The Marion Conservation Commission met on December 3 in the police station’s conference room and approved the South Coast Bikeway project’s path through Marion – provided that some conditions are met.
Project engineer Jeremy Packard met with the commission on November 19. Commissioners did a site review in late November after that hearing. The conditions include that project maintenance does not use chemically treated ice-removal methods, informs the commission about any changes, and also provides an annual report about wetlands-replication work and how it has impacted native species or waters.
Packard told the board that, since the November 19 meeting, it was discovered that one area of around 3,200 square feet slopes and could impact wetlands. He said the project proponents would raise the elevation to avoid wetland damage.
As mentioned at the previous meeting, Conservation Commission members lauded the plans with Shaun Walsh calling it “the most comprehensive plan” the commission has seen in a long time.
The 3.9-mile proposed path through Marion via Front Street 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 width has been narrowed from 12 paved feet to 10 paved feet, maintaining the same elevation and making minimal impacts to wetlands and related buffer zones, according to rules detailed in 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 hope to begin construction in 2027 on this eastern portion of the path. Packard said he expects the path to be open to Marion residents by 2029.
At the December 3 meeting, Packard said he does not anticipate any other changes but agreed to keep officials in the loop if any state agencies take issue with any of the new plans.
The meeting had very little on the agenda, and within 30 minutes the commission heard Packard’s new update, closed the public hearing, and approved the project with the conditions.
The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, December 17.
Marion Conservation Commission
By Jeffrey D. Wagner