Public Hearing about Construction Vehicles on the Community Path Extension
Auditi Guha reports in the Somerville Journal that a public hearing is scheduled for March 1, 6 p.m., at City Hall regarding the rezoning of the Maxpak site and a covenant issued by the city allowing developers KSS Realty to use the future Community Path (between Cedar and Lowell Streets) for construction vehicles to access the site. The public comment period for the project also begins March 1 ("Bike path users not notified of new covenant").
Allowing construction equipment to access the site from the Path will have an impact on Alipne Street residents, as the Path runs behind their properties. It may also have an impact on the project to extend the Community Path.
It is therefore inexcusable that the Friends of the Community Path and members of the City's Bicycle Committee were not consulted on the covenant. The Friends of the Community Path and the Bicycle Committee have been working in partnership with the City and other communities on a multi-phase plan to extend the Community Path from Cedar Street to the Charles River. Both groups have also participated for the past two years in the community process to develop the Maxpak site.
I spoke yesterday with Joel Bennett of the Friends of the Community Path. My understanding is that the Friends have two concerns about the covenant:
- Stakeholders in the community were excluded from and not informed about the discussion to route vehicular traffic off the streets and onto the future Path;
- There will be no benefit to the future Community Path and the community it will serve from the development.
In August 2005 Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, and Representative Michael Capuano succeded in getting $900,000 earmarked for Community Path extension in Somerville from the federal transportation spending bill. The Friends are realistic about the possibilty of federal transprotation funds for bicycle and recreational paths being redirected to other transportation projects. Currently, construction of the Community Path from Cedar Street to Central Street is scheduled to take place in 2009.
Since the developers will benefit from the Community Path both during the construction of 199 residential units and becuase access to the Path will make the development attractive to customers and investors, it seems reasonable for the community to request from the developers a contribution to the Path project, such as removing the tracks from the abandoned railbed and extending the path from Cedar Street at least to their property.