Scenic Byway showcases Lynn’s heritage locations

LYNN – Lynn residents will get an opportunity Thursday to share ideas and opinions about a stretch of the 85-mile Essex Heritage Scenic Byway that passes through the city.A public forum at City Hall from 6:30-8:30 p.m. will include a brief presentation about the byway and its corridor management plan, highlighting some of the ways the roadway can benefit a community, according to Mary E. Williamson of the Essex National Heritage Commission.The byway is a state-designated coastal route that consists of 13 communities, anchored by Lynn to the south and Newburyport to the north.In Lynn, the route makes a loop, traveling from the Carroll Parkway – the segment of the Lynnway that fronts Lynn Heritage State Park – to Lynn Shore Drive, running north to near the Swampscott line before turning on to Eastern Avenue and backtracking along Lewis and Broad streets to the downtown Lynn Museum and Visitors’ Center.”We are getting input from all 13 communities. There have been some preliminary recommendations, working with grass roots groups, about what should be done in each community, since some are urban and others rural. So far, the communities have done a nice job inventorying all the assets along the byway,” Williamson said. “Lynn is the most southern community, so in that sense it is an important hub and a gateway.”Among the goals of the forum are to gather additional public input, discuss a management plan and host a presentation by Taintor and Associates of Newburyport, a planning firm with international scenic byway experience.”The state designated this set of roads as a scenic byway in 2003 for the northern portion and 2006 for the southern portion. If we can get national scenic byway status, it would open up opportunities for federal funding,” Williamson said.In addition to federal funding, byway designation creates an attractive development and cultural heritage tool, branding a community in a way that ultimately drives appropriate visitation, she said, adding, “It’s also a way to have residents appreciate what is there.”The byway plan emphasizes that Lynn offers “a combination of spectacular ocean views, a remarkable coastal park, an emerging arts and culture scene and a historic downtown.”Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy or a representative from her office is scheduled to comment at the forum, as are state representatives from Lynn, city development officials, and community leaders from LynnArts, Raw Art Works, the Friends of Lynn-Nahant Beach, the Lynn Museum & Historical Society, and the Chamber of Commerce.The byway includes Lynn, Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly, Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury and Newburyport.