Metacomet Greenway Progress Continues SNETT, Area Trails Offer Recreation for Outdoor Enthusiasts
The Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) in Franklin, when the trail surface was first installed. The trail is now 10 feet wide, with a packed crushed stone dust surface from Franklin to Rt. 126 in Bellingham.
By Marjorie Turner Hollman
Behind the scenes, community members right here in Wrentham, Norfolk and Franklin have been working hard to bring about a transformation. Around the country abandoned railroad beds have lain nearly forgotten. A movement is taking place to reclaim these abandoned tracks and create new recreational resources and alternative transportation options.
One such local effort is the proposed Metacomet Greenway. A portion of the project is between Walpole and Wrentham and is in the design phase (a big step!), but much remains to be done to make it a reality.
The partially developed Southern New England Trunkline trail (SNETT) stretches from Grove Street in Franklin to Douglas. The added 1.7 mile of trail will go from Grove Street to Union Street in Franklin, and its completion is still several years off.
Both trails (Metacomet Greenway and the SNETT) have community groups that meet regularly to raise funds and advocate for development of the trails. Support for maintenance of the Franklin and Bellingham sections of the SNETT is part of the ongoing mission of the Franklin & Bellingham rail trail committee.
Zach McKeever, president of the Metacomet Greenway Association, noted that “the current course of action for the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) grant opportunity is to design the [rail] trail at the northern most section, the Lorusso fields in Walpole (the new Rt. 1A field complex), down to Wrentham town center (Franklin Street/Rt 140). This phase [of the project] certainly poses some unique challenges but we’re looking forward to the design process.”
McKeever continued, “The Metacomet Greenway Association has been working closely with Rich McCarthy, in his role as Director of Planning and Development in Norfolk, as well as folks from Wrentham and Walpole in similar roles to align our efforts and move the project forward.“
McCarthy stated, “We are very excited to start the engineering, design, and permitting process for Phase 1 of Metacomet Greenway project.”
The group has been meeting for several years already. It takes a lot of work, determination, funding, and community support to make these versatile recreation resources a reality.
Quite nearby, the town of Franklin’s trailhead on Grove Street presently offers parking for about eight cars. The Franklin Town Council has recently agreed to purchase 19.51 acres of land between Grove Street and Franklin Center, which will bring the trail head to Union Street near downtown Franklin.
The Franklin & Bellingham Rail Trail Committee explained that “we worked closely with town and state officials for many years in hopes of securing this stretch of land for the trail. Financing for the purchase came from a restricted fund that could only be used to purchase Open Space, so will not require the town to take on any debt and will not come from the town’s operating budget.”
The Franklin & Bellingham Rail Trail Committee’s website (https://www.franklinbellinghamrailtrail.org/) clarified that, “while this news is very exciting, there is still much work to do, and it will be a few years until the 1.7 mile SNETT extension is ready for use. It will take a while for this complicated financial transaction to be completed. Then the existing rail infrastructure needs to be removed before the final pedestrian surface can be installed.”
The present trailhead at Grove Street has a pedestrian light to allow people to access the trail safely. Visitors can walk or ride their bikes on the packed crushed stone dust path. Leashed dogs are welcome. The developed trail has additional parking on Lake Street and Center Street in Bellingham. Presently, a total of four miles of developed trail allows for walking, bicycling, birding, and other recreational activities, from Grove Street in Franklin to Rt. 126, S. Main Street, in Bellingham.
Multiple other developed rail trails in our area are ready for visitors. Mansfield has recently added an additional five miles to the original one-mile trail in Mansfield center. It now reaches into Norton as a paved rail trail (https://tinyurl.com/4tjhkp2d).
The Blackstone River Bikeway/Greenway has miles of paved paths. Established parking areas are located alongside the river in Woonsocket, Lincoln, and Cumberland, RI. Another portion is complete from Blackstone, into Millville, then on into Uxbridge (with multiple bridges over the Blackstone River!). Yet another section of trail reaches from Worcester to Millbury. A detailed map of the trail system, both completed and still in process, can be found at https://tinyurl.com/3f5ucdef.
The Upper Charles Trail stretches from the Hopkinton town line on Rt. 85, down to Milford center, then back north to Holliston, with a small completed section over the town line into Sherborn. This trail offers 10+ miles of developed rail trail, which consists of paving in Milford, and crushed stone dust in Holliston (https://tinyurl.com/mr27s8vt).
We are fortunate to have community residents who have volunteered their time and their talents to help make these projects a reality. Community support is the determining factor in whether or not these projects attract grant funding that will make continued development a reality. Once you get out on any of the completed rail trails in our area, you will be able to better imagine a completed system of rail trails that will connect our communities.
McKeever said, “We’re lucky to have such a dedicated group of supporters [of the Metacomet Greenway.] We recently had our annual General Membership meeting and had many new faces and it was our most attended meeting to date. Folks are genuinely excited about the project, eager to help at community events, and looking forward to accessing the trail.” McKeever continued, “Folks interested in learning more can go to our website www.metacometgreenway.org or e-mail [email protected].”
Footing can be tricky in the winter months, depending on snowfall and buildup of ice but there are no real barriers to visiting the trails. Once the weather warms, area residents have so many options to get outdoors on nearby dedicated rail trails. Spring is coming—I promise.