(Aug. 17, 2017) The Berlin Town Council on Monday approved two aspects of the Berlin Bikeways project: a memorandum of understanding for an easement with the Maryland & Delaware Railroad Company, and a contract for design and engineering work to be done by Davis, Bowen & Friedel Inc.
Planning Director Dave Engelhart credited Mayor Gee Williams for the idea of connecting Berlin Falls park to downtown.
Engelhart said the town applied for a grant through the Maryland Department of Transportation Bikeways program in 2016, and later met with officials from the railroad to discuss a 14-foot-wide easement along the tracks. He said the ideal bikeway was 10 feet of paved surface and two feet of gravel on either side.
“[The railroad] loved the idea,” Engelhart said. “Elsewhere in the state where they have abandoned railroad tracks, you have ‘rails to trails.’ This is the first that would be in the region [with] rails and trails, because the rails will be remaining.”
He said the memorandum would include an access agreement fee for a mixed-use path, walking and biking, at a rate of $0.10 per paved square foot, along with a reservation fee of $1,500 broken into three phases. The first phase would likely run from Berlin Falls to Main Street, near the fire company and library.
The access agreement would be an annual expense and could total about $12,000 upon full build-out, or roughly $3,000-$4,000 per phase, while the reservation fee was a one-time expense.
Engelhart said $30,000 in grant funding, approved in May 2016, would pay for the majority of the $35,000 contract for surveying, engineering and design services.
He said he anticipated most of the remaining $5,000 to be paid through in-kind services by the town.
Eventually, Engelhart said the bikeway could run the entire length of town along the railroad, from Route 50 at the north end to Buckingham Lane, spanning a distance of about 1.7 miles.
“I anticipate the path would be shorter than that. It would probably be closer to a mile, maybe 1.4 miles,” Engelhart said
Councilman Dean Burrell asked about the possibility of a bikeway on the east side of Berlin. Williams said he believed the town owned a portion of the railroad there and instructed Engelhart to look into the matter.
Engelhart said additional grant money could be pursued next year for that project, which he said could form a path near the power plant on William Street and eventually cross the highway. He said plans once existed to create a bikeway that traveled all the way to Assateague, and parts of that design could be used.
“We’d have to get across town somewhere and that’s the perfect spot, on that old railroad right-of-way, which the town owns from Main Street to William Street,” Engelhart said.
Votes to approve both the memorandum and the contract for design work were approved 4-0 with one member, Councilman Elroy Brittingham, absent.
Planning Director Dave Engelhart credited Mayor Gee Williams for the idea of connecting Berlin Falls park to downtown.
Engelhart said the town applied for a grant through the Maryland Department of Transportation Bikeways program in 2016, and later met with officials from the railroad to discuss a 14-foot-wide easement along the tracks. He said the ideal bikeway was 10 feet of paved surface and two feet of gravel on either side.
“[The railroad] loved the idea,” Engelhart said. “Elsewhere in the state where they have abandoned railroad tracks, you have ‘rails to trails.’ This is the first that would be in the region [with] rails and trails, because the rails will be remaining.”
He said the memorandum would include an access agreement fee for a mixed-use path, walking and biking, at a rate of $0.10 per paved square foot, along with a reservation fee of $1,500 broken into three phases. The first phase would likely run from Berlin Falls to Main Street, near the fire company and library.
The access agreement would be an annual expense and could total about $12,000 upon full build-out, or roughly $3,000-$4,000 per phase, while the reservation fee was a one-time expense.
Engelhart said $30,000 in grant funding, approved in May 2016, would pay for the majority of the $35,000 contract for surveying, engineering and design services.
He said he anticipated most of the remaining $5,000 to be paid through in-kind services by the town.
Eventually, Engelhart said the bikeway could run the entire length of town along the railroad, from Route 50 at the north end to Buckingham Lane, spanning a distance of about 1.7 miles.
“I anticipate the path would be shorter than that. It would probably be closer to a mile, maybe 1.4 miles,” Engelhart said
Councilman Dean Burrell asked about the possibility of a bikeway on the east side of Berlin. Williams said he believed the town owned a portion of the railroad there and instructed Engelhart to look into the matter.
Engelhart said additional grant money could be pursued next year for that project, which he said could form a path near the power plant on William Street and eventually cross the highway. He said plans once existed to create a bikeway that traveled all the way to Assateague, and parts of that design could be used.
“We’d have to get across town somewhere and that’s the perfect spot, on that old railroad right-of-way, which the town owns from Main Street to William Street,” Engelhart said.
Votes to approve both the memorandum and the contract for design work were approved 4-0 with one member, Councilman Elroy Brittingham, absent.