Mass Bike Pioneer Valley

Pioneer Valley Campaign Summary
(See our main page for related news stories)

Rail Trails and Bike Paths

	Norwottuck Extension (Damon Road to Woodmont St., Northampton) Completed Fall 2007. For location, see our Norwottuck map. (5/08)
	Manhan (Easthampton to Northampton) Stephen Donnelly, 413-222-6083, tvc15ma@yahoo.com Initial four mile section of trail (downtown Easthampton to Ferry St. continuing to Route 5) completed 2004. Construction on second section (downtown Northampton to Earle St./Route 10) began April 2008. Final section held up in negotiation with National Grid. (5/08) For maps, news, and fundraising events, see the Manhan Rail Trail Committee website. Fall 2007 Manhan Rail Trail update (PDF 511KB)
	Holyoke Canalwalk Contact: Chris Curtis, PVPC, 781-6045 Construction on first section (Appleton to Dwight) to start Spring 2008 Podcast by Mayor Sullivan (5/08)
	Northampton Downtown Connector (ties Northampton/Florence, Norwottuck, and Manhan Rail-Trails) Contact:Liz Sturgen Expected to go to bid by October 2008 (5/08)
	Look Park (Northampton) to Williamsburg line Contact:Liz Sturgen
	UMass Connector Completed Summer 2002.
	Highland Division Rail Trail (Springfield) Contact: Craig Della Penna, 413-789-7154 (05/08)
	The Mass Central Rail Trail The abandoned rail line extends 94 more miles from the end of the Norwottuck Rail Trail to downtown Boston. Advocates are working to revive the entire route as a trail. www.MassCentralRailTrail.org (5/14/2002)

Bikes on public transport

Bikes on PVTA buses
We thank PVTA for continuing to promote the use of bicycle racks, with which all buses in the Northern Tier of the PVTA region are equipped. Following years of campaigning by MassBike/Pioneer Valley and other groups and individuals, PVTA and UMass Transit now leave the racks on year-round, dramatically expanding the region of the Valley easily accessible without a car. (5/08)

Take your bike on Peter Pan buses
Print out this handy Policy Statement to take with you whenever you travel with your bike on Peter Pan Bus Lines (or Greyhound, on the joint Greyhound/Peter Pan shared routes). That way you can just show it to any driver who isn't familiar with the company policy or who tries to tell you that you need to remove the front wheel, put the bike in a box, etc. (9/00)

Interstate 91 Exit 19 interchange: $20 million more for cars on Route 9? (5/08)

MassHighway continues to pursue plans to expand the I-91/Route 9 interchange just west of the Coolidge Bridge. The proposed project is estimated to cost $20 million (on top of $88M already spent widening the Coolidge Bridge and Route 9 in Hadley) but would likely cost much more. It would entail razing several Northampton properties and paving over acres of farmland and sensitive riverfront ecosystem, and would seriously degrade the already unsafe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists at the busy interchange. What's worse, it will almost certainly only bring more car traffic, not less.

MB/PV believes that, in this era of global warming, $4/gallon gas prices and $600B and counting on the war in Iraq, the proposed project is a mis-guided and outdated waste of precious transportation dollars that could be better spent on alternatives to driving alone, including public transit and bicycle and pedestrian programs. If you agree, contact the following and tell them so:

MassHighway restripes Coolidge Bridge and Route 5 between downtown Northampton and Holyoke (5/08)

Following a request from MassBike/Pioneer Valley, Mass Highway restriped the fog line along the straightaway of Route 5 south of Interstate 91 Exit 18 and north of the Oxbow Bridge near Easthampton's West St. This section of road is the main artery between Northampton and Holyoke and points south. The restriping changes the layout from roughly 13-foot travel lanes with 1-foot shoulders to 11-foot lanes with 3-foot shoulders -- a significant improvement for cyclists.

MassHighway also responded favorably to our request for more room on the Coolidge Bridge (Route 9 between Northampton and Hadley). The new configuration gives us an extra foot of width for each shoulder, up from 3 feet to 4. High-speed, high-volume traffic on the bridge now feels more than a tad safer than before to cyclists.

Please thank MassHighway for their quick work and responsiveness to cyclists's needs: Al Stegemann, Director: Mass Highway District 2, c/o Meryl Mandell (Meryl.Mandell@state.ma.us)
811 North King St., Northampton, MA 01060
413.584.1611, Fax: 413.584.8194

After years of foot-dragging and complaints from MB/PV and dozens of cyclists, the City of Northampton finally installed additional bike parking in downtown. The 20-plus racks -- free to the city, courtesy of a grant through PVPC -- had been collecting dust for 10 years in a DPW garage. They now provide secure bike parking in various convenient locations including along Main St. and between the parking garage and Thorne's Market.

Please thank the DPW: Ned Huntley, Director, Northampton Dept. of Public Works, 125 Locust St, Northampton, MA 01060, Tel: 587-1570.

When the city first installed bike lanes on South St. (Route 10), they hugged the curb, sending cyclists into piles of debris that collected in the gutter while cars continued to speed in lanes that, in places, were as wide as 17 feet. MB/PV worked hard with the city to improve the dangerous layout. The new design, installed in 2006, keeps the travel lanes to a width of 11 feet, taking up the extra space with a painted central median. The 5-foot-wide bike lanes also now follow a safer path, including staying to the left of right-turning traffic as the north-bound lane approaches Old South St. en route to Main St.

Please thank the DPW, and ask for additional bike lanes on the city's busiest streets: Ned Huntley, Director, Northampton Dept. of Public Works, 125 Locust St, Northampton, MA 01060, Tel: 587-1570.

Despite the fact that traffic calming has been recommended for over ten years at virtually every citizen forum and planning session, has been called for in numerous public petitions, and is official city policy, almost no improvements have appeared on the ground. The city's Transportation and Parking Commission has drafted a new Traffic Calming program that is slowly creeping through the city approval process. Meanwhile, cars continue to speed, and crashes continue to threaten, injure, and claim the lives of pedestrians and bicyclists across town.

If you agree that the city should increase the priority of calming traffic on city streets, please contact Mayor Higgins and tell her so: Mayor Clare Higgins, City Hall, 210 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060, 587-1249