Mass in Motion Coordinator Julianne Kelly invited Senator Michael Rodrigues to tour the the new Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Trail on September 12, 2016. "I've seen so many beautiful pictures," commented the Senator, "but this is my first actual look," said the Senator who played a major role in securing the funding for the construction of the Trail. Named for local historian and planner Alfred J. Lima, the Trail follows a plan for a Quequechan River Greenway, drawn up by Lima, that includes improvements to Britland Park. Plans were first presented in April, 2011 and reviewed in 2012 along with other efforts to make Fall River more bicycle-friendly. The project created a ten foot wide paved surface with three foot grass shoulders that runs over a former railroad bed and five timber bridges to connect with Britland Park and Rodman Street and eventually the existing path that begins at the Westport Town line along South Watuppa Pond. The project was funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and by the Gateway City Park Program of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Senator Rodriques walked with Kelly and Stanley Street Treatment and Resources Prevention Coordinator Eric Andrade from the Britland Park entrance to the Rodman Street entrance and then to Quequechan Street and back. Click here for a 12-minute video of the first part of the walk. Click here for a Walk and Talk event with Rep. Carole Fiola. For more information,about walks in the City, go to www.WalkFallRiver.org. 

(Top row) Senator Rodrigues joins Fall River Mass In Motion coordinator Julianne Kelly as they start out from the parking lot at Britland Park at the end of Wordell Street. (Row two) Senator Rodrigues greets longtime friends Tom and Arlene Greenhaugh as they walk along the Trail. (Row three) At the Rodman Street entrance, Senator Rodrigues talks about how the plans developed for the Trail over the years. (Bottom two rows) Senator Rodrigues talks with Ms. Kelly and Stanley Street Treatment and Resources Prevention Coordinator Eric Andrade as they complete the tour, sighting a cormorant, turtles sunning themselves and an egret stalking the waters that are part of the abundance of plants and wildlife on the Trail.