The public has urged the Town of Scarborough to finish the “Close the Gap” project on the Eastern Trail. This project would create an off-road 1.6-mile expansion to the trail that would connect Scarborough and South Portland.

The Eastern Trail runs from the Piscataqua River in Kittery at the New Hampshire border and ends in South Portland. It is a nature-based recreation and transportation route built and maintained by the Eastern Trail Alliance. It is part of the East Coast Greenway that runs 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida. Over 251,000 people visit the trail annually in Maine, spending on average $200 per individual on the path.

State and federal funds of $5.5 million as well as private funding is in place to complete the trail. Construction was delayed while legal matters such as trail easements were unresolved. The final trail easement was secured with a private landowner early this year. The project was expected to go out to construction bidding by Jan. 30, yet this has not happened.

During the Scarborough Town Council meeting on July 19, members of the public came out to urge progress on the project.

“It’s a really important project for the town and for the region, connecting the Eastern Trail from Portland and South Portland through Scarborough and connecting on to Kennebunk,” said Kristine Keeney, Northern New England manager for the East Coast Greenway Alliance. “And we are very thankful that the town has been managing this project for many years, but unfortunately it’s four years overdue at this point, and it was fully funded in 2017. Myself and others are concerned about the town or the project losing the funds if the project continues to be delayed.”

Keeney asked that the project goes out to bid by Aug. 30 of this year. Even if that best case scenario happens, she said, that construction will not be completed until 2026.

“What are the hurdles, from the town of Scarborough’s vantage point?” asked Dan Perry. “What is the town of Scarborough doing to address those?”

Town Manager Tom Hall provided an update on the situation.

“The real status of the project is we have been immersed in protracted land use discussions or land acquisition discussions, whether they be easements or actually fee interests that we acquired,” said Hall. “That’s taken over two years in some cases with private interests. And that’s certainly been a source of frustration and a major cause of the delays.”

Hall also explained that much of the trail exists in one of CMP’s existing utility corridors. The trail will also need to traverse over an active rail track, previously owned by Pan Am. “We had both of those agencies in a very good position and then turned our attention to the private interests to secure the other legal rights we needed. In the interim, Pan Am sold their rail line, lock stock and barrel, to CSX, so we’re dealing with a whole new company and cast of characters.”

The details have been worked out with CMP, Hall said, and so the town’s attention is now on communicating with CSX Transportation. He explained that the town hopes to go out to bid as soon as possible this fall, and that he is in biweekly communication with the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) office on the subject.

Members of the public expressed a desire for urgency and to help support the project.

“Is there anything else that we as the public can do to help support the effort to get CSX on board?” asked Kevin Parker. “Is there anything we can be reaching out and doing? Because it just feels like a very frustrating multiple year long wait for timelines that keep on getting moved back and not really having much transparency in the process.”

The Eastern Trail is considered important Maine residents, according to trail advocates, both as a way to access nature and as a source of economic development. The Maine DOT donated $2.05 million to the “Close the Gap” project and considers it the “highest priority” trail project in the state.

“The Eastern Trail is really important to the Maine Trails Coalition and our partners,” said Silvia Cassano, project coordinator for the Maine Trails Coalition. “We reference it in our active transportation arterials division, which is a division of the organizations, and it would connect all of Maine’s 25 largest municipalities, of which the Eastern Trail is kind of the shining star for this whole vision. And so having it someday be fully connected is really a big deal, and it’s referenced frequently in the newly released Maine State Active Transportation Plan.”

Tim Lambert of Scarborough suggested that since there always seems to be an obstacle, that the trail could still be expanded to the extent possible in the meantime. “I just want to make sure if we hit a roadblock with somebody, let’s just keep the trail going as far as we can and cross that bridge when we get there,” he said.

Hall said he would bring up the possible modification of the trail to colleagues at the state and others involved.

Bob Bowker, a former member of the Eastern Trail Alliance for about 15 years, praised the town’s efforts for the trail while also asking for better maintenance.

“I don’t think anyone can question how successful the Eastern Trail has been,” he said. “There are hundreds of people out there every day, even bad days. During the week, weekends, it’s just completely full, particularly the section between Black Point Road and Pine Point Road. It’s probably the most used section of the Eastern Trail for all of the sections that have been completed. Though the condition of that trail is very poor. I would say hazardous to cyclists. I would like to remind the town that we need to maintain a safe trail.”

Hall said the town would pay closer attention to the maintenance. He also expressed agreement with many of the points made by the public, including an understanding of the frustration of the delays, especially for those who donated to the project. He clarified that the town is not the one that controls the project as it uses state/federal funding. As a result, there are requirements in place before they can go to bid including acquiring the right titles of interest so they can place the trail and securing permits.

The project will remain as a standing report item on the agenda for future council meetings so the town’s focus will not be lost, he said.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.

« Previous

Town council gives preliminary approval for Warren Woods expansion

Next »

Scarborough Land Trust to hold events in August