This time of year, we in New England get to stare at beauty. Foliage fireworks are a kind of reward for sticking with it through rough weather.
But throughout the year, our region’s landscapes, even urban ones, can enchant.
A few new or planned public projects that celebrate the outdoors are worth noting.
South Hadley will soon provide a way for people to watch the great river flow. The town last week secured nearly $50,000 from the state to build a mile-long trail near the Bachelor Brook Conservation Area. It will allow people to get closer to the Connecticut River and be accessible to the handicapped.
Michael Sullivan, South Hadley’s administrator, says the town has wanted to expand trail access for the disabled. To support that, Town Meeting and the Select board have allocated money that matches support through the state’s Recreational Trails Program. The gains will belong to all.
Easthampton’s Nashawannuck Pond boardwalk is proving to be a great draw in that community. Thanks to a follow-up effort it now includes a boat launch that makes the connection to this defining municipal water body even more accessible.
People in South Hadley won’t be able to get into the river from the new trail, but this project, which is expected to cost $79,000, helps reconnect an historic river community to a prized feature of the landscape. That’s been a theme in cities and towns across the U.S., where rivers have been too long disrespected, after highway construction walled them off from civic life – as is the case in Springfield, and, to a lesser degree, Hartford.
These worthy local investments help us all appreciate familiar treasures anew.
At the DAR State Forest in Goshen, people lost access to a popular destination last fall when fences went up. But when they came down this year, visitors found a revitalized beachfront and fishing spots.
Back down in Northampton, people are still marveling over the new Pulaski Park. It pulses with life, as visitors gather at small tables, stretch out on an inviting lawn or climb on logs shaped into a play structure. Any day now, fall colors will add to the allure. Public support for that makeover may be driving a new project nearby that could transform another cityscape in need of reinvention.
Wayne Feiden, Northampton’s director of planning and sustainability, hopes to add another recreational and social space downtown by creating a “parklet” on Crackerbarrel Alley. That’s the narrow lane that separates two downtown blocks on the north side of Main Street opposite City Hall. The alley provides a one-way route off Main Street down to the Masonic Street parking lot, but has been repeatedly flagged as a traffic safety issue. Vehicles turning in to the alley have to cross a busy sidewalk at a bend on Main Street that obstructs visibility.
Rather than a sterile ramp, Feiden envisions a place where people can gather outdoors on benches and chairs; the space would be spruced up with greenery. One of the charms of older American cities, those where streets twist and turn in unexpected ways, unmindful of grids, is coming upon little oases of activity.
On Northampton’s bustling sidewalks, there are not many places, other than courthouse and church lawns and the revitalized Pulaski Park, where people can linger and visit with one another.
As of Friday evening, 73 people had pledged $8,2055 in donations to the Crackerbarrel Alley project on a crowdfunding site. Those private gifts would be matched, up to $10,000, by MassDevelopment if the drive raises that amount by Nov. 4. Feiden told the Gazette his email account has been hopping with notifications of new gifts.
Whether they’re exploring an old alley or rolling along a new scenic trail, getting outdoors, and getting in motion, raises people’s spirits. It’s good for public health and for our commonwealth.