Made for Sauntering: Concord’s Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

By Nancy Snyder

"It is a great art to saunter," Henry David Thoreau, 1841, Journal

One can easily imagine how pleased Concord’s favorite son, Henry David Thoreau, would have been upon the opening of Concord’s 2.5 mile section of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail on September 27, 2019. The ribbon-cutting ceremony began with brief remarks by Jonathan Gulliver, the Massachusetts Highway Administrator, members of the Massachusetts Legislature, and officials from Concord - but the excitement of the day was for the trail itself. Concordians wanted to venture onto the trail runs from Commonwealth Avenue south to Powder Mill Road and experience the natural and historic delights the trail offers.

Concord is a link in the chain of the grand Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT). The BFRT has a ten-foot-wide, paved, multi-user trail that welcomes walkers, bicyclists, roller bladers, and snow skiers (anything that is non-motorized). When completed, the BFRT will encompass 25 miles of rail trail running from Lowell to Framingham.

In April, Concord's Boy Scout Troop 132 implemented their service project by installing a bike repair station in West Concord near Route 62. The bike station includes a tire pump and tools for basic bike maintenance.

A fascinating public arts project, Go Out Doors, will take place from July 1st through November 15, 2020 along the Concord section of the BFRT. Under the direction of the Umbrella Arts Center, an exhibition of nine doors painted by nine local artists will ask Concord walkers to consider the possibilities of nature. The exhibition will challenge you to consider “What happens when you open the door and step outside? What happens when we find ourselves in a path through the woods hidden from the roads we travel daily? What might change?" https://theumbrellaarts.org/go-out-doors

The Concord phase of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail also placed Concord into an elite category of outstanding public works projects with its recognition by the American Public Works Association's Public Works Projects of the Year for 2020. Concord's selection epitomizes the very best achievements for the public works profession in the Small Cities/Rural Communities Transportation Category.

Planning for the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail began over a decade ago. The Town of Concord, in its Vision Statement of 2007, saw a trail that “to the greatest degree possible, retains the look and feel of a Concord woods path where appropriate; we are particularly interested in alternatives to asphalt. The trail will provide opportunities for nature education, quiet reflection, and exercise that refresh and strengthen mind, body, and spirit.”

Concord’s section of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail remains open during the Covid-19 crisis. Please wear masks and maintain social distancing as you go outside and enjoy the delights of summer in Concord. The BFRT is a tonic for what ails us during these pandemic days. https://brucefreemanrailtrail.org/

Nancy Snyder is a freelance writer who, after 30 years working at the City and County of San Francisco, is now absorbed in learning everything about Henry David Thoreau.