The Marion Conservation Commission expressed more excitement than recommendations at a public hearing for potential environmental impacts of the South Coast Bikeway through Marion.
Project engineers Jeremy Packard and Callie Harper met with the Conservation Commission on November 19 in the Police Station’s conference room and detailed how the project will have minimal impact on nearby wetlands.
The 3.9-mile proposed path through Marion via Front Street and will also offer parking at Washburn Park and Point Road, totaling around 15 spots, according to Packard.
Packard, who has been working on the project for 10 years, noted that the Marion leg of the project has been curtailed from 12 paved feet to 10 paved feet, maintaining the same elevation and making minimal impacts to wetlands and related buffer zones in accordance with the Wetlands Protection Act.
There will be swales on the shoulder of the path and three infiltration basins.
Packard said that next year, the project will procure all necessary permits and hopes to begin construction in 2027 on this eastern portion of the path. Packard said he expects the Marion section of the path to be open in 2029.
Commissioners had few questions for the project or any potential concerns, other than how it would impact adjacent areas during a 100-year storm event. Packard said there is no specific requirement for that, but construction crew leaders will keep a close eye on weather conditions during the construction phase.
Commissioner Shaun Walsh mentioned that the area is the perfect site to catch Marion’s picturesque views. Walsh only questioned why it would take so long for town residents to access the path. Packard said that if enough concerns from the public were to flood the state Department of Transportation, there is a chance that a portion could open up to cyclists and walkers before the projected 2029 opening.
The Conservation Commission plans to conduct a site visit the weekend after Thanksgiving and then plans to make a final decision at its December 3 meeting. The project is part of a larger bike path that has connected a bike path from the Greater Fall River area down to the Cape Cod line, with the hopes of passing through Wareham.
Commissioners also issued approval to several projects within wetlands buffer zones, all of which promised no or very little impact on the environment. One project proposed a walking path on Tucker Lane that will allow the passage of golf carts. That project will include an unpaved path, will not require the removal of trees, and will only look to cut some brush along the way.
The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, at 7:00 in the Police Station conference room.
Marion Conservation Commission
By Jeffrey D. Wagner