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August 6, 2010: Comments needed! The MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) is requesting public comments on the 2011-2014 budget for road and bike trail projects in greater Boston. The deadline was extended to 5:00 PM Tuesday, August 10th and is now even easier, with an online form on the MPO website. A link to the form is here. When filling it out, the "Draft FFYs 2011–2014 Transportation Improvement Program" is the program that should be checked. Then put your message in the comment box. There is room for 4-5 sentences and should mention that you are in support of ARRT Acton-Maynard construction funding being added to the 2014 budget. If you want to read the entire 128-page document, is can be found here, with the old 8/4 deadline on the cover. 
June 7, 2010: The Acton Selectmen endorsed the MBTA's new dual-platform redesign for the South Acton train station. Included in the design is a proposed 51 space parking lot on the south side of the station. This lot is not approved or funded yet. If built, it would meet the MassHighway's requirement that the ARRT end at a significant destination and might eliminate the need for a separate ARRT bridge across the RR tracks to the main parking lot. The plans can be seen here.
May 1, 2010: The annual state rail trail count was May 1st this year. As always, the ARRT trail count in Hudson was part of it and the numbers were the best we've recorded in the 4 years since we started. We had 9 volunteers covering 9 hours. The total count was 841, an average of 90.4 people per hour. Our old record of 100 in one hour was broken 3 times, with a new record of 151/hour set at 11:00 AM. Some selected data:
December 2009:
The ARRT crossing of busy RT-85 in Hudson was recently upgraded with a Cross Alert Systems © traffic light. The system was paid with MassDOT maintenance funds and they will maintain it. The cost is about 1/3 of a conventional cross light and features solar power and automated motion detectors.The system will be removed when the fully operational traffic signal is installed at 85/Giasson during the upcoming RT-85 reconstruction project. A 2nd Cross Alert system will installed at the Whispering Pines crosswalk when the Main Street bridge project finishes in May 2010. June 1, 2009: On Monday the 1st, The Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge will start allowing bicycles to use 3 designated roads in the refuge. They are the White Pond Road-West Patrol Road combo, 'Trail C' and Craven Lane. A map of the 3 routes is here. Access to these roads is due in no small part, to the efforts of the Stow and Maynard governments and ARRT volunteers back in 2005. The result was the 2006 federal report that designated several abandoned roads for bicycle use. This will allow bicycling on 5 miles of refuge roads, as a means of access to the 2010 visitor center and as a connection to the Assabet River Rail Trail. December 13, 2008: The ARRT will hold a trail walk in Maynard on Saturday, December 13th, starting at 10:30 AM and finishing just after noon. May 6, 2008: The Stow Town meeting voted overwhelming in favor of the last piece of the 'Track Road' easement purchase after much discussion. A counter amendment to prevent paving the future bike trail (in Stow) was defeated. When combined with the section acquired in 2004, the town now has access to the entire 2 miles between Sudbury Road and the Stow-Maynard town line, the longest uninterupted segment in the 12.5 mile, five-community rail trail. The next step is for Stow and the Commonwealth to apply for the funding to design and build this section of the trail. ...map Febuary 15, 2008: Patrick Administration Awards Smart Growth/Smart Energy Grant to Stow. Seven grant recipients announced today include Stow; $19,500 for appraisals and engineering at the Lundy Property, which includes cluster affordable housing, land conservation and a bypass for the Assabet River Rail Trail. A map of the property is here. |
The next ARRT meeting will be September 16, 2010 at the Maynard Public Library.
Monthly ARRT meetings are open to the public. Anyone interested in our activities are invited to attend. Meetings finish before 9:00 PM. The complete ARRT calendar is here. 
The ARRT can now accept donations and membership dues online. We are using the GuideStar-Network for Good system. More details and the payment link are here.
May 25, 2010:The Route-62 bridge replacement in Hudson is done, with the new ARRT bike lane now open. It closes what was a 100 yard gap in the trail since the Hudson section opened in 2005. Included is a new Cross Alert system at the Whispering Pine crosswalk. This is the 2nd of these high-tech systems to be installed on the ARRT in Hudson.
April 10, 2010: The ARRT is sponsoring an Eagle Scout project in Marlborough, to build "Triangle Park" at the trailhead. On Saturday, Andrew Ravesi organized 25 student and adult volunteers and finished phase-1, which was cleaning up the site. They will return in mid-May and start the landscaping. More pictures can be found here.
November 5, 2009: The Maynard Historical Society is considering designating Marble Farm as an historical landmark. More information about the farm can be read here. It is located just a few feet from the ARRT ROW, on the Maynard-Acton town line. July 27, 2009: The Town of Stow and the owner of 'Track Road' have signed the easement purchase that the May 2008 Town Meeting had authorized. The final price was $220,000, which was provided by Federal, Town and Stow Conservation Trust funds. So the access to all 1.9 miles of Track Road in Stow, is now resolved. ...map July 23, 2009: The MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) voted to include construction funding for the entire unbuilt ARRT (Acton, Maynard, Stow) in the 2011-15 Regional Transportation Plan. The amount they voted is $20,348,520 which includes a 4% annual inflation from the 2009 estimated construction cost. The vote had a wide enough margin that it is reasonably assured that it will survive to the final amendment document in October. However, any supporting comments, e-mails, etc. to the MPO after release of the draft RTP can never hurt. The MPO's action today satisfies Federal Highway's condition for the release of the rest of our 2005 design funds, so EarthTech's 100% design work can resume this October. This is great news! The ARRT project had been essentially frozen since August 2008 and this gets us back on the state and federal budgets, with construction now scheduled to start in 2013. November 21, 2008: Support letters needed! As you may have heard, most unfinished rail trail projects in the state were put on hold this August. The Acton-Maynard section of the ARRT was no exception. Two key state committees are voting this month and next, to decide which projects will be restored. Find out how you can help here.  June 19, 2008: Many Hudson and Marlborough residents who are neighbors to the trail have upgraded their backyards and gardens since the trail opened in 2005.
The ARRT has selected Ivo Matias as the winner of the first annual ARRT Best Garden award. More details are here. May 19, 2008: The ARRT caboose was open to the public, as the premier attraction at the second annual Hudson Fresh Air Festival. 
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