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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor CHICOPEE Rail trails are more than just a re-use of an unused rail bed. According to nationally recognized rail trail advocate and developer Craig Della Penna, they are proven to spur "urban renaissances." The Chicopee River Walks Advisory Committee will present a program by Della Penna at Chicopee Comp High School on May 14 at 7 p.m. Della Penna's presentation will examine the rail trails that have been successfully constructed within a 100-mile radius of Chicopee. Rail trail projects take unused or abandoned railroad track beds and transform them into walkways that can be used by pedestrians, runners and bikers. Della Penna's slide show will present information on rail trail and greenway development in the region. The event is free and will be followed by a discussion on the two river walk projects planned for Chicopee. One of the projects would construct a river walk along the Chicopee River from downtown to Chicopee Falls, while the other would be a continuation of the Connecticut River walk in Springfield. Della Penna told Reminder Publications that he is currently involved in over 70 such projects and has high hopes that with "the new blood" on the Chicopee River Walks Advisory Committee and in the mayor's office, the projects will finally take shape. Della Penna has more than 12 years experience in the development of rail trails. Formerly a railroad executive, he is now a Northampton-based realtor who specializes in selling houses near to rail trails and greenways. He said that does more than "talk the talk" as he operates a bed and breakfast in the Florence section of Northampton next to a rail trail. He has written four books, three of which are on rail trails and said the concept has been a long-time coming to Massachusetts. Now, however, within a 100-mile radius of Chicopee there are about 200 of these projects in various stages of development. Currently a rail trail in Belchertown is under development and Della Penna said officials in Springfield are looking at a project in the McKnight neighborhood. He called the Holyoke Canal Walk and the Chicopee River Walk "important projects." Della Penna is also executive director of Northeast Greenway Solutions, a consulting firm that develops rail trails and greenways and is the General Manager of Central Highlands Conservancy LLC, (CHC) which preserves former railroad corridors in Massachusetts by buying those that are in danger of being lost or sold off to adjacent landowners or inappropriate commercial developers. According to its Web site, CHC then protects the corridor by holding it until the local land trust can purchase it through a long-term capital fund-raising campaign. |