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Middlesex Fells Trail
Workshop Perspective Re-Cap
Workshop for Fells trails may
spawn policy changes
Local News - Stoneham, MA
Roughly 200 attendees, some seated,
others standing, filled the cafeteria of the McGlynn Middle School in
Medford to near-capacity on Monday as part of a Department of Conservation
and Recreation-scheduled workshop to review and receive input on the
Middlesex Fells Trail System.
Delivering the opening speech and
presentation was Paul Jahnige, the DCR’s director of trails and greenways.
From the outset, the mood of the
meeting was clear: despite past conflicts between organizations with vested
interests in the Fells, there would be no ill will aired at this meeting.
Instead, following Jahnige’s presentation, a group workshop focused on
cohesiveness and self-regulation, allowing event attendees to dissect the
trail system in its current state and offer their opinions.
“I hope to get all of the [attendees]
to give their input to the trails plan, and hopefully to offer some
solutions to the problems and conditions that they have,” said Jahnige about
the event. “This [event] is for the information-gathering stage, we’re not
at the recommendation stage of this plan yet. But I envision that we will be
able to find some compromises in our recommendations that will satisfy a lot
of the dependants of the park.”
April is the planned date for an
official DCR draft plan that will contain revisions to the current policies
and regulations. In it, Jahnige told, the hotly debated issue of mountain
biking in the Fells will be addressed. Additionally, the off-leash dog
policy may be ruled on, but this was uncertain as dog leash policies may be
“a larger [DCR] policy issue outside of the trails plan,” according to
Jahnige.
The subject of much contention,
regulations within the current plan for the trails are in the process of
being refined. Advocates for a designated off-leash dog area, such as the
Somerville Dog Owners Group, have been lobbying for changes in the Fells’
restrictions for some time. And the Boston Chapter of the New England
Mountain Bike Association, a group for mountain biking enthusiasts, has been
looking to expand their allotted riding terrain.
But these special interest groups have
been met with some opposition.
Adam Glick, president of the Boston
Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, was in attendance for
the workshop, along with a contingent from his organization to show support
for the campaign to expand the mountain biking area in the Fells, which is
being lobbied against by the Friends of the Fells organization.
“We are advocating for equitable trail
access,” said Glick. “The DCR is looking for input from the community. We
want more single-track mountain biking lanes and more changes in policy.
There’s been a policy in place at the Fells that was put in place 20 years
ago, which is very restrictive and slanted against mountain bike users and
other trail users as well. It’s also been heavily influenced by the Friends
of the Fells. We have tried for a while to cooperate with the Friends of the
Fells, to coexist peacefully.”
Despite the call for cohesiveness, it
is clear that both parties are representing opposite sides of the issue. On
the front page of the Friends of the Fells Web site, an anonymous message
posted in reference to the potential change in mountain biking policy
described the matter as “a threat to turn the Fells into a bikers’
playground.”
With all of the debating, the vision
of the Middlesex Fells Trails as a natural resource was somewhat muddled.
Jahnige, true to form as a representative for the DCR, was able to put the
night in perspective.
Source: Stoneham Sun
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Posted By: Diesel
Date: 02/12/2010 |
