Officials praise rail trail

Under sunny skies and a cold wind, more than a dozen people gathered Wednesday on the newly laid Saugus rail trail, where Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Jack Murray presented Bike to the Sea a $116,000 grant.”As you can see this is a beautiful setting that would not be available for most in the community to visit without the trail,” said Bike to the Sea founder Steven Winslow.Murray acknowledged that Winslow and his crew have worked on the rail trail program that links Everett, Malden, Revere and Saugus for 20 years. He also noted that “since 1993, DCR has awarded more than $10 million in recreational trail grants to fund nearly 500 projects.”Murray said he is a fan of the rail trail project because it promotes healthy living and an alternative to driving, “which is very cool.”Mayors Daniel Rizzo and Gary Christenson of Revere and Malden, respectively, along with Saugus Town Manager Scott Crabtree and Dan O’Brien, head of the Massachusetts Recreational Trail Advisory Board, joined Murray on the Lynn Saugus line for the event.Winslow said the bulk of the grant would go towards finishing the mile of trail that runs through Revere.”As much as we’re an urban city we do have places that allow people to get out and enjoy nature,” Rizzo said.He called the trail a productive use of land while Christenson joked that it gives him an opportunity to get away from constituents for a while. Christenson said he remembers the governor urging he and Rizzo and other mayors to work together. He called the trail evidence that they were listening.”I can’t tell you what a difference this has made,” he said.Like Rizzo, he said one might not expect a nature trail in an urban setting like Malden but it has given the community a place to run, walk and bike.”And I think this (grant) will be another step in something really special,” he added.Crabtree praised former selectmen Michael Serino and Stephen Horlick for their support of the Saugus end of the project, which was just recently finished. He said the trail improves the quality of life for residents and increases property values as well.”And it’s a fantastic thing to have a link to four other communities,” he said. “Hopefully Lynn will come on board shortly and pull up their tracks.”Winslow said he has been working with Lynn officials to work out the details that would allow the trail to continue. Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy balked at the idea of allowing the project through Lynn due to liability concerns. Bike to Sea member Karol Stoia said there has yet to be a lawsuit filed against the organization in regards to the trail, that she knows of.”It just means more work,” she said.Winslow said Lynn also presents a unique problem because the idea is to continue the trail to the beach but he will run out of train tracks, which gives them the right of way.”So we have to figure out how to make that last piece work,” he said. “But we’re willing to take the steps to figure it out.”Murray also handed out grants to Essex County rail trail project, Topsfield, New Bedford and several other North Shore organizations to further their projects as well. He said the grants are generally matched by local and state dollars, and used to leverage in kind work and volunteers for the trails.”People don’t mind spending money on things like this because they get to see and use it every day,” Horlick said. “And it does add to the value of the property.”