SUNDERLAND — With a $195,090 MassTrails grant, visions of people walking and biking on the Norwottuck North Shared-Use Path from Whately to Amherst are one step closer to becoming a reality.

Alongside a $76,840 match from Sunderland, which is the lead community on the grant, the money will help fund the design of a 10-foot wide, shared-use path from the Whately Park and Ride near Interstate-91’s Exit 35 to Meadow Street in Amherst with the intention of providing a safe, separated option for commuters, recreational walkers and cyclists alike. 

Sunderland Town Administrator Geoff Kravitz said the grant will allow the towns of Amherst, Deerfield, Sunderland and Whately to conduct a feasibility study and, if the project is feasible, potentially some design work.

“We have 22,000 cars a day coming through Sunderland … Hopefully by providing alternative transportation options, people will choose not to drive as much ” Kravitz said. “Right now on 116, parts of it really feel like a highway. Having a multi-use path that is not on the roadway would make people feel safer and hopefully encourage people to walk around.”

In full, the route would begin at the Whately Park and Ride, travel alongside Route 116 past Mount Sugarloaf, across the Connecticut River, through Sunderland and ending south of Meadow Street in Amherst. From there, the trail will connect to a future planned path that would extend to the UMass campus. That planned path, and others around the state, can be found on the MassTrails Priority Trails Network Vision Map online at Bit.ly/3S2VsK8. 

While all four towns seek the same motivations for the trail — reducing the number of cars on the road, encouraging recreation to the area’s natural resources and commuting ease — the trail also fits into Sunderland’s Village Center re-envisioning process. 

The town is working with consulting company Stantec to look at how the village center, where state Routes 47 and 116 intersect, can be improved, while retaining the character of Sunderland. With residents seeking more ways to walk or cycle around the area, the Norwottuck North Shared-Use Path meets those desires.

Construction on the trail, Kravitz said, is still likely to be years away, but this is a big step toward seeing whether the project is feasible and potentially identifying costs and other factors needed to bring it to fruition. The town will look to bring a contractor on for the study and design in the near future.

“We feel confident that we have good partners and look forward to working with all of them,” Kravitz said.

The receipt of the grant was welcomed by other town officials in Amherst and Sunderland, as the two communities are deeply connected with many University of Massachusetts Amherst students and employees living in Sunderland.

“Route 116 is an integral route for the area,” Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockleman said in a statement. “As such, it’s important to find the best ways to ensure not only a good level of service, but also safe and welcoming means for all users, including pedestrians and bicyclists. We look forward to see what a new mixed-use path could mean for the communities.”

“The Route 116 corridor is a high-volume and high-speed corridor that has a history of fatal incidents for bikers and pedestrians,” said Sunderland Selectboard member Christyl Drake-Tremblay. “Creating a safe environment for walkers and bikers is a priority for Sunderland.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.