ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Lisa Wallace, a Lynn resident, talks about the need for a bike path, with help from Stephen Winslow, president of Bike to the Sea.
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — A bike trail is bringing history to Saugus, coffee and beer to Everett, and hopes to bring a solution to poverty to Lynn.
Bike to the Sea, a non-profit organization that promotes safe bicycling, held an All Community Meeting at the Saugus Public Library Friday to review the progress of the Northern Strand Community Trail. Though its goal is to provide an outlet for alternative forms of transportation in communities north of Boston, the trail also represents the culture of each of the communities it runs through.
The major barrier for ending poverty is not drugs, not unemployment, but transportation, according to Richard Fries, executive director of Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike), an organization that promotes bicycling.
The trail, which has been in the works since 1993, currently runs 7.5 miles through Malden, Revere, and Saugus to the Lynn line. The goal is for the path to extend from the Charles River to the Lynn waterfront.
The trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, which is proposed to extend from Maine to Florida and has been supported by the Rails to Trails Conservancy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit whose mission is to transform unused rail corridors into vibrant public places.
Seventy-two percent of 18-year-olds lack a driver’s license, 17 percent of college students travel by bicycle and 65 percent of the state’s population does not drive, said Fries.
Boston has the highest number of people using alternative methods of transportation, such as biking and walking. It’s also twelfth on the list of cities with the most bikers, he said.
When looking at these statistics, Fries said he wonders why we are designing 100 percent of our transportation to cater to drivers.
Though the project has seen much progress, it’s still not complete. Designed to provide an alternative path for transportation free of vehicles, the trail serves a slightly different purpose in each of its communities.
The Everett and Malden sections of the trail are paved, while the Revere and Saugus sections are composed of compacted, recycled asphalt.
The Saugus section of the trail crosses over a historical trade trestle. Pedestrians regularly sight an Osprey nest on the trail before extending their journey 10 minutes to arrive at Saugus Iron Works.
A brewery and a coffee shop have sprouted along the Everett portion of the trail.
In Revere, a neighborhood cleanup group helped to eliminate trash and graffiti from a Route One overpass the trail extends beneath. Officials would like to see a bike lane installed, which would extend access directly to Revere Beach. They would also like to see the path paved, but regulations protecting the Rumney Marsh as an area of critical environmental concern is a roadblock.
“We would spend more money getting permission to do it,” said Stephen Winslow, president of Bike to Sea.
Paving the trail has made all the difference in Malden, said Mayor Gary Christenson, who called the trail the single most important project he’s worked on in his career.
“We utilized city bonding to pave it in its second year and the project took off,” he said.
In addition to being used by bicyclists, Christenson said, the path is used by families, pedestrians, rollerbladers and dog walkers. The path provides the city with additional transportation, recreational, and health and wellness benefits, he added.
Lynn residents have been traveling the path of the former Saugus Branch Railroad for several years, but don’t have a bike path.
“There’s an opportunity here for Lynn,” said Sen. Thomas McGee. “Lynn could become a transportation hub and bikes are a part of that. Lynn is a very hazardous place to be biking.”
The project is aligned with the Complete Streets initiative, adopted by Lynn City Council last year. The policy formalizes a commitment by the city to have streets that are accessible and safe for all users. It could also mean additional state transportation funding for the city.
Councilors Jay Walsh and Peter Capano support the project, as well as Rep. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn), Joseph Mulligan of MassDevelopment, and Gordy Hall, president of The Hall Co. and a director of The Daily Item.
Neptune Street Court resident Lisa Wallace has worked extensively to create an environment suitable for an extension of the trail. Wallace said the most important aspect is making sure neighbors feel connected with the path, which will be in a different way than in other communities.
“These are low-income residents, not avid bicyclists.” Wallace said. “Some of your bikes cost more than our cars. You have to build the neighborhoods first.”
Wallace said she believes residents will be interested in using the trail to get back and forth to work or to the downtown area.
“The neighborhoods feel disconnected from downtown,” she said. “I believe creating a community path will be the key to connecting all of it. The path goes from Saugus and can run all the way to the waterfront development.”
The path could create an opportunity for more jobs and for children to experience community service, Wallace added.
“Many of the things discussed today relate to our efforts to make Lynn a safer and better place for everyone to walk, bike, and drive,” Crighton said.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.