Border to Boston Rail Trail
The
Border to Boston rail trail
will be a 28-mile shared use trail from the
New Hampshire border to Danvers in Essex County
on Boston’s North Shore. The trail is being
realized by the efforts of advocacy groups in
each of the communities it passes through, overcoming
the NIMBY attitude that organizers especially
in Danvers faced. Aproximately 6 miles of the
trail are on low-traffic roads between Boxford
and Newburyport. In Newburyport the trail connects
with the
Coastal Trail network.
Salisbury to
Newburyport
Newburyport
to Newbury
Newbury to
Georgetown
Georgetown
to Boxford
Boxford to
Topsfield
Topsfield to
Wenham
Wenham to Danvers
Danvers section
Peabody Rail
Trail
Proposal
for an Ipswich spur for the Border to Boston
Rail Trail
Gordon Harris , Ipswich, MA
The fortunes of Ipswich Massachusetts since its founding in 1633 often have been subject to the changing nature of transportation. With a small harbor, we lost out to Newburyport, Essex and Gloucester as ships grew larger, leaving the town "off the map" and in an economic downturn. In 1804 the Ipswich Turnpike (Rt. 1A) and Newburyport Turnpike (Rt. 1) were built, followed by the Eastern Railroad in 1836. Soon the town boasted a thriving lace-making business and manufacturing began at the site of what is now Ebsco Publishing. The town's fortunes rebounded.
Today bicycles offer a new economic opportunity. I recently returned from cycling in Quebec on its visionary 4000 km "La Route Verte", which has brought an estimated $150 million in business to communities throughout the province. Closer to home, the Boston to Border Trail will follow the course of a former Boston and Maine rail line, connecting eight North Shore communities from Danvers to Newburyport. An on-road spur from Ipswich to Topsfield would benefit our popular coastal town. Topsfield recently completed a section of the trail and rebuilt a mile-long section of Ipswich Road with an adequate shoulder for cyclists. Hopefully they will extend the improvements to the Ipswich town line, where it would be relatively simple for Ipswich to widen Topsfield Road to include a 3 ft. cycling lane, replacing the inconsistent , occasionally non-existent shoulder and sunken drainage grates that force cyclists to ride in traffic. Cyclists could take this spur to Ipswich and continue on recently repaved Argilla Road to Crane Beach, a much safer ride now due to the advocacy of the Ipswich Cycling Advisory Committee and former selectpersons Elizabeth Kilcoyne and Ingrid Miles. Ipswich town manager Bob Markel supports the installation of a "rubber crossing" at the dangerous tracks near the commuter rail station, which would allow continuation of a Topsfield Road bike lane onto Depot Square, Hammat Street and newly repaved Central Street to avoid downtown traffic. The rail overpass on High Street is to be rebuilt, and MassHighway plans to rebuild Rt. 1A from there to Mile Lane, connecting to the existing generous shoulder which continues a dozen miles to Newburyport.
Changes take effort and money, not just wishful thinking. Despite our nearly 100 miles of roadways, former Ipswich DPW director Bob Gravino told me I was the first to contact him about cycling safety on Topsfield Road. Repaving roads costs over $100,000 per mile. The additional expense of a 3-foot paved shoulder benefits everyone, with automobile fatality rates 60-70 percent less than roads without paved shoulders. Grants are available from non-profit Bikes Belong and from the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation that could help build a recreational trail to Bradley Palmer State Park. I believe Ipswich can commit itself to the safety of cyclists and motorists for the 4.5 miles from the Topsfield town line to Lords Square , placing us "on the map" when the Boston to Border trail is completed.
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