Concerns about lighting, snow removal, and access points on phase 2 of the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway Project were raised this week, as officials from the Department of Conservation and Recreation presented and discussed the project’s design, which is currently at the 75 percent completion mark.

At a meeting held Thursday night in Cambridge’s Russell Youth Community Center, DCR staff showed off an updated design of the section of path, which runs from Arlington Street near Nichols Avenue and Crawford Street to Fresh Pond in Cambridge.

Several additions requested by the public at previous meetings, most notably a new entranceway at Holworthy Street in Cambridge were also unveiled. The new entrance joins previously-designed entranceways at Arlington Street and Cottage Street in Watertown, and Holworthy Place and the Water Purification Facility in Cambridge.

Dan Driscoll, director of Recreation Facilities Planning for the DCR, called it the “second, and probably final comprehensive public meeting” for the long-anticipated Greenway. He explained that phase two would connect the first part of the Watertown Greenway, built in 2010 and 2011, to the Linear Park Extension, the Linear Park Pathway, The Minuteman Bikeway, The Alewife Brook Greenway, and the Mystic Greenway, forming an important off-road system for recreational and commuter use.

“It’s a pretty incredible network we’re pulling together here,” he said.

Tracie A. Lenhardt, project manager at the design firm VHB, said that the path would be 12 feet wide with two-foot grass shoulders on either side and include grass drainage swales. She also said they are planning on working with the fire department on making a raised intersection at the entrance on Cottage Street, and discussing adding an entrance at Tufts Health Plan in Watertown. At the 25 percent design meeting, many residents requested an entranceway at Holworthy Street, which had been added to the design.

“We heard from you all how important this connection is,” Lenhardt said. “We are still working out the details on it.”

Rick Williams from landscape architect company CRJA, discussed how they would reestablish native planting to enhance the health and beauty of the natural setting and decrease erosion. He also mentioned art additions, such as rock engravings.

Before allowing public comment, Driscoll discussed the costs of the project. The design, which he estimated would be finished by fall 2016 instead of a previously estimated summer 2016, was paid for by $90,000 of partnership contributions from athenahealth, Boylston Properties, the Watertown Community Foundation, and the Solomon Foundation. The DCR matched the $90,000. The construction, which would begin in 2017 pending funding availability, had a preliminary cost of $2,100,000. He hoped to finish construction by November of 2017, with a subsequent planting season in spring 2018.

The issue that raised the most concerns was that of lighting. The only part of the path that would be lit would be the tunnel under Mt. Auburn Street. Many residents were concerned that the lack of light would limit the accessibility of the path.

“It is a DCR policy that we don’t light the paths—though there are a few exceptions for security reasons,” Driscoll said. “We have 165 miles of corridors. We don’t want to go down a path of lighting them all. There are also ecological concerns. We’ve talked with [Mass] Audubon, and they said that lighting on the corridors has a negative impact on bird habitat.”

Driscoll said that the paths technically close at dusk, though they do allow people to be moving through the park after dusk. He said that he often rides his bike at night, and the sections that are lit along the Charles River path for security create strange shadows and feel even less safe than the unlit sections. Besides, he added, they just didn’t have the funding.

Driscoll had similar answers to concerns about snow removal.

“I am committed to six feet of plowing,” Driscoll said. “Not the full width of the path. We are not making an effort to say it is safe for winter biking. It can’t be, with the black ice and all.”

Salting, he said, would taint the water supply. Sanding would damage the pavement. He said that he had seen damage on paths that attempted to plow the whole width this year, even after such a mild winter.

State Representative John Hecht, who represents Watertown and North Cambridge, closed off the meeting by saying that he recognized the importance of finishing this “missing link.” It would, he said, help cut down on the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, 40 percent of which come from transportation.

“When we get the design finalized, we need to rally the grassroots efforts” he said. “We have not officially identified a funding source for the money. But this project is 25 years in the making, and it’s exciting to see it so close to completion.”

To see the DCR’s presentation, visit http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/public-outreach/public-meetings/

The public can submit comments until June 20 by visiting here: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/public-outreach/submit-public-comments/

Or writing to the DCR Office of Public Outreach, 251 Causeway Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02114. Questions and concerns can be sent by email to Mass.parks@state.ma.us or call 617-626-4973.