Community bike paths face difficulties DOT reveals cost, land access, lack of public support as main issues

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BATH – Even with a state Department of Transportation supportive of their efforts, grass-roots groups trying to establish bicycle paths in Maine communities face challenges on a number of fronts.

At a conference on bike paths hosted by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and DOT on Friday, two-wheel advocates warmly and enthusiastically applauded DOT Commissioner John Melrose and DOT staffer John Balicki, who oversees distribution of state-funded pedestrian and bicycle pathways.

Bike coalition director Jeff Miller said Maine has “one of the most cooperative state governments” when it comes to bicycle issues, and praised both Melrose and Balicki for their work.

Melrose, who gave the conference’s keynote address, noted that the state is now funding 20 bicycle-pedestrian pathway projects for a total of $8 million. In addition, the state will pave the shoulders of some 300 miles of roads in the state over the next two years. The shoulder work was linked to areas favored by recreational bicyclists, Melrose said.

Making it easier for people to bicycle makes good sense on a number of levels, the commissioner said.

In the fight against costly sprawl, pathways are essential to create “a livable, walkable community,” he said. Most of the $8 million was awarded to projects that were proposed for downtowns, he said.

Two facts support the argument for bicycle use as an alternative transportation, Melrose and Miller said. There are more cars and trucks registered in Maine than there are licensed drivers, Melrose said, while Miller noted that half of the trips made in vehicles in the United States are less than five miles.

And in a state that ranks high nationally for the rate of heart disease and obesity, recreational bicycle use should be encouraged, Melrose said.

“The cost of installing this infrastructure is really minuscule,” he said, “compared with the health care costs.” Melrose said grass roots bicycle groups should challenge area health care institutions to join them in partnerships to create more pathways.

But Melrose and Miller were preaching to the converted. At the grass roots level, convincing the public to support building bicycle and pedestrian paths is not so easy, conference participants said.

Pete Didisheim spoke about the successful effort to win support for a trail in Brunswick that connects the village with the ocean. On Monday, the Brunswick Open Space and Trails Committee will close on the purchase of the land needed for the trail, he said, a total of 112 acres.

Didisheim traced the history of the effort, explaining how his group convinced people of the need, and then raised the funds to make the trail a reality.

Dorie Klein, chairwoman of the committee working to establish three trails in Camden and Rockport, said she learned to not waste time trying to convince those who would always be opposed to pathways and those who readily accepted the need for them. Instead, focus on the “in-betweens,” she said.

She also said the debate should not be framed around the specifics of the proposed paths.

“Who cares about the details?” she said. The question should be, “Do you want it, or don’t you want it?,” with the details open for negotiation.

The Camden-Rockport group expects to break ground on its first pathway, which was funded by DOT, next month.

Alix Hopkins, former director of Portland Trails, said the group “clicked” with the public after it formed from the informal merger of two other groups. It’s important, she said, to keep up the public perception of momentum and success in the often long process of establishing trails.

In answer to a question, Hopkins talked about how Portland Trails was able to deflect attacks from a property rights advocate by including the opponent in the organization.

She also noted that efforts to build or establish trails resonate with a surprising number of different groups.

“Don’t underestimate the diversity of your constituency,” she said.

Several speakers and participants attested to the fact that getting approval for access to land is one of the biggest challenges.

Lionel Cayer, a civil engineer with the city of Augusta, has been working on building a bike trail that follows the railroad right-of-way through four communities along the Kennebec River. In the midst of the years-long process of negotiating with the railroad management, the company’s officers changed, so his group had to start over in educating the railroad officials about the plans.

Work has begun on the trail, but the group is facing a challenge in court.

Summing up some of the discussion, DOT’s Balicki said getting community support and access to land are the two biggest challenges.

“Without those issues out of the way early,” he said, “the project isn’t going to go anywhere.”

DOT funds only pathways which function as transportation links, Balicki said, not those that only provide recreational opportunities.

The sticker-shock of building a pathway is another challenge to those raising local matching funds, he said. The cost often equals half the cost of building a small road. The path must support a small truck or emergency vehicle, he said, and must drain well and have a surface that holds up to Maine’s weather.

Small towns looking to build pathways should consider those in the 5-10 mile range, he and others said, because they draw local users. Any scenic views, water access or museums along the route add to the draw.

Though some paths are built with stone dust, Balicki said there is something about paving a pathway with asphalt that appeals to users, both on foot and on bicycles.