• Salisbury rail trail to be finished by November.
“The 10-foot- wide, paved, $1.1 million rail trail will be built with Massachusetts Highway Department funds because a lot of state and local officials worked “in partnership” to make it happen, said state Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, and state Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport. ”
• Groton/Townsend Rail-trail group mulls options to fund design plan.
” A group of people is hoping to create a 3.7-mile recreational path along the rail track in Groton and Townsend. The first hurdle to be cleared: how to fund a design plan. Committees from both towns are working to research the feasibility of funding the so-called Squannacook River Rail Trail. A 100 percent design plan must be done before applying for construction grants.”
• Adding artistic touches to the Bruce Freedman Rail Trail
“Trails like the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail provide opportunities for transportation, recreation, and interaction with nature. Such trails can also provide opportunities for art. Sometimes artwork is designed with the trail. Such is the case with the bicycle rack and bench at an overlook on the Nashua River Rail Trail.”
• Bike to the Sea project receives state grant.
“ The Patrick Administration announced that 22 trails projects across the commonwealth will receive grant funding under the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Recreational Trails Grants Program. The DCR program, which is part of the national Recreational Trails Program funded through the Federal Highway Administration, is awarding total of $465,000 in grants to local communities and nonprofit organizations to fund the trails projects.”
I was tooling around yesterday getting some hopefully usable video footage of all the neighboring rail trails and I got to watch some of the finishing touches being put on Manchester Street Park in Lawrence. This 5 acre parcel is anchor to the Spicket Greenway project from Groundworks Lawrence.
The Spicket Greenway extends along the banks of the river THROUGH the city of Lawrence. The the conceptual plans for this four million dollar project, include a bike path paralleling the river. This river walkway conveniently lies at the southern end of the Methuen Rail Trail. Seeing as how we now have places to GO once we get the trail completed we really have no excuse now not to throw some more coals in the furnace.
A small group of Methuen Rail Trail supporters met up on Windham’s Rail Trail last Monday. The Banks, Tondo, Gallagher and Lavoie families (as well as myself) took a small cruise up and down Windham’s well cared for trail. Only a few of us had visited the trail in the past, and those that hadn’t were all a flutter with the idea that we could have anything like this for our very own. Hopefully we can make this a regular thing that will keep us inspired until that day comes.
At 1.3-mile Amesbury Riverwalk is the shortest I have visited, combining it with Amesbury’s regenerated downtown and it is one of the loveliest. The trail head is on Water St where the old Salisbury Point Rail road depot has been planted. But it plans are to connect it with the Salisbury Point Ghost Train Trail and thus join the Border to Boston Trail and rest of Coastal Trails network.
Physically it’s a tad different a winding narrow paved path with a divider line, it runs along the c Powwow River and through some nice residential areas. But worth the walk as it ends at Carriagetown Marketplace. (out behind McDonalds.) The trail has been quite embraced by the community, places like the Riverwalk luxury Apartment count trail access as an amenity. On the day I went the folks from Amesbury Treasures the partnership of sixteen historic sites and museums were handing out walking tour maps at the Salisbury Point Railroad Historical Society’s Depot hangout.
There is a small group riding the Windham Rail Trail on Tuesday after supper at 6PM. Tentatively we are meeting at the Roulston Rd access. If anyone has a reason to meet up at the Windham Depot, we can easily change the meeting point. Email us if you are planning to come.
There is space for a few cars on the shoulder of Roulston Rd.
View Larger Map
Derry bike trail to be built soon by Eric ParryDERRY — Construction on the town’s bike trail should begin this month and the whole two-mile route should be completed by the end of summer.
The Town Council has given the Derry Rail Trail Alliance permission to begin building the first phase of the project from Kendall Pond Road to Bowers Road.
Derry Rail Trail Alliance President Erich Whitney said he expects the grading and paving on that stretch of the trail to begin soon and be completed within three weeks.
.
.
.Salem is also working on extending the trail south through their town to the Methuen, Mass., line.
Bill Carter of the Salem Conservation Commission said the town is working on a transportation enhancement grant application to pave a one-mile stretch from the Windham line to Rockingham Road. The grant application is due by June 1. . . . .
I am available to go out and take casual walks on the trail (trash picking optional) Just to give you all an idea of what it out there on the trail right now, i have uploaded the images I took the other day.
If you haven’t looked lately I have a cache of Trail images on Flickr.
I also have some images from Salem, Derry and Windham and other trails.
|
| Methuen Rail Trail News |
|
|
| Join the Spicket River Fan Club |
