For years, my bicycle has stood in a dark corner of our barn, languishing. Every so often I see it and wish it were easier just to hop on and go for a ride. But the street where I live is far too busy for that. And the thought of strapping the bike onto my car’s roof, so I can drive someplace to unload and then finally get on it, pretty much negates the notion of the carefree ride I have in mind. Alas . . . I know I’m not the only one in this predicament.
The South Shore has plenty of beautiful roads, many of which might seem even more lovely when regarded from the seat of a bicycle, rather than from behind a car’s windshield. But we take our lives in our hands attempting to ride the hills and curves of Route 3A in Duxbury for example, or the tight corners of Jerusalem Road in Cohasset, or the narrow lanes of Union Street in Marshfield. Not to mention the ubiquitous potholes.
But things are looking up. Sustainable South Shore, a multi-town advocacy group committed to helping area residents conserve energy, protect the environment and live sustainable lives, has been working with the Conway School of Landscape Design to craft a South Shore Greenway. This network of walking and biking paths in Hull, Hingham, Cohasset, Norwell and Scituate would connect destinations such as train stations, parks, schools, libraries and shops. Scituate has already made significant strides in this direction.
Thanks to Community Preservation funds, Scituate now has two distinct bike trails. One, in North Scituate, runs for close to a mile along Gannett Road, from Gannett Pasture Lane (near the MBTA station) to the corner of Hollett Street. There are plans to expand it farther on Gannett, to the intersection with Hatherly Road.
The other trail, on the south side of town, runs along the entire length of the Driftway, beginning near the rotary on Route 3A, passing the Greenbush MBTA station, and continuing to New Kent and Kent Streets. From there, the bike trail ends, but a sidewalk leads all the way to Scituate Harbor.
The bike trails run adjacent to the street and provide a wide, paved surface for pedestrians, cyclists and those who use wheelchairs. This benefits not only walkers and riders, but also automobile drivers. The addition of bike trails makes it easier to share the road, and thus safer for everyone.
In North Scituate, the bike trail offers picturesque views, including glimpses of the salt marshes and The Gulf. When completed, it will provide access to the village of Minot and its beach.
On the Driftway, the bike trail connects with scenic and recreational areas such as the A.J. McEachern Memorial Trail, the Driftway Conservation Area, and a walking path that extends along the old railroad bed into the North and Herring River marshes.
Here is one suggestion for a fun way to explore the Driftway Bike Trail and its environs. If arriving by bicycle is not an option, bring it along and leave your car in the large public parking area on Cole Parkway in Scituate Harbor. Head south along the harbor’s edge, crossing First Parish Road. You can access the sidewalk at Kent Street, and farther down you’ll be able to get on the bike trail.
Stop at the Driftway Conservation Area, lock up your bike, and spend some time exploring. There’s an old dock overlooking the Herring River, and you can climb a tall hill to get a great view of the marshes, looking out toward The Spit. Check out the A.J. McEachern Memorial Trail as well.
When you’re ready to leave the conservation area, continue south on the bike trail (on foot). Look for a walking path that leads behind the James Landing Condominiums. Follow this path along the marsh, and eventually you will arrive at the old railroad bed, behind Dunkin Donuts. If you miss it (or as an alternative) you can remain on the bike trail – on wheels or on foot. The railroad bed is now a walking trail that leads way out into the marsh. It’s elevated, so the view is quite nice, and you won’t have to worry about getting your feet wet.
When you’ve had your fill of the terrific scenery, you can retrace your route back to Scituate Harbor, where there are plenty of options for drinks and snacks.
The Scituate Bike Trails are but one of the numerous examples of Community Preservation Funds at work on the South Shore. A small tax surcharge, matched in part by the state, is slowing development by protecting open space lands in almost every town in the region. In addition, Community Preservation Committees have used CP funds for preserving historic sites, creating affordable housing and building new recreational facilities -- like the bike trails, or Marshfield’s new, eco-friendly town playground. Please help keep Community Preservation active in your town!
by Kezia Bacon-Bernstein
October 2010
Kezia Bacon-Bernstein's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org. To browse 13 years of Nature (Human and Otherwise) columns, visit http://keziabaconbernstein.blogspot.com.
2 comments:
First of all, I think it's wonderful that you got your bike out of the barn. Cycling is enjoyable, excellent exercise and I encourage everyone to get out and ride frequently.
I am an avid cyclist from Scituate and typically ride about four times a week and use Gannett Road on most rides. I am appalled at what's been done to the road for what they like to call a "bike path". This came about because the neighborhood wanted a sidewalk which the town wasn't going to pay for but someone got the bright idea that if they called it a "bike path" they could fund its construction with CPA money.
This roadway previously had 12 foot wide travel lanes with a 2 1/2 to 3 foot wide lined shoulder on each side making it one of the few roadways in town that were actually safe to ride a bicycle on. The travel lanes have now been reduced to 11 feet and the paved shoulder is down to a foot or less so that it is no longer to safe for cycling. Despite laws that guarantee cyclists rights to use the roads and public policy that encourages such use designers of this "path" made the assumption that bikes do not belong on the road and should be forced off it and on to this path.
Small towns don't have much in the way of engineering resources so Mass DOT has covered them by publishing an award winning Project Development and Design Guide which is freely available at http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=content/designGuide&sid=about The guide makes clear recommendations about "shared use paths" which was the intent along Gannett Road. First, it says that "A mix of users on a shared use path is not always a desirable situation because the potential for conflicts is high." In other words, it's a bad idea to mix cyclists of different speeds with pedestrians and assuming that the path is wide enough in the first place. This one is not and by half. The Gannet Road path is about 5 feet wide. DOT recommends a minimum of 10 feet for a two-directional shared use path (and 6 feet for a one-way path). Regardless of what they like to call it, the width of the Gannet Road path defines it as a sidewalk.
The Gannett Road path is not safe for cycling unless you are willing to travel at a low rate of speed. Runners and walkers are free to use the "path" but they do not have to slow to half speed to use it safely. This "path" is to narrow for cycling and is crossed my multiple blind driveways making it very dangerous. Worst of all is where the road has been narrowed at the turn near the Hollet Street intersection. It used to be wide enough at this spot to safely accommodate not only traffic but the loading and unloading of kayaks by the people who like to launch from this spot. Parts of The Driftway have been similarly made unsafe for cycling because the path designer decided a strip of grass was important and so stole the paved shoulder from sections of the road to create it.
Mass DOT is very clear about designing roads and mixed use paths. Quotation below:
Project Development and Design Guide - 5.3.2.4 Shared Use Paths http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/downloads/designGuide/CH_5_a.pdf
Shared use paths are facilities on exclusive right-of-way with minimal cross flow by motor vehicles. Shared use paths should be thought of as a complementary system of off-road transportation routes for bicyclists and others that serves as a necessary extension to the roadway network. The presence of a shared use path near a roadway does not eliminate the need to accommodate bicyclists within a roadway.
A sidewalk could have been built along the Gannett Road while preserving safe cycling on the roadway but it wasn't. Because of where I live I have no options other than to travel on Gannett Road. The difference is that now when cars pass me or almost any other road cyclist they now swerve out over the center line. All because people who are supposed to be designing roadways for safe use by all think that bicycles don't belong.
First of all, I think it's wonderful that you got your bike out of the barn. Cycling is enjoyable, excellent exercise and I encourage everyone to get out and ride frequently.
I am an avid cyclist from Scituate and typically ride about four times a week and use Gannett Road on most rides. I am appalled at what's been done to the road for what they like to call a "bike path". This came about because the neighborhood wanted a sidewalk which the town wasn't going to pay for but someone got the bright idea that if they called it a "bike path" they could fund its construction with CPA money.
This roadway previously had 12 foot wide travel lanes with a 2 1/2 to 3 foot wide lined shoulder on each side making it one of the few roadways in town that were actually safe to ride a bicycle on. The travel lanes have now been reduced to 11 feet and the paved shoulder is down to a foot or less so that it is no longer to safe for cycling. Despite laws that guarantee cyclists rights to use the roads and public policy that encourages such use designers of this "path" made the assumption that bikes do not belong on the road and should be forced off it and on to this path.
Small towns don't have much in the way of engineering resources so Mass DOT has covered them by publishing an award winning Project Development and Design Guide which is freely available at http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=content/designGuide&sid=about The guide makes clear recommendations about "shared use paths" which was the intent along Gannett Road. First, it says that "A mix of users on a shared use path is not always a desirable situation because the potential for conflicts is high." In other words, it's a bad idea to mix cyclists of different speeds with pedestrians and assuming that the path is wide enough in the first place. This one is not and by half. The Gannet Road path is about 5 feet wide. DOT recommends a minimum of 10 feet for a two-directional shared use path (and 6 feet for a one-way path). Regardless of what they like to call it, the width of the Gannet Road path defines it as a sidewalk.
The Gannett Road path is not safe for cycling unless you are willing to travel at a low rate of speed. Runners and walkers are free to use the "path" but they do not have to slow to half speed to use it safely. This "path" is to narrow for cycling and is crossed my multiple blind driveways making it very dangerous. Worst of all is where the road has been narrowed at the turn near the Hollet Street intersection. It used to be wide enough at this spot to safely accommodate not only traffic but the loading and unloading of kayaks by the people who like to launch from this spot. Parts of The Driftway have been similarly made unsafe for cycling because the path designer decided a strip of grass was important and so stole the paved shoulder from sections of the road to create it.
Mass DOT is very clear about designing roads and mixed use paths. Quotation below:
Project Development and Design Guide - 5.3.2.4 Shared Use Paths http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/downloads/designGuide/CH_5_a.pdf
Shared use paths are facilities on exclusive right-of-way with minimal cross flow by motor vehicles. Shared use paths should be thought of as a complementary system of off-road transportation routes for bicyclists and others that serves as a necessary extension to the roadway network. The presence of a shared use path near a roadway does not eliminate the need to accommodate bicyclists within a roadway.
A sidewalk could have been built along the Gannett Road while preserving safe cycling on the roadway but it wasn't. Because of where I live I have no options other than to travel on Gannett Road. The difference is that now when cars pass me or almost any other road cyclist they now swerve out over the center line. All because people who are supposed to be designing roadways for safe use by all think that bicycles don't belong.
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