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MPO reviews Vision 88 bike network progress and posts regional bike‑rack inventory; members flag e‑bike safety and Canal connections
Summary
Staff updated the MPO on Vision 88 (an 88‑mile shared‑use path vision), progress on missing links and design costs, and a regional bicycle‑rack inventory (about 480 locations / ~900 racks). Members raised safety concerns about e‑bikes and urged integrating bridge/canal crossings into regional planning.
The MPO received an update on Vision 88 — a plan to create an 88‑mile continuous shared‑use path across Cape Cod — and on a new regional bicycle‑rack inventory.
Dave Nolan, senior transportation planner at the Cape Cod Commission, summarized progress and gaps: funded segments total roughly 10 miles, 115 miles of existing paved shared‑use paths exist today, and about 43.5 miles of potential paved shared‑use paths are under consideration to fill network gaps. He highlighted four key missing links: the Bourne Rail Trail alignment, connections in Sandwich to the Canal Service Road path, a Cape Cod Rail Trail extension to tie new service‑road paths into the network, and an Outer Cape missing link through Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown.
Nolan described individual project statuses and planning estimates: Bourne Rail Trail phases vary from feasibility to design; Sandwich town‑led segments are at pre‑25% design with town and MassDOT sections phased separately (town section construction estimate ~ $22M; MassDOT section scoping underway and estimated at ~$7.7M); Cape Cod Rail Trail Phase 4 is a 9‑mile segment with a conceptual cost estimate of about $78M to be phased; and the Provincetown Route 6 conversion to a shared‑use path is at 100% design and funded in the TIP for about $17M.
Nolan also presented the regional bicycle‑rack inventory (UPWP funded): staff recorded about 480 municipal locations and roughly 900 publicly owned bike racks, and built an interactive web map that allows towns and the public to review racks and submit missing locations for staff verification. The TIP includes a $100,000 bicycle‑rack program in FFY 2027 for targeted installations.
During Q&A, town representatives and members raised concerns about alignment choices and safety, especially where the path must cross Route 6 in Provincetown and Outer Cape segments; MassDOT and Commission staff said interagency coordination and safety analysis are ongoing. Members and the public also raised e‑bike considerations: where to provide larger or secure parking, and how to manage speed differentials between e‑bikes and conventional bicycles on shared‑use paths. Nolan said the inventory and future rack program can inform where improved bike‑parking and related infrastructure are needed.
The MPO agreed staff should continue coordination with towns and MassDOT as Vision 88 projects move from feasibility to design and that the bike‑rack inventory will be refined with municipal review.
