The first section of the trail, which includes a parking area accessed through the Shaker Farms Country Club has been completed during the first phase of the Columbia Greenway project this year. (File photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The Columbia Greenway rail trail became a reality this past year when the first 5,000 feet of the linear park were completed and further construction to extend the trail to Coleman Avenue and East Silver Street was planned for this spring
Work to construct the trail from the Southwick town line, across Shaker Road to an area just short of Tin Bridge and Little River, accessed through the Shaker Farms Country Club parking lot, was completed last spring.
Phase I of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail officially opened Friday, Oct. 12. with a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony. Elected state and local officials and members of Friends of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail, Inc. were on hand to cut the ribbon. Phase I of the multi-modal pathway stretches just over a mile from the Southwick town line to within 500 feet of the Tin Bridge.
“This project furthers the commitment of the Patrick-Murray Administration to land preservation and investing in urban parks, particularly in our Gateway Cities,” said Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rick Sullivan at that ceremony. “The Greenway Rail Trail will not only provide safe, convenient, access to downtown Westfield, it will help make Westfield a walkable, bike-friendly city, promote healthier living, and help protect the environment for generations to come.”
“The completion of the first phase of the project has been a long time coming, with discussions first taking place in 1997.” said Westfield Mayor Dan Knapik. “The creation of a friends group has been critical to the trail’s success. The Friends of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail certainly developed a political grassroots operation to give it the boost it needed to get moving. The full project will have a completed effort by 2015 and that’s really exciting.”
“We have been very pleased to work with Mayor Knapik and other local and state officials on this project. This is a true community partnership and will reap benefits for the community far beyond what anyone can imagine, ” said Columbia Greenway Board of Directors Chairman, Jeff LaValley. “Our success in moving this project forward is a direct result of those who came before us – those who have been working tirelessly, for years, to bring this effort to fruition. We are grateful for their vision. We now see the light at the end of the tunnel and are look forward to continuing on the path toward a bicycle and pedestrian friendly Westfield.”
The component planner for this spring will bring the trail over Little River, crossing Tin Bridge and then over South Meadow Road.
The Conservation Commission, at its Nov. 13 session, approved an order of conditions needed by the city to extend the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail another 5,000 feet into the city.
The board opened the public hearing on the Order of Conditions at its Oct. 23 session and conducted a site visit with the city’s engineering consultant, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., (VHB) on Nov. 6 to identify its concerns and actions required in the Order of Conditions to protect the Little River resource area.
The city completed the first segment of the trail this past spring, extending it from the Southwick line to just short of Little River. (File photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
The trail is being constructed on a former railroad line which crosses over Little River near South Meadow Street. The rail trail will cross the river over “Tin Bridge” which will be refurbished and improved for public safety. Much of the work to repair the span will occur near the river.
This segment of the trail, with an estimated cost of $2.25 million, will extend the trail from the end of the first phase completed last spring, and bring it near East Silver Street.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said that the rail trail, which currently terminates 500 feet south of Little River, will be extended to near East Silver Street this spring through a $2 million state grant, augmented by $250,000 in city funding. That construction work will extend the trail from the area of Coleman Avenue to the Southwick rail trail and the trail system extending more than 30 miles down into Connecticut.
Cressotti said the project is under a restrictive timeline to secure the state grant funding and needs to be completed within the current fiscal year, similar to the rail trail work completed last spring in the 2011 fiscal year budget cycle.
