Natick’s Conservation Commission on Thursday, May 16 (7pm) will continue discussion of bike trails at the town forest proposed by two high school juniors. The Commission started conversation on the proposal at its May 1 meeting, with members complimenting the teens efforts to establish approved trails, but also raising plenty of questions about everything from parking to cleanup to abutter concerns that would need to be addressed before such trails got the town’s OK.
Natick High students Ben Vose and Ryan Tracy, both active cyclists and trail enthusiasts, have submitted a proposal to the town that we’ve embedded below. Earlier discussions of the proposal have taken place within the town’s Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee over the past year, and it has approved the plan. It has also issued guidelines for such trails that the teens have taken into account in their plan, which adheres to more general bike trail standards.
The Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee’s Doug Drenik said during the May 1 Conservation Commission meeting that when talking about this proposal, he hears “people, especially kids need reasons to get out of their house and go out into nature, and if this is something that draws them to a space that they maybe would not normally be in, then I think that’s a good thing for sure.”
Now things have moved to the Conservation Commission, which is the deed holder for the property. Conservation Commission members recently made a visit to the proposed trails site within the town forest.
The proposed bike trail work would take place, if approved, to the right of the water tank if you enter the forest via Bacon Street. There is currently a steep trail in this area marked with white paint. To avoid collisions, this would be decommissioned as a hiking trail if the bike trails—two downhill, one uphill—get the go-ahead.
Bikes are already allowed on town trails, but past mountain biking trails that have been carved out without town permission have been dismantled. (The unreviewed bike ramps and jumps along the Middlesex Path have long existed, and because they don’t really interfere with the main walking trails, have been left alone by the town.)
Proposed bike trails at Hunnewell Town Forest
One thing that the plan has going for it is that little vegetation clearing, other than of fallen deadwood, would be required, said Environmental Planner/Conservation Agent Claire Rundelli. Though lots of invasive and spiky Japanese Umbrella tree growth at the bottom of the trails would involve some unpleasant removal work for the proponents.
Rundelli said there’s definitely a desire for bike trails, but whether this exact site is appropriate is what’s before the commission.
The students have included in their plan ideas for signage that would instruct users to bike on the trails safely, but also to make it clear where they are, which can be important if someone gets hurt and needs to let others know of their location.
Recommendations raised by those at the May 1 meeting included the need for a memorandum of understanding by all parties involved. This could include language that addresses how to keep approved trails from sprawling if they become popular.
Not to be overlooked, the Conservation Commission will begin public discussions on May 16 of a draft tree preservation bylaw. The town’s concern is that it is losing tree canopy as a result of construction and overaggressive pruning.
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What happened to the pack of coyotes living there? Have they moved on? If they are still in the area, the Town needs to erect some warning signs so the bikers can stay on the alert!
Great idea!! Good for these young men!!