Walden Passage: Frequently Asked Questions
How did this project get started?
In 2004, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded a Transportation, Community and System Preservation Program (TCSP) grant to fund a feasibility study of a highway overpass for pedestrians and wildlife crossing Route 2 in Concord, Massachusetts. The project was initially proposed by the Walden Woods Project and is currently being managed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Regional Planning Council for the Boston Metropolitan region. The MAPC has contracted with an interdisciplinary team of UMass Amherst faculty and graduate research assistants to examine the feasibility of establishing a wildlife and recreation overpass.
The Federal Highway Administration is funding the feasibility study through the Transportation and Community System Preservation Program (TCSP). This program specifically awards grants to mitigate the environmental impacts of transportation projects and infrastructure.
What will the study recommend?
The final recommendations are not known at this time. Upon completion of the study, the team will submit a final report in August 2007, which will include conceptual designs and assessments/evaluations of alternative passage structure options/locations. The assessments will include potential community impact(s), expected wildlife benefits and conceptual cost estimates.
A wildlife passage is a man-made structure that helps animals cross roads safely. Passages are intended to mitigate the effects of habitat fragmentation by which species become isolated and populations may become extinct. Passages come in several forms—underpasses, tunnels, overpasses.
You can attend one or all of the three public workshops to be held on Saturdays near the project area.
The first workshop is Saturday Oct 21, 2-5 PM at Concord Carlisle High School Cafeteria, 500 Walden Street, Concord. This workshop will introduce the project and identify important community, transportation, wildlife and other issues to be considered in the project.
The second workshop will be Saturday January 27, 2007 (snow date, the following Saturday, February 3, 2007), location TBA. The second workshop will present possible locations for a proposed passage structure.
The final workshop is scheduled for Saturday June 2, 2007, location TBA. The final workshop will present results of our analyses, findings, and recommendations. The project team and Advisory Board are committed to conducting this project in a transparent manner, with significant opportunity for public review and comment. All interested parties are invited to submit email comments to the project leader:
Jack Ahern at jfa@larp.umass.edu ,
or by surface mail to
Jack Ahern, Dept. of LARP, Hills North, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003.
