Trail panel's first task: Setting policy
Dreaming of a town that's friendlier to pedestrians, bicyclists, and horseback riders, a resident successfully petitioned the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen to create a new committee focused on developing trails.
But the Trails Committee, which was established last week, won't be jumping immediately into some pathway project. First, the selectmen want the panel to define the town's overall policy on trail construction and maintenance.
Eric Sonnett, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said a policy needs to be defined because such proposals can cause heated debate, with strong criticism from homeowners who object to the world passing by their houses.
''It's going to be so controversial that, unless we have some kind of overriding policy on how we address the trails, it will be absolute chaos," he said.
Selectmen are seeking applicants for the committee.
The idea was forwarded by resident Liisa Jackson, who said she wants to work on creating new trails along unused railroad tracks and finding ways to link or improve existing trails for walking, biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing.
''There's so much support in town," said Jackson, who began publicizing the idea in recent weeks and is now applying to be on the new committee. ''There's just a huge amount of interest. I was actually very surprised with the response I got."
The committee's seven members probably will be named next month.
Jackson is a member of the Land Use Study Committee, which is encouraging the town to purchase 600 acres of land that are for sale next to Weston Nurseries, near where she lives. She said she became interested in doing more work on trails because she rides her horse on trails by Weston Nurseries and she hopes those will be preserved regardless of who buys the property.
But Jackson said her ultimate goal is to make Hopkinton more walkable.
''That's kind of a lofty goal, but I'd like to see something like that come together," she said. ''I would actually like to see more people walking to downtown as opposed to driving. I would like to be able to walk and not take my life in my hands on [Route] 135."
Jackson has suggested that the town develop a rail trail behind the high school, which would be Hopkinton's portion of the regional Upper Charles Ttrail. Using a state grant, the town did a feasibility study on the trail in 1998, but then it couldn't win a subsequent grant and the project fizzled. Jackson said she hopes the policy yet to be written makes that trail a priority, even though it is a challenging goal.
Many other towns in the area already have trails committees, including Framingham. For advice, Jackson sought out Mark Lamkin, chairman of the Framingham Cochituate Rail Trail Committee.
''Residential abutters can be divided between strong supporters and strong opponents," he said. ''How do you convince the opponents they're not going to lose security, safety [and peace and quiet]?"
He also said that power struggles can arise between boards and departments that already have some responsibilities relating to trails.
To address that issue, the Hopkinton selectmen asked the Planning Board and School Committee each to appoint one member to the trail panel; the other five members will be appointed by selectmen.
Sonnett said the committee no doubt will have trail advocates on it, but he hopes also to include someone who can take a broad, townwide view. There are many competing interests, even among trail advocates, he said. For example, bicyclists usually want a paved surface while equestrians prefer a more hoof-friendly surface, he said.
John Coolidge, chairman of the Open Space Commission, which is working on a trail guide that it plans to publish in September, said he's not worried about competition among boards because there's plenty of work to go around.
''I think it's a great idea," said Coolidge, who is also a member of the Planning Board. ''The more information, the more ideas on the table, the better off we're all going to be."
For more information
on how to apply for a seat on
the Trails Committee, call the
selectmen's office at 508-497-9700. Lisa
Kocian can be reached at 508-820-4231
or by e-mail at lkocian@globe.com. 