Results of a Survey About Opinions on Converting Former Rail Lines in Concord into Bicycle Trails

R.C.Waters 8/28/07

The idea of converting the former New Haven rail line in Concord into part of the proposed Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT) and various options for constructing the trail have been under discussion in Concord for several years. Advocates for various points of view have spoken out on many occasions; however, while a number of these advocates have asserted that they speak for the typical Concord resident, there appears to have been no systematic effort during these years to determine what the typical Concord resident actually does think.

To find out what Concordians think, I hired a professional survey firm called Responsive Management (Harrisonburg, VA) to ask a statistically valid sample of residents. They surveyed 302 people during June of 2007, obtaining results with an estimated accuracy of plus or minus 6%. The survey questions and the survey results are reported in "Opinions on and Support For or Opposition to Conversion of Rail Lines into Bicycle Trails in Concord, Massachusetts", which is available from the firm on the web at:

www.responsivemanagement.com/download/reports/Concord_MA_Rail_Trails_Report.pdf

The survey addresses three topics: the construction of the BFRT in Concord, the extension of the Minuteman Bikeway in Bedford across Concord, and environmental issues. The results of the survey can be summarized in the following single sentence:

Concordians very much want both former rail lines in town converted into environmentally friendly, natural surface, recreational, bike trails and they strongly oppose their conversion into asphalt commuter bikeways.

See www.rcwaters.org/survey/summary.pdf for a more complete summary of the survey results.