Courtesy Massachusetts DCR (2)
for the web of programs she oversees. “It’s
about changing the culture; it’s shifting the
mindset,” she says. To that end, MiMNew
Bedford has supported a program replacing
juice with water at the local YMCA; estab-
lished a healthy weight clinic at the Greater
New Bedford Community Health Center
(GNBCHC); and helped increase the avail-
ability of fruits, vegetables and whole grains
at convenience stores. “We’re the catalyst for
amazing projects in the city,” Ferreira says.
Raised beds made of two-by-fours signal
the city’s community gardens. More than a
dozen restaurants now offer locally sourced,
hand-prepared foods in place of processed
fare. And Ferreira recently paired nearby
Apponagansett Farm with GNBCHC to
offer patients subsidized, organic, commu-
nity-supported agriculture shares.
In 2011, MiM helped organize the New
Bedford Bicycle Committee (NB Bike).
A top-notch bike network is not simply
for recreation or “alternative” transporta-
tion here; many residents can’t afford a car,
according to NB Bike Vice President Larry
Langlois. For now, the city has decided not
to establish a trail alongside the city’s active
railway. Instead, NB Bike has successfully
advocated for 13 new miles of on-road bike
lanes and focused on paths connecting New
Bedford to neighboring cities. It recently
began creating the corridors with the addi-
tion of a multi-use path atop a hurricane
dike overlooking Buzzards Bay, a “bold”
project Mayor Jon Mitchell hopes will
entice people to exercise.
Enticement to Exercise
Just 15 miles from New Bedford, Fall River
shares that hope for its residents. The city’s
median income, unemployment levels and
health problems uncannily resemble New
Bedford’s. Julie Kelly, MiM
Fall River coordinator,
describes the city’s “high,
high, high rates of diabetes.”
She directs a roster of pro-
grams similar to Ferreira’s,
encouraging exercise and
healthier food choices.
Nonetheless, Fall River
differs from its neighbor.
Though the city is densely
populated, almost half com-
prises green space, with 14,000 protected
acres in the Southeastern Massachusetts
Bioreserve. Multi-use trails crisscross the
bioreserve, which connects to the city center
in part via the Quequechan River Rail Trail.
Construction began in May to extend the
trail after years of planning. The new sec-
tion will traverse densely populated urban
neighborhoods, according to Brian Pearson,
chairman of Bike Fall River. The extended
rail-trail will make getting to the popular
Fall River waterfront much easier. “This will
be a great urban path,” Pearson says.
Far to the west of Fall River, residents
of Northampton, a vibrant college town
nestled in the hills of the Pioneer Valley,
regularly get out on the Mass Central Rail
Trail–Norwottuck. The town’s longtime
support of rail-trails has spawned addi-
tional trails and allowed on-street bike
paths to replace some parking spaces. The
resulting environment encourages “regu-
lar old people not wearing Lycra to bike
in a way that’s very matter-of-fact, safe
and enjoyable,” and to walk, according to
Nicholas Horton, president of Friends of
Northampton Trails and Greenways.
Northampton even relies on Pedal
People, a bicycle-powered delivery and
hauling cooperative, to transport some of
its garbage, and
supports more
bicycle usage
in other ways.
“We’ve chosen to
be aspirational
for bicycle parking,” says Wayne Feiden,
the city’s director of planning and sustain-
ability. “It sends a message when people
see the racks.” The city also wants a bike
share program and protected bike lanes, or
cycle tracks. To encourage year-round use,
Northampton plows most of its multi-use
paths and rail-trails through the winter.
In fact, Northampton and the other
towns in Hampshire County enjoy above-
average public health, says Sarah Bankert,
coordinator of Healthy Hampshire, the
county’s MiM program. “There’s a very
vibrant, well-organized infrastructure
around healthy food,” she says, adding
that MiM chose Hampshire to participate
“because we do exhibit some of the best
practices of what you can do in a small
city.” (Northampton’s population is 28,495;
Hampshire County’s is 160,000). “They
want us to focus on health inequities and
underserved populations,” says Bankert.
Access Is Key
Bankert says Healthy Hampshire’s efforts
resemble those in other MiM communities,
such as getting insight fromWalkBoston
and MassBike, and helping corner stores
and farmers increase healthy food access.
But she maintains that regardless of how
Mass in Motion
New Bedford
community garden
Minuteman Bikeway in
Arlington, Massachusetts
On the Mass Central
Rail Trail-Norwottuck
rails
to
trails
u
fall.15
18
