After Pedestrian Hit By Car, Renewed Calls For A Tom Nevers Bike Path. Where Does The Project Stand?

In the aftermath of Tuesday morning’s incident on Tom Nevers Road where a pedestrian was struck by a car, many island residents have raised concerns about safety and vehicles speeding along the roadway, while asking about the status of the long-awaited Tom Nevers Road bike path.

"This accident was just a matter of time and I feel so badly for all involved,” said Kathy Baird, vice president of the Tom Nevers Civic Association.

Tom Nevers Road connects Milestone Road to one of the town-owned south shore beaches, along with the recreational facilities at the old Tom Nevers Navy Base. A bike path to get pedestrians and bicyclists off the roadway has been discussed for decades.

While a multi-use path project is in the works - with funding for its design approved at the 2019 Annual Town Meeting - it is still years away from being shovel-ready and given the expected high cost of construction, the town anticipates a phased approach.

The approximately two-mile-long path will run from the intersection of Milestone Road out to the old Navy base playing fields along Tom Nevers Road. It would run along the east side of the road and could include a portion that would be a raised boardwalk along a low-lying conservation property owned by the Land Bank.

“The path design is still preliminary and the construction funding has not yet been authorized since we are still developing the design and about to coordinate with abutting property owners about impacts of different alternatives to their property,” said Mike Burns, the town’s transportation program manager. “It’s more than a year from implementation. A path would certainly be much safer for pedestrians. I’m not sure if speeding or poor sightlines or other factors contributed to this crash, and I would not want to speculate not knowing the situation. However, those factors are as relevant as having a path for pedestrians.”

The town is working with the design, engineering, and environmental services firm Weston & Sampson on the design of the path. During a public presentation last July, the town’s timeline had targetted the spring and summer of 2024 for construction, which obviously did not come to fruition.

Baird, the vice president of the Tom Nevers Civic Association, said area residents have been pushing for the improved safety that a bike path would bring for years.

“We have been waiting a very long time for the bike path project to move forward - decades - as our project moved up on the priority list, and COVID did not help the timeline,” Baird said. “I am a runner and run on Tom Nevers Road every few days when I am on the island. It is a very dangerous place to run as there borders along the road are not mowed very often and contain brambles and other tripping hazards so you have to run on the pavement. We are very pleased that the bike path project is moving forward and with the planned path that will take it through much of the neighborhood, completely off the main road - safer and prettier. But property easements will take time to make that happen and there is always a risk that it will be further delayed…

“Since there is no pathway, anyone walking to the Tom Nevers bus stop on Milestone Road must also walk on the road and I see many families out with strollers on a nice day and that is frightening as well,” Baird added.

Beyond the Tom Nevers Road path, Burns shared that the town is collaborating to promote bicycle safety this summer with an approach that touches on multiple areas including individuals taking personal responsibility, roadway and regulation improvements, as well as emergency response. A so-called “Safety Action Plan” is being developed with Martha’s Vineyard and Franklin County to address high crash locations through policy and capital improvements.

“I’ve coordinated with the Chamber, town departments, and other agencies to distribute the bike helmet and e-bike stickers this summer to be fun and promote a safety culture and foster a safety-first attitude,” Burns said. “Based on training with public safety officials in Texas where crash fatalities are literally the highest in the country, there are a variety of elements necessary for a safe system: the roadway should safely accommodate everyone, vehicles need to be safe and well maintained, vehicles need to be operated at a safe speed, road users should always use safe judgment, and emergency response needs to be timely. We all use the roadway, we’re all vulnerable, and we all make mistakes. The approach is to accept that crashes will happen, they should be minimized, and those involved should always be able to walk away when it does happen.”