Downtown Springfield River Walk Tours
by Bill Dusty
Springfield River Walk activists are boosting the Connecticut River Walk & Bikeway by providing guided tours of the path each Wednesday afternoon through the summer. From the activists’ press release:
Free lunch-time River Walk tours will resume on June 30 in Downtown Springfield. The hour-long escorted tours will depart from the Monarch Place fountain at the corner of Main Street and Boland Way on Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. through early September.
The volunteer-led walks are intended to bring attention to the 3.5 mile walk along the Connecticut River. The River Walk stretches from Wason Avenue in Brightwood through Riverfront Park in Downtown to the South End, ending just before the Buxton [South End] Bridge.
Tour goers will be able to see more of the river than last year thanks to extensive clearing of overgrowth at Riverfront Park.”
The date schedule for the guided tours are as follows:
- July 7 (All tours start at 12:15pm)
- July 14
- July 21
- July 28
- August 4
- August 11
- August 18
- August 25
** Potential Expanded Schedule:
- September 1
- September 8
- September 15
- September 22
- September 29
There is no need to schedule an appointment for a guided tour. Just show up at Monarch Place fountain by 12:15pm on any Wednesday. Anyone seeking more information on joining a guided tour – either as an individual or by forming a group – may contact Bob McCarroll at 736-0629.
For more information on the CT River Walk & Bikeway, visit the City’s webpage here.
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4 Responses for “Downtown Springfield River Walk Tours”
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Since the city spent so much time and money on “developing” the riverfront, I guess they now have to promote it. But nothing will take away a the simple fact that most urban growth is organic and rarely top-down. While it is true that a city’s government can do certain things to help development along, Springfield would get more bang for its buck if it focused on things like quality, affordable housing for us hard-working, childless people who don’t qualify for subsidized housing.
Also, maybe you can attract jobs that pay more than a slave wage for industries like call centers that leave little time, energy or money for citizens to participate in the care of their communities.
And finally, maybe you can stop being so damn racist. I mean, Massachusetts is supposed to be so liberal on certain things but I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for 13 years and didn’t see as much institutionalized bias as I do in this city.
Just a thought.
Boy, you sound like somebody who needs to get outside for some fresh air. The Riverwalk exists and is about 10 years old; it’s paid for. Give it a try. It will do your outlook a world of good.
As for quality affordable housing, compared to Boston or Northampton, Springfield has lots more for “hard-working, childless people who don’t quality for subsidized housing” than you’ll find there. So on that score, I’d say we’re already there.
Just some thoughts.
Ms. McElwaine,
I would love to get outside for fresh air. However, after being unemployed for more than a year, I had to accept a “good” job that required I work at least one weekend day and barely pays enough to make ends meet unless I work at least 10 hours of overtime a week. Besides, the river walks aren’t actually designed for working people like myself who actually work on Wednesdays and only get a half hour for lunch. We barely have time to microwave our food in the company breakroom, eat it and maybe use the bathroom in time to get back to our desks.
As far as the Riverfront being paid for, I never said it wasn’t. The point I was trying to make was that spending the time and energy to develop an area of the city that most city residents only visit on school field trips or for special events and is cut off both physically and sociologically from the rest of the city was a bad use of funds.
Also, comparing Springfield to Boston or Northampton in terms of housing is misleading in the extreme. Springfield has no where near the economic opportunities or housing demands of those two cities to even put it in the same league. The reality is, that for what Springfield has to offer, rents should be a lot lower than what they are now. However, it is my opinion because a sizable portion of the population receives subsidized housing because of lack of quality jobs, the market is skewed by landlords who get to charge the government premiums and actively seek those tenants while pricing the rest of us out of the market for all but the most ramshackle units in questionable neighborhoods.
But something tells me Ms. McElwaine that you’ve never had to experience any of this. Why should we push for more comprehensive economic policies that would benefit the vast majority of Springfield residents (instead of “cleansing” them out like the South End Development Plan) when all we really need is more fresh air?
Thank you for your response Swandiver. I am happy you found work, but regret that it isn’t what you had hoped for.
The Riverwalk exists and is available all daylight hours both weekdays and weekends. If you really would like to put your feet where your posts are, I’d suggest trying out the north end of the Riverwalk in Brightwood. The path follows a pleasant residential street of well maintained homes and apartment buildings and is a long way from the noise of the railroad and highways. Of all the sections of the Riverwalk, it is the least isolated, being directly visible and accessible from Riverside Road.
As far as design of the Riverwalk is concerned, not only is it available for working people, but one Brightwood neighbor said his biggest beef about the Riverwalk was being awakened by the voices of early morning walkers and joggers using the trail before work.
I respect your right to differ on the question of using limited funds on the Riverwalk, but so little time and money is being devoted to it now that nothing significant could be done were this trickle to be turned off entirely.
As for the unrelated topic of rents in Springfield, that market is self-determined. No Rent Genius sits down and calculates the appropriate return on investment for rents vs. local attractions and opportunities. Landlords charge what they can get; if rents are too high, there are no renters.
Our ad hoc citizens group promoting the Riverwalk focuses on making the most of this asset as it exists. We are interested in more expansive ideas and follow them closely, but we see our role as promoting appropriate use of the Riverwalk by people like you and seeing that it is maintained in a way that supports this goal.
The Riverwalk is for everybody who uses it appropriately and with respect.