Decision on Winchester Bikeway Could be Coming Soon

It’s closing in on two decades now, but the discussion on the y could finally be ending. The is expected to make a decision on the path in the next few weeks.

The path would connect the communities of Woburn, Winchester and Stoneham for recreational use and, according to Town Engineer, Beth Rudolph, potentially limit the amount of traffic in the communities as people could ride their bikes to the train station.

“Some people may ask why would we continue this discussion after more than 20 years,” State Representative Jason Lewis said. “Well, because this is a project that’s worth fighting for.”

According to Lewis, along with being a family-friendly recreational opportunity for residents, the bikeway has the potential to provide economic stimulus to the area.

Lewis said that the bikeway will receive $750,000 from the state to design the path and another $4 to $5 million for construction. No funds will come from Winchester or the other communities.

However, over the past few months, the Winchester School Committee and have expressed concern over how close the path is to the front of the. According to the original design, the path would be about 40-feet away from the front entrance to the school.

“One aspect of the route that’s a concern is its vicinity to the Muraco School,” Lewis said. “All the work that’s gone on has been paramount to the concern and safety for the students at Muraco. There’s no perfect solution, but I believe this proposal is the best.”

The new proposal has bike riders entering the school area from Irving Street, and instead of continuing straight across the parking lot, crossing right in front of the school, the path makes a right turn into the parking lot. The path then crosses the parking lot by the island and continues into the wooded area before continuing onto Tufts Road.

“There’s never going to be a perfect solution,” said School Committee member, Sarah Girotti.

According to Rudolph, the town owns the facility, so while Winchester would need to pay for any repairs, the town would also have the right to move or alter the path if it’s decided that the bikeway is too close to Muraco.

Here are some key components with the bikeway:

• The bike path will need to be widened by 12-feet around the school.
• There will be a loss of seven parking spaces at Muraco.
• Bike riders will have to walk their bikes when they’re by the school.
• A mature tree right in front of the school would need to be removed.
• Removal of vegetation along one of the abutting properties.
• There will be a wooded fence to separate the path from the school.

 Even though the School Committee members supported the proposed changes, committee Vice-Chair, Michael Shindelman, decided to push the vote back to their June meeting, so all five committee members can vote. School Committee Chair, Chris Linskey, was not in attendance.