Author: Larry Glantz

Press Release – Bicycle Coalition of Maine

Augusta – Maine is the third most bike-friendly state in the country, the League of American Bicyclists announced Wednesday.  This is the second year in a row that Maine has held that ranking, based on a League survey covering legislation, enforcement, education and encouragement, policies and programs, infrastructure, evaluation and planning.

The League released the state rankings during National Bike to Work Week.  The Bicycle Coalition of Maine is joining with several other organizations to host a Maine Bike to Work Day celebration on May 21 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lobsterman Park (corner of Temple and Spring Streets) in downtown Portland.

The League survey rated Maine first in the country in infrastructure.  During the past year, Maine’s network of shared-use paths has expanded rapidly with the opening of the first sections of the Down East Sunrise Trail and the Maine Mountain Division Trail.  More than 60 miles of additional shared-use paths will be built this summer as part of those two projects and the Eastern Trail in York County.

“I’m very pleased that Maine is being recognized at this level for the second year in a row, and especially pleased that the League ranked Maine number one in infrastructure,” said MaineDOT Commissioner David Cole. “We continue to make real progress on a balanced, multimodal system that will meet the varied transportation needs of Maine people.”

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The Bicycle Coalition of Maine has been working since 1992 to make Maine a better place to bicycle.  The coalition advocates for Maine cyclists at the Legislature and in Washington, D.C., teaches bicycle safety to thousands of Maine schoolchildren each year, partners with state agencies on a Share the Road media campaign and serves as a resource on local bicycling issues.

September 17, 2011
By Emma Bouthillette ebouthillette@mainetoday.com Staff Writer

BY EMMA BOUTHILLETTE; The Portland Press Herald

Pedestrians and bicyclists are welcome, but as construction wraps up on the latest section of the Eastern Trail, ATV riders are being reminded to stay off the pathway.

Reports of recent ATV use on new sections of the Eastern Trail in York County have prompted Facebook warnings and new signs on the trail to remind users that ATVs and snowmobiles aren’t allowed.

The newest section of the trail, from Saco to Old Orchard Beach, will be ready for use by mid-November.

“Snowmobiles and ATVs just gravitate to these things as a great spot to recreate. … That’s perfectly understandable,” said Bob Hamblen, vice president and treasurer of the Eastern Trail Alliance.

In fact, motor vehicles weren’t allowed on that land before it became part of the Eastern Trail.

Most of the Eastern Trail is on land owned by Unitil, which has always forbidden ATV and snowmobile use, but rarely enforced it. Most of the trail is part of the natural gas pipeline corridor and needs to be remain properly covered, Unitil spokesman Alec O’Meara said.

“ATVs can move dirt around and can create ruts. While pedestrians won’t really have an impact, ATV use can cause a maintenance issue,” O’Meara said.

And as more people are walking and biking the Eastern Trail, the ban on motorized vehicles is an increasingly important safety issue, trail backers say.

Eastern Trail officials say it’s a problem they’ve faced before.

When a new mile-and-a-half section opened in Old Orchard Beach about three years ago, it was frequently used by ATV and snowmobile riders who had been used to riding in the area.

The Alliance got help from the Old Orchard Beach Police Department and followed vehicle tracks back to individual homes to tell them they couldn’t ride on the trail. The education effort paid off, and there are few complaints today about motor vehicles using that section of trail, according to Lt. Tim Deluca.

“It was more of let’s get the message out and let the public know, educating the public it was not accessible for ATVs,” Deluca said.

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SCARBOROUGH, Maine — I had not been on a bicycle in years and my weight had crept up along with my age. Those concerns evaporated with the early morning fog as soon as I got going.

It was easy pedaling on a 3-mile section of the Eastern Trail that cuts through the center of the Scarborough Marsh, a wildlife sanctuary just 15 minutes outside of Portland. My senses were awakened by the sight of a blue heron nestled among the marsh reeds, the piercing cries of seagulls overhead, and the smell of the stinging salt air as I watched an angler pull in a striper.

“We think it is a unique experience that one can encounter while on the most popular and visible section of the trail,’’ said Bob Hamblen, a vice president for the Eastern Trail Alliance. “You can come by on any given day and see birders, bird hunters during hunting season, fishermen, canoeists, runners, and bicyclists.’’

Seals have been seen swimming under the bridge that crosses the Dunstan River on the trail just off Pine Point Road. Eagles have been spotted.

“People come from all around the world to take in the habitat. There are countless birds and seals. It is a wildlife sanctuary and is protected by the State of Maine. It is dust free, smoke free, and fumes free,’’ said John Andrews, president of the alliance. “The marsh changes every hour as the sun goes across the clouds. It is just a beautiful place to go biking.’’

The trail through the marsh is one segment of the 65-mile trail that runs from Kittery to Portland, taking in eight lighthouses along the way. It is part of the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway that stretches from Key West, Fla., to Calais. The trail crossing the marsh begins on Eastern Road (off Black Point Road) and heading south, goes for 3 miles to Pine Point Road and then to Old Blue Point Road. There are parking lots for vehicles and kiosks where the trail intersects the roads. The trail was constructed from the abandoned railroad that was built in 1841. Over a span of more than a century, the line was operated by the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad, followed by the Eastern Railroad, and lastly, the Boston and Maine Railroad until the end of World War II.

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Posted: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 1:39 pm
By Duke Harrington dharrington@keepmecurrent.com

SCARBOROUGH – When John Andrews, 74, was a young boy growing up in Gardiner, he checked out every book on chess he could find at the Maine State Library in Augusta. That experience came in useful, he says, when it came time to piece together the easements needed to create the 69-mile-long Eastern Trail – a walking path designed to run from Kittery to Casco Bay. “The principles of chess apply to building this trail,” said Andrews, while walking Saturday in a section behind Scarborough’s Hillcrest Retirement Community, where he now lives. “Easements are such wonderful fun, and getting them, like chess, is a kind of war, full of tactics and strategy. You don’t start right out and go after the king, you’ve first got to get this little piece, and then that little piece.” Now, as president emeritus of the Eastern Trail Alliance, which he founded 14 years ago, Andrews is beginning to maneuver those pieces into checkmate. A $1.3 million bridge over Interstate 95 opened in August, and a 4.37-mile section of trail will link Saco and Old Orchard Beach “by Thanksgiving,” he says. That leaves just two small sections – in Biddeford and Scarborough – to finish

The trail’s end (for now) John Andrews, president emeritus of the Eastern Trail Alliance, sits where the Eastern Trail ends in Scarborough, at the old Eastern Railroad bridge over the Nonesuch River. Plans are under way to build a way to cross the river and close a 0.8-mile gap in the trail between the river and the South Portland city line. (Staff photo by Duke Harrington)

the trail from Kennebunk to South Portland’s Bug Light Park. When complete, the Eastern Trail will mark a significant connection in the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile-long trail linking Key West, Fla., to Calais, in Washington County.

The Scarborough gap, from the Nonesuch River to South Portland’s Wainwright Field complex, just over the town line, measures a mere 0.8 miles. But it could be one of the most difficult to build, given significant obstacles – in the form of rivers and railroads – that cross the path. Andrews says construction of that small slice could take up to three years and cost $3 million.

Last week, the Scarborough Town Council accepted a $150,000 grant that will get the ball rolling. Funneled from the feds through the Maine Department of Transportation, the money will pay for a study of how best to finish Scarborough’s section of the trail.

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ETA Web Note: This article provides broader coverage of a recent report commissioned for the National Park Service that is urging support for seven interstate “recreation corridors” in New England — including three in Maine (and including the Eastern Trail corridor) — as a way to reconnect people with the outdoors and spur economic development in riverfront and trailside communities.

A recent report commissioned for the National Park Service is urging support for seven interstate “recreation corridors” in New England — including three in Maine — as a way to reconnect people with the outdoors and spur economic development in riverfront and trailside communities.

The report is not calling for the creation of new national parks or large-scale acquisition of private land for conservation. Instead, the authors are seeking to build public and private support for the completion or expansion of canoe trails, multiple-use trails and other multistate projects that would benefit residents and draw tourists.

The project grew out of a New England Governor’s Conference initiative on regional recreation opportunities. In April 2011, the National Park Service provided funding to compile the initiative’s work into a final report.

The seven recreational corridors or pathways that are the focus of the report are:

• Androscoggin River in Maine and New Hampshire.

• Northern Forest Canoe Trail in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Quebec.

• Champlain Valley in Vermont and New York.

• Merrimack River in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

• Connecticut River in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

• Blackstone River Valley in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

• East Coast Greenway in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.

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September 29, 2011

Eastern Trail gap bridged

The first-of-its-kind span over the Maine Turnpike completes a 6.2-mile stretch.

By Emma Bouthillette ebouthillette@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

KENNEBUNK – As John Andrews watched nearly 500 elementary school students cross the Eastern Trail Bridge over the Maine Turnpike during its official opening on Wednesday, all he could do was smile.

The bridge, solely for pedestrians and cyclists, is the first of its kind spanning the turnpike. It completes a 6.2-mile section of trail from Kennebunk to Biddeford, and Andrews called it “the biggest challenge” in building the trail.

“I’ll tell you, I stand on that bridge and I really get choked up,” now that it’s finally complete, he said.

The $1.3 million bridge, funded by the Maine Turnpike Authority, is a key element in the alliance’s mission to complete a 65-mile stretch of off-road trail from Kittery to Casco Bay.

A bridge over Route 1 in Saco, expected to be installed by Nov. 1, will help complete nearly 21 consecutive miles of the trail in that area.

At the opening ceremony Wednesday at Kennebunk Elementary School, Maine Turnpike Authority Executive Director Peter Mills said the bridge is long overdue. He has heard for years about the need for a safe place for walkers and cyclists.

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