Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 7, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 33 Blackstone bikeway is Worcester's emerald trail V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L M etropolitan Boston has it's Emerald Necklace Trail, Frederick Law Olmsted's famous system of parks running from the shaded boulevard on Commonwealth Avenue to the popular shores of Jamaica Pond to the winding paths of the Arnold Arboretum. It serves as an oasis in the middle of a bustling city. Worcester, and the Black- stone Valley communities to the south, have a trail that, with public support and leadership, could easily compete with Olmsted's vision. Worcester's Emerald Pendant Trail is actually the Blackstone River Bike- way, a 46-mile, as-yet-uncompleted path to connect downtown Worcester with Providence, and then to the East Bay Path to Newport. is vision of a bikeway along the Blackstone River linking New England's second and third largest cities could bring economic and recreational benefits that accompanied the completion of the Blackstone Canal two centuries ago. Bicycle riders, walkers, runners, even cross-country skiers have patiently waited for years for Massachusetts to complete the Blackstone River Bikeway. Locals and visitors enjoy small segments in Worcester and Millbury, thanks to the Mass Turnpike when it constructed the Route 146 connector and Worcester's urban bike paths. Another popular section was constructed in South Uxbridge, Millville and part of Blackstone a decade ago, thanks to Central Massachusetts champion Timothy Murray, when he was lieutenant governor. In her last year, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, a strong advocate for Central Mas- sachusetts, has an opportunity, as Murray did, to leave a legacy for the voters in our region to benefit the regional economy, as well as the health of all residents. Congressman Jim McGovern and valley legislators pledged their support for finishing the bikeway, but they need the outgoing Baker-Polito Administration and the rest of the Worcester and Central Mass. delegation to commit state government to the task. ere are two important bills under consideration on Beacon Hill that could advance the opportunity to build more miles of the bikeway. House Bill 4336, the Governor's Capital Outlay Bond bill, and House Bill 2, the FY'23 State Budget, are ideally suited to fund much of the project. A bikeway segment in Blackstone and the trail in Douglas are both designed and essentially shovel-ready, once the state releases funding. Other segments in Ux- bridge need design funds and the towns of Northbridge, Sutton, Graon, and Millbury must settle on a final route through their communities. ese projects urgently need champions to make them happen. Valley businesses and residents can make these improvements happen by contacting the governor and our local legislators to fight for the needed funding. Richard T. Moore of Uxbridge is the chair of the Blackstone Heritage Corridor and a former state senator. BY RICHARD T. MOORE Special to the WBJ The above Editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board. The Viewpoint column, the A Thousand Words cartoon, and the Word from the Web commentary represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of WBJ or its staff. WBJ welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Send them to bkane@wbjournal.com. A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y R A M Ó N L . S A N D O V A L ere's reason to have confidence Richard T. Moore A global pandemic. A second Civil Rights era. A Russian invasion of Ukraine. At every turn, when back-to-normal seems to be in our sights, national or world events take a new and dangerous turn. It can make the day-to-day issues we face look awfully small, when put into perspective. Yet, as we all know, these crises almost always have a trickle-down effect into many aspects of our lives, including noticeable disruptions to the way we go through our days and operate our businesses. A non-factor for decades, inflation has reared its ugly head. Supply chain logjams have created bottlenecks impacting prices, access, and delivery times. And throw on top of that what appears to be a structural labor shortage, and no business in the region has not felt the effect. Still, business leaders in the state, and especially the Central Massachusetts region, remain optimistic. As you can read in WBJ Staff Writer Katherine Hamilton's story "Business confidence" on page 6, the Business Confidence Index from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts shows the Central Mas- sachusetts businesses score of 57.5 on a 100-point scale in their outlook for the future (any score over 50 is measured as positive), which the highest of any region in the state. Greater Boston comes in at 52, Western Massachusetts at 54.5, and Cape Cod and the islands at 49.2. As Hamilton points out, part of the reason for this Central Mass. optimism is our region has more of the industries – manufacturing and construction – proven to be more insulated from the disruptions across the globe. Two years ago when the pandemic started, ev- erything looked scary. Large-scale layoffs seemed right around the corner, with fears of countless business closures. But that didn't happen. e federal government provided needed relief, and the country and our community rallied. e Worcester Togeth- er Fund was started on a dime. Businesses shared information about government assistance. Bankers worked long hours to figure out how to get compa- nies money. What in the past might have taken years to accomplish, took weeks. Sure, the region took some hits, and we can't minimize the suffering of those who took the hardest knocks; but look where we are today. Companies are achieving record rev- enues, and startups are launching at an accelerated pace. e Greater Worcester unemployment rate of 3.9% is approaching the near-record lows set before the pandemic. You know you have it good when the biggest issue is you can't find enough workers for all the business you want to do. So, here we are on the edge of another crisis. While far away on a map, it's clear to have ramifications that remain unknown. Today's high confidence score can flip to the negative in short order. But if the last few years have proven anything, our region remains resilient. Central Massachusetts businesses have been nimble and figured out ways to survive and thrive, despite the many challenges. ey are likely to do so regardless of the challenges ahead. W W

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