Orleans panel studies options to close dangerous Cape Cod Rail Trail gap on West Road

ORLEANS — February 2, 2026 — Orleans Transportation and Bikeways Advisory Committee takes up dangerous Cape Cod Rail Trail gap at West Road. At the February 2 meeting, members Joel Porton and Bob presented a tiered safety plan for the 0.2-mile section of West Road between the Cape Cod Rail Trail's two segments — the trail's only gap where users must ride on a live road and, by DCR's account, the highest-volume point on the entire Cape Cod Rail Trail. Short-term options include advisory 20-mile-per-hour safety zone signs and "motorists give four feet" signage under the state's vulnerable road user law; a medium-term option calls for traffic-calming tables at the two West Road crossings; the preferred long-term solution is a 10-foot-wide bi-directional shared-use path along the south side of West Road, narrowing to eight feet across the MassDOT-owned bridge, which was estimated at $6 million five years ago. DPW staff Galvin cautioned that MassDOT ownership of the bridge could block every proposed design improvement and that even restriping fog lines on West Road previously required a state permit. Chief Scott McDonald told the committee that a 20-mile-per-hour safety zone is advisory and generally not enforceable with a speed gun absent a formal engineering study. The committee also agreed to bring documentation on a revocable landscaping license granted to the original Windswept condominium developer — believed to be the source of a dangerous sightline obstruction at Mill Lane and Beach Road — to its next meeting.