The following is a January 2020 email response from Chairman of the Mattapoisett Bike Path Committee Stephen Kelleher to an individual expressing concern about the construction’s impact on the environment.
I have been the Chairman of the Mattapoisett Bike Path Committee for twenty-three years. Finding an ADA compliant route from Fairhaven to Marion was and still is a challenging undertaking. However, the old rail road right of way was and is the only ADA route through Mattapoisett that connects the two communities.
Please find attached to this email a list of some of the agencies involved in the permit process. There also was the Army Corp of Engineers and I believe the National Marine Fisheries with possibly others on the national level. The marsh crossing was the chosen route for environmental justice reasons as the rail road right of way bisects the YMCA Camp Massasoit in half and would endanger the 400 campers and the facility as a whole if it was bisected by a public way. The “Y” donated to the town the easements over their marsh property and the land adjacent to the Reservation Golf Course to make this bike path feasible. The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development and Mass Department of Transportation with federal and state money funded the $6,700,000 construction project. The town paid for all the design and permitting with CLE Engineering.
Marsh and dune crossing is difficult to permit, however are permittable, and a shading study was done to ensure that the marsh grasses will thrive under the boardwalk. CLE Engineering, now FOTH Infrastructure along with my firm Stephen Kelleher Architects, Inc. permitted and built the 2009 new bathhouses at Horseneck Beach in Westport and the dune crossings from the parking lots to the miles plus of beach. The marsh will grow back healthier as some remedial work is included in the Mattapoisett project and the bulk of the work is being done in the wintertime. The “Shining Tides” 1.2 miles of multi-use trail will be one of the most beautiful in Massachusetts with marsh views, river views, harbor and beach views.
Best Regards,
Stephen L. Kelleher
Chairman