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Archived News

Many articles about the Eastern Trail are organized on this news archives page. The most recent articles appear immediately below, with the first part of each article displayed. Click on any article title, or the “Read More..” link to read the full text of that article.

 

 

Archived News
January 12, 20120

People on the Trail: two inspiring stories

by Jim Munroe and Jim Bucar – Fall 2011 ETA Newsletter

The diversity of trail users — their backgrounds and purposes— defy easy listing or categories. In just recent months, we have encountered birders from the West coast of the U.S. searching for a rare egret sighted on the Marsh, a photographer from Soissons, France, executives from Michigan on a tandem bike, previewing the area before deciding to move here, a young father jogging while spending quality time with his infant daughter — but the Trail has also proven to be a unique resource for people with specific life goals. Here are just two examples.

barrylamarreBarry Lamarre

We encountered Barry on the Kennebunk section of the trail heading for the recently opened Turnpike Bridge. He

 

spontaneously shared his excitement about the trail and the role it had played with his personal transformation. It began 11 months ago, November 2010, when the KAB section of the trail had opened. He had been too much the couch potato, overweight, pre-diabetic, laboring with high blood pressure. Since then he has shed — by his most recent calculation — 100 pounds, reduced the need for blood pressure medication, and used a healthier diet and a regimen of exercise to control his blood sugar. One guess where he gets most of his exercise — the Eastern Trail and the roads it leads him to. He is certain that the allure of the outdoors helps keep him enthusiastic about staying fit. His only question: now that the Maine Turnpike is no longer a barrier, when do we start developing the trail south toward Portsmouth?

cassiecurley

Cassandra Curley

This July, Jim Munroe met Cassandra Curley, a 49 year-old ball of energy who has dedicated herself to a breathtaking endeavor: to promote Peace & Unity by walking 50 miles in each of the 50 states in 50 weeks. When she finishes, she will be 50 years old, with 2500 miles on her pedometer. She walks on greenways whenever possible. She began her trek in February, in part to promote her book, From Fear to Eternity, a Path to Peace, designed to help people achieve peace through love, a sense of purpose, and connection to one another. When she arrived in Maine, she found the Eastern Trail in Scarborough congenial to her purposes and goals, and shared her mission and excitement with Jim. You can follow her progress, and read about her desire to use part of her book profits to help children transition out foster care, on her web site: www.cassandracurley.com.

 

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Archived News
January 12, 20120

Report urges development of ‘recreation corridors,’ including 3 in Maine

By Kevin Miller, Bangor Daily News Staff
Posted Dec. 27, 2011, at 6:24 p.m.

ETA Web Note: This article provides broader coverage of a recent report commissioned for the National Park Service that is urging support for seven interstate “recreation corridors” in New England — including three in Maine (and including the Eastern Trail corridor) — as a way to reconnect people with the outdoors and spur economic development in riverfront and trailside communities.

A recent report commissioned for the National Park Service is urging support for seven interstate “recreation corridors” in New England — including three in Maine — as a way to reconnect people with the outdoors and spur economic development in riverfront and trailside communities.

The report is not calling for the creation of new national parks or large-scale acquisition of private land for conservation. Instead, the authors are seeking to build public and private support for the completion or expansion of canoe trails, multiple-use trails and other multistate projects that would benefit residents and draw tourists.

The project grew out of a New England Governor’s Conference initiative on regional recreation opportunities. In April 2011, the National Park Service provided funding to compile the initiative’s work into a final report.

The seven recreational corridors or pathways that are the focus of the report are:

• Androscoggin River in Maine and New Hampshire.

• Northern Forest Canoe Trail in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Quebec.

• Champlain Valley in Vermont and New York.

• Merrimack River in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

• Connecticut River in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

• Blackstone River Valley in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

• East Coast Greenway in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.


Read the full article here

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Archived News
November 16, 20110

Eastern Trail Gap Bridged

September 29, 2011

Eastern Trail gap bridged

The first-of-its-kind span over the Maine Turnpike completes a 6.2-mile stretch.

By Emma Bouthillette ebouthillette@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

KENNEBUNK – As John Andrews watched nearly 500 elementary school students cross the Eastern Trail Bridge over the Maine Turnpike during its official opening on Wednesday, all he could do was smile.

The bridge, solely for pedestrians and cyclists, is the first of its kind spanning the turnpike. It completes a 6.2-mile section of trail from Kennebunk to Biddeford, and Andrews called it “the biggest challenge” in building the trail.

“I’ll tell you, I stand on that bridge and I really get choked up,” now that it’s finally complete, he said.

The $1.3 million bridge, funded by the Maine Turnpike Authority, is a key element in the alliance’s mission to complete a 65-mile stretch of off-road trail from Kittery to Casco Bay.

A bridge over Route 1 in Saco, expected to be installed by Nov. 1, will help complete nearly 21 consecutive miles of the trail in that area.

At the opening ceremony Wednesday at Kennebunk Elementary School, Maine Turnpike Authority Executive Director Peter Mills said the bridge is long overdue. He has heard for years about the need for a safe place for walkers and cyclists.

Read the full article here.

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Archived News
August 18, 20110

Critical link in the Eastern Trail set to open soon

WCSH6.com story – Tuesday, August 30th, 2011, 3:33pm
Submitted by Tim Goff

KENNEBUNK, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — A critical link in the Eastern Trail, a 60 mile long multi-use recreation trail stretching from South Portland to Kittery, is set to open soon.

“I think for the first time the Eastern Trail is really on the map,” stated Bob Hamblen, president of the Eastern Trail Alliance.  “We feel like we are opening the door a little bit and saying, world come on in.  We’ve got a trail, we’ve got a new bridge, we are building more trail as we speak, so come in and check us out.”

What has Hamblen so excited is construction on a $3 million bridge spanning the Maine Turnpike, connecting two sections of trail, will be complete in the next week to ten days.

read the full article here.

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Archived News
August 18, 20110

Blazing a Trail

August 7

Blazing a trail

Mile by mile, bridge by bridge, Eastern Trail supporters are closing in on their goal.

By Deirdre Fleming dfleming@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

In 1997, all John Andrews wanted his Saco Bay Trails volunteers to build was a trail from Scarborough to Saco — a pathway through three towns.

A town officer told him he’d never get a bridge over Route 1, and support for the trail seemed minimal.

“Most of the people at that meeting are now dead,” Andrews said. “This December, it will be 14 years since we started.”

In December, Andrews and people from eight towns will celebrate the 21 miles of linear off-road bicycle and pedestrian trail they’ve built between South Portland and Kennebunk — and the opening of not only the Eastern Trail’s bridge over Route 1 but also another spanning the width of Interstate 95.

“All I had was the vision,” Andrews said. “The thing just exploded.”

In recent years, the vision of an off-road trail running the length of southern Maine has come closer to a reality as others have joined and worked alongside Andrews on the Eastern Trail.

This year, with an unprecedented number of off-road miles built on the unique path, those involved say there’s no stopping now.

read the full article here.

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