ITEM FILE PHOTO
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito tours the area where the projected RiverWalk will go with Town Manager Scott Crabtree and Carolyn Kirk, right, executive director of the Seaport Economic Council in this November 2016 file photo.
Saugus’ RiverWalk plan deserves praise for being a home-grown project inspired by town residents and for the opportunity it potentially provides to transform a stretch of the river bank into park land.
First imagined in 2013 and refined during public meetings, including one last week, the RiverWalk accomplishes several important goals by providing pedestrians with access to the town’s largest natural resource and channeling foot traffic past businesses along the river.
More planning needs to be done to make the project a reality. But the preferred option for the path’s course along or near the river spans 15 properties for a distance just over half a mile.
The RiverWalk’s hidden beauty is its ability to expand over years and decades.
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The preferred option plan links the proposed walk to walking and bicycling paths planned as part of the Belden Bly Bridge project. Access from the trail across the bridge into Lynn opens the possibility of creating a RiverWalk extension on the Lynn side of the river between Western Avenue and Boston Streets.
Future efforts to allow Lynn residents to walk along the river with ease could coincide with an increase in housing construction in the neighborhood wedged between Western Avenue and the river.
The RiverWalk also offers expansion potential in the direction of Revere with state restoration plans aimed at preserving Rumney Marsh’s natural acreage. To its credit, Saugus Wheelabrator already offers bird watchers and walkers opportunities to explore marsh and uplands off Route 107.
It makes sense to make the RiverWalk plan a reality and then work to connect it to Lynn and expand the walking path to connect with the beautiful marsh vistas located between Revere and Saugus.
It’s rare when a community successfully combines land preservation and open space plans with economic development efforts on a relatively small scale. But that is what the town has in mind with plans to couple riverside pedestrian access with the goal of bringing in new riverside businesses, including ones linked to the river’s commercial fishing industry.
Saugus has again proven it is adept at forward thinking and neighboring communities are sure to benefit from the town’s vision.