Revised rail trail plan in Wellfleet fails to quell critics

Revised rail trail plan in Wellfleet fails to quell critics



By Denise Coffey

Posted Mar 11, 2020


WELLFLEET — If state representatives thought their revised plans for extending the Cape Cod Rail Trail out to the Route 6 corridor would go over well with residents, it didn’t take long for them to be told otherwise.

“You have not heard us,” Wellfleet resident Steve Oliver said after a presentation made to the Selectboard Tuesday on a two-phase plan to extend the rail trail and create a terminus on Route 6. “We don’t want a parking lot on Route 6. No matter what you do, it won’t be safe. You’ve demonstrated a clear disregard for public safety.”

Nick Gove, an engineer with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, presented updated plans for the project that will be tied into a Route 6 corridor improvement project being done by the state Department of Transportation.

The transportation agency’s plan calls for repaving the entire length of Route 6 in Wellfleet. Sidewalks, crosswalks, curb cuts, traffic lights, pedestrian hybrid beacons, lane reconfigurations and striping are all part of the project, which is expected to run through 2023.

The original rail trail plan called for extending the trail 1.9 miles beyond the current terminus off Lecount Hollow Road. The extension would follow an old railroad bed past Wellfleet Hollow State Campground and out to Route 6, west of the intersection with Main Street.

In December, state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, and state Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, asked the state agencies to reexamine their project plans to make the rail trail extension safer.

In the revised plans, the terminus parking lot remains on Route 6, but revisions included approach signs, bike racks, sidewalks and a repair station. A crosswalk with a pedestrian hybrid beacon is also proposed for those who want to cross Route 6.

Pedestrian and bicycle access is also proposed to continue along Route 6 from the terminus to the Main Street intersection.

Last April, Wellfleet residents made it clear that they didn’t want a terminus on Route 6.

“Thirteen hundred (people) signed a petition against it,” Oliver said. He asked the state agencies to work with the town’s Bike and Walkways Committee to build something the public could use.

Ryan Curley called the half-mile strip from the terminus to the intersection incredibly dangerous, and said the plan would put casual bikers on a highway that had a lot of curb cuts and traffic.

“It’s insane to put additional bicycle flow into this area,” he said to loud applause from the audience.

“We have kids we love and adore,” said Barbara Boone, another resident. “We want you to be successful, but we need to think a lot before we do this.”

Selectboard member Michael DeVasto said ending the Rail Trail at Route 6 would be an incentive for bicyclists to continue along the highway. Even if a small percentage decided to continue along the highway towards Provincetown, it would be a public safety issue, he said.

“I’m concerned about the convergence and the incentives to continue down the highway,” DeVasto said. “Signs won’t tell people what it’s like to ride on the highway.”

Selectboard member Helen Miranda Wilson asked if there had been a dialogue with Cape Cod National Seashore officials about making a trail through the national park.

“I didn’t hear that they had an appetite for an alternative,” Cyr said.

Planning Board Chairman Gerald Parent asked Andrew Paul, an engineer with MassDOT, to include other improvements to Route 6.

“If you’re listening, let’s see if we can clean up other problems,” he said.

Parent asked for signal changes and striping for right-hand turns from Route 6 east into Marconi Beach and from Main Street onto Route 6 west. He also suggested making single lanes in some areas to calm traffic.

Resident David Agger asked if there was any chance the state agencies would change its plans for the terminus location.

Gove declined to answer, saying it was unfair to the process.

Cyr jumped in to say the issue was a “tough” one.

“Millions are coming to our communities,” he said. He acknowledged resident concerns, but said there was broad support from the town.