The Upper Falls Greenway, a plan to build a new mile long park/walking trail/bike trail in Upper Falls just took a big step forward.
The MBTA Board of Directors voted yesterday to enter into a 99 year lease of the railroad property to the City of Newton. The lease will cover the right-of-way of the old railroad tracks behind Needham St that runs from National Lumber to the Charles River. This is a crucial step on the way to having a new park in Upper Falls by this time next year.
Now that the MBTA Board has voted to proceed, the actual signing of the lease between the MBTA and the city should happen relatively quickly since it’s a standard lease and won’t require any protracted negotiation.
This is great news….and especially exciting to some of us, well me, at Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce World Headquarters who look forward to using the new trail to bike to work.
Also, the MBTA board also authorized the leases for Needham, Dover and Medfield to build the Bay Colony Rail trail starting a few miles down the track from Newton.
Jerry, I’m very impressed with what you have accomplished for the benefit of all neighbors (one-village is the current word which I respect). There’s one thing confusing me, why is it that when you mention this initiative, you mention the lumber store in each case? Do they own part of what was MBTA property?
Does the MBTA want money from us, or are they just happy to have someone else taking care of it?
This is really exciting news. I only wish it were closer to where I live.
To answer Julia’s question, no the MBTA doesn’t seek any money from Newton for the lease of the Rail right of way for the Upper Falls Greenway. The Iron Horse company will tear up the tracks, and replace them with a pathway suitable for pedestrians and bikers for the price of the metal sold for scrap so the Upper Falls Greenway can become a reality virtually free from cost except for the staff time of city employees who are working on the project, , most notably Project Manager Frank Nichols of the Engineering Department. The contributions of George Kirby and the other members of the Bicyle Pedestrian Task Force who conceived the idea and of Jerry Reilly who picked it up and ran with it are beyond price.
Alderman Brian Yates
This is just awesome. Can someone post a map outlining where this is and where it will run to/from? I’m geographically challenged…
Thank you to all who have worked so hard to make this a reality. While I won’t be using it (physical limitations keep me from biking), I see it as an important addition to the community.
This is great news for Newton Upper Falls. Hats off to George Kirby, Jerry Reilly, the Upper Falls Area Council and a lot of other folks who are making this possible.
Hoss, since the railroad line runs behind the businesses on Needham St, I always mention National Lumber as the Needham St-visible landmark that is at the end of the line. The MBTA right of way actually does go through the very back of National’s storage area and then ends right after that.
The Greenway Working Group has been considering whether the trail should end at Easy St (right before National Lumber) or Curtis St (after National Lumber). It turns out that there are three different obstacles (National Lumber being only one) for that very short additional piece of trail. I think the working group’s current consensus is to end it at Easy St. Maybe down the road that last little piece could be added but it would definitely complicate the project substantially for very little additional trail. Investigation is ongoing on these issues and no final decision has been made yet.
Fignewtonville – there’s a trail map on UpperFallsGreenway.org. Click on it, and will blow up to a more readable size.
mgwa – The Greenway will also be good for walking and will be wheel chair accessible if that helps.
and a thank you goes out to Clint Schuckel as he transitions to greener Greenways…
I’ve been very visible on the Greenway project (i.e.you can’t shut me up and I love to get my picture taken) but an unsung hero of the project is Upper Falls resident Jim Lerner.
Jim has been working on this project with the Bike/Ped Task force long before I got involved. He’s done a huge amount of behind the scenes stuff – organized the Newton Serves clean up two years in a row, put up the web site, put together trail maps, etc. At every step of the way Jim’s been quietly and effectively taken care of whatever needs to be done … but unlike me, he stays out of the photos.
Also, our local aldermen – Brian Yates, John Rice and Deb Crossley have all been enthusiastic supporters which has been a great help.
BTW Brian, in conversation with Joe Hattrup of IHP, not all of the track is scrapped. Certain forged and cast sections of frog, switches, siding memorabilia, etc. bring a premium price on the open market, offseting the fluctuation in scrap value. Joe also suggested contacting History Newton to preserve memories of the past for future generations of Newtonites. The proposal will encompass on-site storage of all material before final trucking to Pa. (time for archivists to prioritize selection).
Schlock – we’d also like to make sure that we incorporate some elements of the railroad in the Greenway. That railroad line has a lot of history and we definitely want to somehow tie that history into the design of the new Greenway park.
If anyone has any ideas about incorporating historical railroad elements in the Greenway design, please send them along. Either post them here or email them to [email protected].
Thanks Jerry – good to know I’ll be able to use it for my Sunday a.m. walks.
I didn’t know Newton had a street by that name – what fun to be able to say you’re living on Easy Street 😉
Yes, I’d love to have that address. It’s a weird irony that no one actually lives on Easy St. – no one lives on Easy St and there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
It’s just commercial buildings.
Easy Street is also home to NewTV, where the good work they do only looks easy.