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By Michael Kelley Staff Writer, Scarborough Leader – published 12/9/16

The race is on to raise the remaining funds to extend the Eastern Trail and form a connection between Scarborough and South Portland.

While the gap is only 1.6 miles – from Defosses Avenue in Scarborough to Wainwright Recreation Complex in South Portland – making the connection has proven difficult, and costly, due to the need to cross over the Nonesuch River and Amtrak/ Pan American rail line. The gap is the only piece missing of an off-road trail between South Portland and Saco.

“It’s a small piece of mileage, but really a critical piece,” said Carole Brush, executive director of the Eastern Trail Alliance, the volunteer based organization that was formed in 1997 to develop the Eastern Trail.

The Eastern Trail, which covers 65 miles from Kittery to South Portland, is the northern section of the East Coast Greenway, a trail system spanning 2,900 miles between Calais, Maine and Key West, Florida.

Approximately $600,000 of the $3.8 million cost is still outstanding. Town Planner Dan Bacon said half the cost of the project – $1.6 to $2 million – is due to the need to construct a bridge and the associated approaches over the Pan-American railway, which is used several times a day by the Amtrak Downeaster and freight trains. The bridge over the Nonesuch River, by comparison, is much easier and cheaper. Because the bridge abutments are still in place from where the old Eastern Railroad crossed the river, and only a bridge is needed the cost is expected to be between $100,000 and $140,000.

You can read the entire article online here.

The group is closing in on a financial target to construct a difficult portion of an envisioned 64-mile path.

[The following article, by Deirdre Fleming, Staff Writer of the Portland Press Herald, gives great exposure to the ETA’s current Close the Gap campaign]

SCARBOROUGH — The Eastern Trail Alliance announced Tuesday that it is close to a fundraising goal that would allow the trail to run 16 miles uninterrupted from Bug Light in South Portland to Saco.

The alliance needs just over $600,000 to complete a $3.8 million capital campaign that would allow for construction of a difficult section of the trail that spans a railroad track and the Nonesuch River.

The Eastern Trail is envisioned as a 64-mile off-road bike-and pedestrian path reaching from South Portland to Kittery. Already 22 miles of the trail runs through portions of South Portland, Scarborough, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, Biddeford, Arundel and Kennebunk. The non-profit Eastern Trail Alliance and the municipalities along the southern Maine coast are behind the effort to extend the trail.

By far the trickiest section to build is the 1.6-mile stretch that will run over the Pan Am Railroad and the Nonesuch River in Scarborough, said Dan Bacon, Scarborough’s town planner and a member of the alliance.

“Getting over the railroad is a huge feat for many different reasons,” said Carole Brush, the Eastern Trail Alliance executive director. “Obviously crossing an active rail line with a trail that has to be … made a certain grade and also has to be a certain number of feet above the railroad tracks makes it a really long bridge. It will be longer than the Eastern Trail bridge over the (Maine Turnpike). The trail will then be wonderful for recreation and commuting on a section of the trail that is heavily used.”

The Eastern Trail Alliance estimated through a 2014 survey that roughly 90,000 people use the trail annually and spend a total of $1 million while using it, Brush said.

The 1.6-mile section will connect the trail from the Wainwright Sports Complex in South Portland to the other side of the Nonesuch River in Scarborough off Black Point Road.

Roughly $2 million of the estimated $3.8 million cost of the project will go toward the railroad bridge due to the bridge’s height – rising 20 to 22 feet above the tracks, said Bacon, who has worked with the engineering firm – HNTB Corporation of Westbrook – that designed the new section of trail.

The bridge over the Nonesuch River, which can use existing stone abutments, will cost around $100,000, Bacon said.

The 1.6-mile section also will cut through wetlands, three private residential properties and land owned by Central Maine Power. The alliance is working on securing easements.

“We’ve been working with private landowners and knitting together a passable route for this trail that will have minimal impact,” said Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall. “There are three landowners and there have been hurdles to get over, but I’m confident we will.”

The project received $1.5 million from the Maine Department of Transportation and $1.2 million from the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System, a federally mandated organization that works to improve transportation in Greater Portland.

Joyce Taylor, the Maine transportation department’s chief engineer, said there’s no time frame for the alliance to secure the $1.5 million grant.

“I think it’s a very important section and it helps close the gap in an area where we think people will get the most use and it will really make a difference,” Taylor said. “We’re in it for $1.5 million if they’re willing to match it. We want to see this done. We want to work with them. They’re showing a great effort.”

The campaign also received $216,000 this year from the town of Scarborough as well as $44,000 from the town in 2014. South Portland contributed another $26,000, and the alliance contributed and raised $100,000 through donations, Brush said.

Read the entire article online here.

Please take a minute to watch and share this drone video shot by Black Fly Media for the Close the Gap Campaign.

If you can, please share on your social channels, share in your eNewsletters, and tag @eastern trail and @blackflymedia as you see fit.

“Close the Gap” is a formal fundraising campaign…

… which has already raised well over $3 million toward the goal of $3.8 million. A key piece of trail is missing in Scarborough. A 1.6-mile “gap” interrupts off-road travel between South Portland and Saco. The construction of this critical trail segment, which includes two bridges will close this gap and provide 16 continuous off-road miles reaching from South Portland’s Bug Light to Downtown Saco.

More information on the Close the Gap campaign can be found here.

According to a 2014 survey by the Eastern Trail Alliance, almost 90,000 people per year use the Eastern Trail, running from Bug Light in South Portland to Kittery – 62 miles.

On this trail, people of all ages, locals and those from away, enjoy exercising in a safe, clean environment. The annual economic impact of its use is estimated at over $850,000.

The Eastern Trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, which goes from Calais to Key West, Florida. Much of the trail is off-road, but several miles are still on unsafe roads.

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The goal of the Eastern Trail Alliance is to close a 1.6-mile gap in the trail where the Greenway ends at Wainright Field in South Portland. Two major obstacles – railroad tracks and the Nonesuch River – stand in the way.

The funds needed to close the gap, $3.8 million, will pay for the construction of two bridges plus leveling and widening the rest of the trail to make it handicapped accessible. Once this gap is closed, the trail will offer 16 miles of continuous, off-road access from Bug Light to downtown Saco.

So far, $1.55 million has been committed by the Maine Department of Transportation and $1.1 million has been contributed by the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System. About $1 million more is needed by the end of 2016 to close the gap. A real concern is that if the additional needed funds are not raised by the end of this year, then the state funds earmarked for this project may be diverted to other projects.

Please help with a donation, an investment in our future, by going to the Eastern Trail website, www.easterntrail.org, and clicking on “Close the Gap.” Then get outside and enjoy it!

Betsy Hanscom

Scarborough

By LIZ GOTTHELF Staff Writer | Pub. 10/8 in JournalTribune.com

OLD ORCHARD BEACH — About 50 local sixth-graders hit the trails Friday morning at the grand opening of Milliken Mills Trails Park.

Fall colors peaked out through the changing foliage of the woods on the beautiful autumn day, and the students trekked through the well-designated trails, stopping to read information about the area posted on signs and kiosks.

About a third of those students had a hand in creating the park while in fourth grade through a partnership with the town’s Conservation Commission.

Milliken Mills Trails Park encompasses 70 acres of wooded area on Portland Avenue, and connects with the Eastern Trail. In 1999, Janice Milliken Andrews donated 53 acres to the town to be used for a conservation area, and the town acquired the additional 17 acres from a failed subdivision.

Parking is available at 192 Portland Ave., where the town’s former animal shelter was located.

The project was funded with the help of an $8,000 Project Canopy grant, awarded in 2014. Project Canopy is a partnership between the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry’s Maine Forest Service and GrowSmart Maine.

As part of a fourth-grade project, local students researched the history and habitat of the area, and compiled information for signs, kiosks and the website millikenmillstrails.weebly.com. Then, with the help of high school students, they designed and built signs, kiosks and picnic tables, said Conservation Commission member Kimbark Smith.

“It is our hope this will become a new cornerstone of the community,” he said.

Read the entire article online here.

Published in KeepMECurrent -By Kate Irish Collins -September 15, 2016

The Eastern Trail in Scarborough now features an unusual structure – a library.

A new Little Free Library, which was erected through a partnership between the Scarborough Public Library and the Scarborough Kiwanis Club, stands adjacent to the trail parking lot off Pine Point Road.

The goal for the little library, part of the international Little Free Library network, is to provide free books for youngsters, young adults and adults, as well as to help build a sense of community.

“The Little Free Library is a wonderful way to build a sense of community while encouraging reading,” Nancy Crowell, director of the Scarborough Public Library, said. “There is a wonderful serendipity in browsing a (Little Free Library) collection. You never know who will have left what title. (And while it’s) not essential for a library visitor to return or donate a book, the spirit of sharing encourages an exchange.”

The Little Free Library on the Eastern Trail has gotten a lot of use in the month or so since it was put up, said Joyce Leary Clark, president of the Kiwanis Club, with Kiwanis members replenishing the stock of books available multiple times already.

This little library is the second one in Scarborough, according to Crowell, who said that Emily Read, president of the library board, also has a Free Little Library in her Windward Lane neighborhood, which includes a geocache, as well.

Read the entire article online here.

Portland Press Herald, Letters, Posted August 26, 2016

It’s summer on the coast of Maine, and there’s no better time of year to appreciate the value of the Eastern Trail.

For those who aren’t already frequent users, the Eastern Trail system traverses 65 miles between Kittery and South Portland. It’s part of the larger East Coast Greenway that aims to connect Maine to Florida – a trail project that has been in the national headlines recently, including features by Conde Nast and the Huffington Post.

In Scarborough, the Eastern Trail is an incredibly valuable asset that is used by a wide cross-section of our population, from residents to tourists. They can view the state’s largest salt marsh, watch birds or ride the trail corridor, and the number of trail users is increasing annually.

Given how valuable the Eastern Trail is to our residents, visitors, economy and overall quality of life, the town of Scarborough – in partnership with the Eastern Trail Alliance, Bicycle Coalition of Maine and Maine Department of Transportation – has been working tirelessly to design and fund a plan that would close the final 1.6-mile gap in the trail and provide an off-road linkage of the Eastern Trail in Scarborough to the Greenbelt Trail in South Portland.

This linkage would be the capstone on the Eastern Trail in this area and would create a continuous 16 miles of off-road trail corridor from Bug Light in South Portland all the way to downtown Saco.

At this point, Scarborough, South Portland and our regional and state transportation agencies (the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System and MDOT) have generously collaborated to commit $3 million of the $3.6 million needed to complete this regionally significant project. This leaves about $600,000 in necessary funding for which we are seeking donations in order to close this critical gap.

Help us make our section of the East Coast Greenway a reality.

Dan Bacon

Read the entire letter online.

The news segment ran on Monday, July 18th. You can view the segment online here (the part about the Eastern Trail starts at the 3:39 mark).

We are thrilled to have spent a day on the Eastern Trail with WCVB Channel 5 Boston and Chronicle on WCVB Channel 5! The Boston television crew explored southern Maine and featured a few cool things to do when in town. The TV crew interviewed the Close the Gap Campaign Communication Director Diana Ichton Nelson with several of the ETA Trustees coming along for the ride.

The web page for the show is here. The video for the show can be viewed online here (the part about the Eastern Trail starts at the 3:39 mark).

[News Flash – The ETA is leading a major fundraising campaign aimed at the critical “missing trail link” addressed in this article. Go here to learn more]

WGME-TV (Channmel 13), May 6, 2016

SCARBOROUGH (WGME) — There’s a push to “close the gap,” at one of Maine’s most popular foot and biking trails.

The Eastern Trail extends for 65 miles from South Portland to Kittery, but a key piece is missing in Scarborough.

There is a 1.6-mile “gap,” which interrupts anyone trying to take the trail along one of its more populated stretches.

The cost to close the gap, which would include two bridges, is about $3.8 million. Almost $3 million of that has already been raised, but there’s still more work to be done, organizers say.

The trail includes scenic woods, tidal marshes and classic Maine villages, and it’s part of the larger East Coast Greenway, a series of trails and bike-friendly roadways stretching all the way to Key West, Florida.

View the TV news clip here.

Tune in to this video clip by ETA President Emeritus John Andrews and Trustee/Naturalist Joe Yuhas, produced as part of the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend…..