Piecing together the Mass Central Rail Trail. It is like putting Humpty Dumpty together again.
This is the longest and most complicated former RR corridor to reassemble in New England. Running from Northampton to Boston, it has been a 40+ year journey so far. It is the longest developing rail trail in New England. Today we have 59 of the 104 miles open as a trail. 90.5 miles are in a protected status.

12 miles are currently under construction. In two-years we are likely to have 75 miles open. https://www.masscentralrailtrail.org/ Within 150 miles of Northampton, MA lies the densest network of former steam railroad corridors in the United States. A report by MassDOT showed that the MCRT can be completed, but it begs the question: What would a completed 100 mile long walking and biking trail mean to the Commonwealth? That is what we’ll be talking about on Sept 20th.

Speakers include: Craig Della Penna
Craig is the author of 5 books, the forwards to several more, op-eds in numerous newspapers and in the past few years, 5 books have been written that feature him in them as a case study in various realms. Including two about his innovative real estate practice; specializing in the sale of houses near rail trails. He is the first Realtor in the US to specialize in this niche. He and his wife Kathleen, also operate an award-winning bed & breakfast that sits 8 feet from the now rail trail, in Northampton’s historic Civil War era industrial village of Florence. He has given over 1,200 lectures in 21 states on various topics related to the conversion of former RRs into linear parks known as rail trails.

Register on Zoom

WalkMassachusetts is building a statewide network of individuals, advocacy organizations, municipal committees, community groups working on walking, and other pedestrian-focused transportation professionals. We typically meet every third Wednesday of each month at 1 pm. Anyone can listen in and participate in monthly calls.  Join the Google Group to get a reminder about these Zoom calls. 

Can’t attend mid-day, but really interested in one of the talks below? Don’t worry: each talk/presentation will be recorded so we can share it afterwards. We’ll stop the recording before Q&A as we have the last few months to encourage open discussion. Recordings are posted to our YouTube channel and linked below under “past events.”