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Here's a Concise Summary of Three of the Most Respected Reports About the Economic Impact of a Long-Distance Shared-Use Path.
The MCRT intersects with 18 other trails.
One of those noted above,
the N-S trail down to New Haven, CT is shown here.
Here are four previous reports about the potential
of the MCRT corridor from over the past 35+ years.
These Tracks Don't Go Anywhere. May 1988.
Chuck Fisk & sons.
This is a never published manuscript about this corridor.
The father and sons walked the entire length from Northampton to Boston and this interesting narrative ended up on the desk of one of the top officials at DEM who loved the concept and gave me a copy.
This is how the idea of a 100 mile trail started. And now we are at the edge of pulling it off.
Commonwealth Connections. July 1999 by Mass DEM.
One of the seven recommendations in this report is to create a cross-state multi-use trail reaching from Boston to the Berkshires.
"Given the length of the proposed cross-state trail and the complexity of issues surrounding the funding of such an endeavor, it is critical to remain focused and provide support and encouragement to the many organizations and efforts forging the way for this trail."
Such prescient words 27+ years ago.
Benefits of Shared Use Paths. May 2019
by Mass Trails.
Here's a great Executive Summary or Primer about the benefits or impacts of trail in four, 21st century metrics. Health, transportation, environmental and climate change.
The great and easy to understand graphics here are notable.
And three of the four trails that are the focus here are either on or directly connect to the Mass Central Rail Trail.
Mass Central Rail Trail Feasibility Study. March 2021 by MassDOT.
During the pandemic in 2020, Mass DOT was aware that the MCRT was 53 miles open and shortly it will be 75+ miles open.
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They then did an investigative Feasibility Study to see if it was even possible to piece the rest together.
Turns out that it is possible, but it will be be complicated.
Now in 2026, I can see certain signs that they are getting serious about reassembling this corridor​
