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Sen. Comerford: 'We're not finished' with bill to increase access to state trails

Amy Sugihara and Meg Bandarra explore the Fort River Birding and Nature Trail in Hadley, Massachusetts, an accessible trail in the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, in June 2024.
Nancy Eve Cohen
/
NEPM
Amy Sugihara and Meg Bandarra explore the Fort River Birding and Nature Trail in Hadley, Massachusetts, an accessible trail in the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, in June 2024.

A Massachusetts bill designed to maximize access to trails for more people, including those with disabilities, was not voted on in the legislative formal session, but there's a push to get it approved before the end of the year.

The bill would direct a working group to figure out how many of the state's trails are accessible and then recommend ways to improve access for people with mobility considerations.

Sen. Jo Comerford, D- Northampton, said she's trying to get it approved in the informal legislative session.

"I have had numerous conversations with the chair of Ways and Means and the Senate president about this bill. Also, administration officials," she said. "We're not finished."

Northampton resident Meg Bandarra, who spearheaded the fight for the bill, said if it doesn't pass, she would be deeply disappointed.

Bandarra said it could "help millions of Massachusetts residents with disabilities, reduced mobility, age-related mobility challenges. And, Massachusetts can and should do better."

Comerford said if it doesn't pass, she'll refile it next year.

Nancy Eve Cohen is a former NEPM senior reporter whose investigative reporting has been recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Regional Award for Hard News, along with awards for features and spot news from the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA), American Women in Radio & Television and the Society of Professional Journalists.

She has reported on repatriation to Native nations, criminal justice for survivors of child sexual abuse, linguistic and digital barriers to employment, fatal police shootings and efforts to address climate change and protect the environment. She has done extensive reporting on the EPA's Superfund cleanup of the Housatonic River.

Previously, she served as an editor at NPR in Washington D.C., as well as the managing editor of the Northeast Environmental Hub, a collaboration of public radio stations in New York and New England.

Before working in radio, she produced environmental public television documentaries. As part of a camera crew, she also recorded sound for network television news with assignments in Russia, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba and in Sarajevo during the war in Bosnia.