Commission explores possibility of accessible trails

LYNN – Lynn Disability Commission member Nick Capano had traveled about a quarter-mile into the Lynn Woods Reservation in his wheelchair on the Pennybrook Road trail Wednesday night. Now, he was moving faster.?This is not bad, huh, Nick?” his mother, School Committee Vice Chair Patty Capano, asked her son as he passed her on the trail.Nick and Patty Capano were part of a group excursion through the woods last night whose purpose was to examine the possibility of making several trails accessible. Nick Capano, who was born with spina bifida, had some difficulties moving through the trails on the Great Woods Road section of the reservation last year.On Wednesday night, the group came away with a sense of the work that needed to be done, and a desire to see that work completed.?It?s inspiring,” Patty Capano said. “I think we?re going somewhere.”The group of about 10 people, led by Lynn Woods Ranger Dan Small, included several members of civic commissions. Small showed several trails that could be refurbished, including part of Pennybrook Road and the Rose Garden. Small also showed several people a side trail linking Pennybrook Road with the parking lot; Nick Capano did not go on this latter, narrower trail.The proposals included one from GE employee and Lynn Woods runner Paul Gouthro, who attends St. Pius Church with Patty Capano. Gouthro suggested a 2-inch coating of stone dust, five feet wide for Pennybrook Road and three feet for the side trail, that would constitute a loop of 40 to 80 yards.Attendees sounded hopeful that the project could be completed within a few months.Disability Commission member Michael Cerulli said that he would “like to have a game plan” for the next commission meeting in May, “so that we can begin to implement it.”?It has to be done in sequence,” Small said. “It?s going to be expensive. I hope we get some good donors. The materials are not expensive. (But with) a gazillion tons of it, it gets pricey. Money is always the hardest thing to come up with.”However, he called himself “optimistic” and envisioned completion around July 4 “if we don?t trip over something. There seems to be enough enthusiasm. A lot of people have trouble walking (the trails).”Asked which of the trails would present the greatest challenge to refurbish, Small said, “Fixing Pennybrook Road. They want it wider. On the side trail, the rocks and roots can be taken out. (Nick Capano) was having trouble on the bigger stones (of Pennybrook Road). It?s an easy thing to do (to refurbish) but it will cost a lot of money.”Each trail presented its own challenges.On Pennybrook Road, Nick Capano had to move uphill from the parking lot. He also had to maneuver over a watery patch and onto drier territory covered by dead leaves. The side trail, meanwhile, featured fallen branches, roots, rocks and muddy soil. One fallen branch more or less covered the length of the trail.At the Rose Garden, the stone dust surface drew praise from Patty Capano – “This is fabulous!” she said – but cobblestone steps meant that Nick Capano had to go off the trail to reach the garden.?Just plow,” Patty Capano told her son as he moved downhill. “Don?t stop.”However, once Nick Capano reached the garden, he could move along its circular path.By the end of the evening, the spring peepers were holding a concert, and a half-moon was rising over the white pine and red oak trees.?If we use stone dust, I would love going up here,” Nick Capano said. “But if we keep it as it is, I feel I would have to concentrate too much on the path. I would not be able to enjoy walking (on) the woods.”