MAPC region priorities

Many of the following suggestions are general, combining and refining comments on local conditions.

Though priorities were determined independently in each MAPC subregion, many of them cut across subregion boundaries.

Inner Core

1) General roadway improvements for access and safety for bicyclists, as already institutionalized in Cambridge. The need for these was cited repeatedly by many commenters.

2) Improvements to the existing MDC paths along the Charles River and in other corridors to improve connectivity and flow.

3). New paths to improve connectivity, in particular the Charles River to Minuteman Connector and the Bike to the Sea proposal in Saugus, Medford and Malden.

North Shore and North Suburban

1) Border to Boston trail Danvers to Georgetown segment. Note that other, connecting segments to Haverhill and Newburyport are in the Merrimack Valley region.

2) Minuteman bikeway extensions to the north, south and west to Billerica, Lincoln and Concord. Special emphasis should go to the linkage of the Minuteman path with employment centers and with the Minuteman National Historic Park. These improvements would build on the strong popularity of the Minuteman bikeway and would increase its effectiveness by connecting it with additional destinations.

3) General road improvements. A strong need for this was expressed by a number of commenters. As any program of building bikeways will lead to more bicyclists’ using the roads as well, these improvements are indispensable. Road improvements should certainly include the segments highlighted by the commenters, but not be limited to them.

SouthWest, MetroWest And Minuteman

1) Improvement of roads as shown on the Metrowest bicycle map, and corresponding improvement in other parts of the region.

2) Saxonville Branch bikeway. This proposed trail passes through a very heavily populated area and serves large industrial and shopping areas.

3) Lowell-Sudbury trail (Bruce Freeman Trail). This has a major regional impact and also connects outlying areas of Sudbury with the central shopping district.

South Shore and Three Rivers

1) Restoration of access across Route 128, possibly by building connections to the Ponkapoag Reservation bridge and the "Bridge to Nowhere" at Route 95 which was constructed for access ramps that were never completed.

2) Systems of town bicycle routes. Medfield has taken the lead in proposing such a system.

3) Longer, connecting routes to make use of the existing and potential crossings of Route 128; in particular, Neponset River Greenway and East Coast Greenway proposals. Note also the possibility of several trails on abandoned rail rights of way, some of which are contained in the East Coast Greenway proposal submitted to the project.