Northern Strand Community Trail

The Northern Strand Community Trail, also known as the Bike to the Sea Trail, is a 10-mile public-use path project, including a rail trail portion,^[1] which connects the cities of Everett, Malden, Revere, Saugus, and Lynn,^[2] along the former Saugus Branch Railroad of the Boston & Maine Railroad and other shared-use roads.^[1] The trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, a project planning to connect almost 3,000 miles of trail from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida.^[3] The path has been planned by Bike to the Sea, a non-profit cycling advocacy group, with help from the surrounding cities.

The trail in Malden in June 2015

History

The trail at the Malden/Revere border in June 2015

The trail primarily runs along the Saugus Branch Railroad, a former branch line of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The trail's right of way is leased from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for 99 years^[4] by the respective cities the trail passes through. Like many nearby rail-trails, these leases include a reversion clause should the right of way be deemed more useful for other transportation uses.^[4]

The Everett and Malden sections of the trail were opened with a granular recycled asphalt surface in summer 2012 and paved with an asphalt surface in August 2013.^[5][6][7] Iron Horse Preservation completed the surfacing of the Saugus section of the trail with gravel. The Revere portion of the trail opened to the public with a recycled asphalt surface in Summer 2015.

The state committed $1.5 million in February 2018 to complete design of a Lynn section.^[8] A $13.7 million construction contract was awarded in February 2020 with the goal of finishing a Lynn portion of the trail, and extending the southern terminus of the trail south through Everett to the Mystic river.^[9] The West Lynn section opened on November 19, 2021.^[2]

In September 2020 the governor of Massachusetts announced a grant of $150,000 to the city of Swampscott to build a linear park which will link the Northern Strand section in Swampscott to Lynn, along with several other existing trails.^[10][11]

Plans presented on November 17, 2021,^[12] call for additional expansion of the trail through downtown Lynn to Nahant. A separated / protected trail facility is planned, to run from Western Avenue in Lynn to the Lynn & Nahant shoreline.^[13] The state awarded $263,000 for right-of-way acquisition in 2022.^[14]