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Date: 7/5/2022
NORTHAMPTON – As climate change and global warming continue to impact ecosystems and our physical environment, the Friends of Northampton Trails (FNT) are doing everything they can to preserve the city’s environmental assets and promote bicycle riding wherever possible.
Founded in 2006, FNT has spent the last decade and a half fostering better public health and quality of life for Northampton residents by enhancing the city’s trail network and conducting activities that “sustain and grow the community of trail users.”
“We’re a small nonprofit that is member-driven,” said George Kohout, the president of FNT. “Our mission is basically around supporting the trails, both the Rail Trail network and also the walking and hiking trails in Northampton.”
For the most part, FNT supports the city’s pursuit of opportunities to fund these trails, but Kohout also added that their organization can raise money to match grants for city development projects involving the trails. “We also promote the use of trails,” said Kohout. “Part of our mission is to also help in any way we can to improve public health and mitigate some of the climate change that is happening. The more we can get people on bikes instead of cars, the better it is all the way around.”
FNT’s work, along with the city’s, has allowed Northampton to build a substantial network of bike paths and rail trails. According to statistics on the Northampton website, the city’s shared use path network — which includes both rail trails and bike paths — is accessible to 70 percent of Northampton residents.
Since Wayne Feiden took over as director of the city’s Department of Planning and Sustainability, Northampton has gone from 2.9 miles of bike paths to now 12.5. A quarter of the city is protected open space, as well.
To maintain these essential assets, FNT has 10 board members that help coordinate trail cleanups, family-friendly bike rides, and trail improvement projects, among other things. Their hope is to bring people out on these paths as much as possible through different activities and initiatives.
One of these programs is their “Bikes for All” initiative, where members of FNT work with local bike advocates to provide quality, used bikes to children and families who otherwise may not be able to afford them. FNT spearheaded this initiative in 2020 where they repaired 40 bicycles and sent them out to families, and they plan to do it again this summer.
“It’s been good to get out into the community and help spread the gospel of bike riding,” Kohout said of the initiative.
Additionally, FNT conducts their monthly critical mass rides where fellow cyclists meet at a location and take a bike ride through the city, bringing attention to the need for improved bicycling infrastructure in the process. The next one is July 21 at 6 p.m. at Pulaski Park.
Rocky Hill Greenway
Aside from bike riding, FNT is also working on ways to keep the trails accessible for all. Earlier this spring, Northampton received an additional $3.6 million in federal funding to extend the Rocky Hill Greenway shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists. The funding would lead to the connection of two sections, extending from Route 66 to Florence Road and from Burts Pit Road to Sandy Hill Road, and pay for the design, acquisition and construction.
As part of this Rocky Hill Greenway project, FNT volunteers began the installation of aluminum docking to span a critical wetland in that area, and the hope is to add wheelchair-accessible ramps to those docks in the next few weeks.
“With the use of trails, we’re trying to figure out how we can make them more accessible to people who are challenged physically,” said Kohout. “Many of those people use the paved rail trail network, but that can be not only very busy, but it also doesn’t give them a chance to get out into a quiet habitat.”
Kohout said there are plans with Rocky Hill Greenway to create a soft trail that can be managed by people who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. “We’re really looking forward to that, and that will connect to the new docking we put in,” he added.
According to Tom Annese, the land and planning projects assistant for the Department of Planning and Sustainability, the Rocky Hill Greenway area, also known as the old Pine Grove Golf Course, was a farm and before that a wetland with mixed hardwood and pine forest. He said both the farmers and golf course owners struggled to drain the area when it was under their guise.
“We have removed some of the underground drainage tiles that drained much of the land,” said Annese, in reference to the area, which is now being used for conservation purposes. “Part of the brook was channeled by the previous owner to quicken the pace of water flow, which along with the drainage tiles led to flooding downstream off the property. We are looking at different ways of de-channeling the stream and complicating the stream structure and flow to increase breeding opportunities for fish, amphibians, and various aquatic organisms.
“Parts of the golf course are already reverting to forest,” he continued. “There are sections with ample maple, oak, hickory, poplar, and other tree seedlings and saplings that are coming in. So, this new conservation area will eventually turn into forest and wetlands.”
Cleaning the trails
Over the course of time, FNT has also taken pride in cleaning the trails across the city. Earlier this spring, for example, more than 90 volunteers helped clean up eight sections of the rail trail. According to Kohout, it was the largest two-hour volunteer effort in the city over the past 10 years, as a 20-yard dumpster was filled with 1.5 tons of litter.
“There were some areas along King Street and the railroad tracks that became filled with litter,” said Kohout. “We were able to get a lot of folks to come out that day and provide that muscle.”
The future
Over the coming months, Kohout said that FNT will be working on placing more community art out on the trails, whether it be sculptures, murals, or some kind of live performances.
Kohout also said that the city is currently in the process of creating a “Northampton One Trail,” which will be a hiking, walking, and biking trail that will go around the city.
“It’s going to be about 24 miles,” said Kohout. “So, we want to help the city establish that trail and promote it where we can. This trail will incorporate parts of the bike path, parts of already existing trails, and some new trails that will be developed.”
Finally, FNT will continue to encourage and promote bicycle safety and awareness, especially with people who drive cars. The idea is to educate motorists on the importance of sharing the road with bicyclists. “Bike trails are great, but unless we can get more bicycles, like in Europe where people use them for all their chores, we’re only going to get so far in terms of getting people out of cars,” said Kohout.
For more information about FNT and their many initiatives, readers can visit their website at http://fntrails.org/.