• The project to extend the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway in Bedford along the town-owned railbed toward Concord Rd. and the Concord town line took its first concrete step in 2005 at Bedford Annual Town Meeting. At that time, Bedford voters approved using Community Preservation Act funds to have a consultant prepare a feasibility study for the project.
• From the submitting bidders, the consulting firm VHB was selected to perform the feasibility study, and their preliminary report was made to the Bicycle Advisory Committee on November 22, 2005.
• The final report of the feasibility study from VHB, which was structured to serve as an application for state Transportation Enhancements Program funding, was presented to the Bedford Selectmen on Monday, the 6th of February, 2006. At that meeting, the Selectmen voted to authorize the submission of the application for state funding, without taking a position on the actual details of the project.
• The initial submission was to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the regional planning organization that includes Bedford. MAPC has since recommended the project to the State Transportation Enhancements Steering Committee; a copy of the MAPC letter may be seen at: http://bikebedford.org/MHD_Transmittal_Letter_1Q2006.pdf . The Bedford DPW Directors Office has since forwarded the submission to the Transportation Enhancements Steering Committee.
• The next step is to obtain funding for the design work. This is approximately $100,000 and will not be funded by the Transportation Enhancements Program. Again, the Community Preservation Act funds are a possible source of funding. If the Community Preservation Committee endorses the project, the request for funding the design work may come before Bedford voters as early as Special Town Meeting in fall 2006.

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