September 2017

Show Your Support the Bourne Rail Trail/Shining Sea Extension!

Dear Friend of the Bourne Rail Trail:

On August 16, a letter was sent from key officials on the Upper Cape to Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack. In the letter, the officials expressed their support for the Bourne Rail Trail/Shining Sea Bikeway Extension, and requested that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation engage with key stakeholders on the Upper Cape to continue working to make the Bourne Rail Trail/Shining Sea Bikeway Extension a reality! The letter, which was signed by Representative David Vieira, Representative Dylan Fernandes, Representative Randy Hunt, Senator Vinny deMacedo, Board of Selectmen Chairs in Bourne, Falmouth, and Sandwich, and Administrator Thomas Cahir of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, represents important progress in moving the project forward.

To build on this progress, we request that you mail or email Secretary Pollack and highlight the importance of this project to you and the entire Upper Cape. We have provided the email address and mailing address of the Secretary below and have included a sample letter for reference which you can adapt for your use or, if you prefer, use in its entirety.

Please take a few minutes out of your day to send the letter and support the Trail! Thank you!

***************SAMPLE LETTER***************

Dear Secretary Pollack,

I am writing to let you know of my support for the Bourne Rail Trail/Shining Sea Bikeway Extension rail trail project in the Town of Bourne. The Shining Sea Bikeway certainly deserves its reputation as the number one attraction on the Upper Cape. We now have a chance to create a new trail running through one of the most beautiful areas of the Upper Cape, and connecting the Shining Sea Bikeway to the existing trail along the Cape Cod Canal, creating an uninterrupted 26 mile trail from Sandwich all the way to Woods Hole!

The area contemplated for this section of the trail is popular with bikers and walkers, and, at this point, those activities take place on heavily trafficked roads with many curves and narrow or nonexistent sidewalks. Creation of the Bourne Rail Trail would be a huge safety measure, both for users of the trail and motorists on the roads.

I respectfully request that, per the letter dated August 16, 2017, from Representatives Vieira, Hunt and deMacedo, Senator Fernandes, Chairmen Slade, Moran and James, and Administrator Cahir, MassDOT engages the various stakeholders, as quickly as possible, to explore all options for creating this wonderful amenity on the Upper Cape.

Thank you,

INSERT NAME

Email: stephanie.pollack@state.ma.us                                               Mail:

The Honorable Stephanie Pollack Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Mass. Dept. of Transportation

Ten Park Plaza, Suite 4160

Boston, MA 02116