Portland's Bayside Trail Now Open For Leisure
Nearly ten years after first envisioned, Portland’s Bayside Trail is open.
In association with the city of Portland, Portland Trails, Trust for Public Lands (TPL) and the Bayside Neighborhood Association, the Bayside Trail officially opened to the public with a ribbon cutting ceremony on August 19th. The 1.2 mile trail runs parallel to Marginal Way and travels through the Bayside Neighborhood connecting the Eastern Promenade with Deering Oaks.
Funded in part by federal grants, city funds and private money, the $2.3 million trail connects some of the city’s most used trails and parks. The paved and lighted trail runs from Elm Street to the Eastern Prom Trail allowing pedestrians and bicyclists to travel from Bayside to the Back Cove trail, East End Beach, or Portland's waterfront. The trail’s design and construction incorporated many green elements including rain gardens, LED lighting, and concrete that captures stormwater and avoids run-off.
The opening ceremony for the trail featured Portland Mayor Nicholas M. Mavodones, US Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner David Cole, representatives from Senator Olympia Snowe and Senator Susan Collins' offices, as well as Bayside residents and leaders from organizations that helped work on the trail.
While work remains on the trail as plans to connect a pedestrian bridge or a tunnel under Forest Avenue that will link the Bayside Trail to Deering Oaks have begun, after nearly a decade of planning and a year of construction, Portland has a new pedestrian and bike trail. And though it will eventually be connected with other similar trails to make a loop around greater Portland, for now Mainers have a safe route to travel from the East End to Back Cove.
For more information on Portland’s many great trails please visit: www.trails.org.
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