WELLFLEET – Outer Cape lawmakers are urging state officials to reevaluate plans to extend the Cape Cod Rail Trail to and along Route 6 in Wellfleet due to safety concerns.
Cape and Islands State Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro) and 4th Barnstable District State Representative Sarah Peake (D-Provincetown) recently met with Department of Conservation and Recreation and Department of Transportation officials.
They discussed plans for the trailhead and parking lot at Route 6 and Main Street, along with the redesign of Route 6 from Long Pond Road to Cove Road.
“We outlined a number of requests that we have on these two projects, which are intertwined, which we hope can move the projects forward and get some really quality community input along the way,” Cyr said.
Cyr said the extension of the rail trail all the way across Cape Cod is something that the community has been pushing for, including through Wellfleet and Truro and into Provincetown.
The lawmakers asked staff from both agencies to work together to release a draft comprehensive plan for safety improvements, including protected sidewalks and a bike lane from the proposed trailhead to the intersection of Route 6 and Main Street.
“[It should] explain to the community, from the Main Street intersection of Wellfleet to trailhead, what that is going to look like,” Cyr said.
Cyr and Peake are also urging DCR and MassDOT to hold a public meeting in early 2020 to update the community on the plans.
There is also a request for DCR to continue to extend the rail trail to the state owned Wellfleet Hollow State Campground at 180 Old Kings Highway this year as planned, but then pausing.
Cyr and Peake say the further extension of the trail to Route 6 or construction of the trailhead and parking lot should be postponed until input from the community is received.
“We’d like to see that coordinated and lined up with the MassDOT project,” Cyr said.
The final ask of DCR and MassDOT was to commit to providing a report, with options, for the eventual connection of the Cape Cod Rail Trail to Provincetown.
“That is further out and probably going to take many, many years to get at, but we want to make sure we are staying focused on that long-term goal,” Cyr said.
Cyr and Peake have heard a lot from local constituents on the issue and will remain engaged in working with DCR and MassDOT.
“My hope is that these two projects can be presented back to the community,” Cyr said. “There are safety concerns that need to be addressed and we are hoping that the agencies will do so and we’ll have a better result because of that.”
The Concerned Citizens for a Sensible Wellfleet Bikeway started a petition earlier this year to halt the planned extension of the rail trail along Route 6 and adjoining parking lot.
The group says that the expansion of the trail along Route 6 would be a danger for cyclists and motorists.
More than 1,300 signatures were gathered on the petition asking Governor Baker to intercede.
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