SAUGUS — State and local officials gathered with activists on a rainy Wednesday morning to cut the ribbon on the Northern Strand Trail, a 10-mile pathway beginning at West Street in Everett and stretching to Western Avenue in Lynn.
The trail sits along the rail bed of the former Saugus Branch Railroad, and the $15.5 million project was spearheaded by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, or EEA, utilizing funding from the Gateway City Parks Program. Representatives from each municipality along the trail — Everett, Lynn, Malden, Revere, and Saugus — were present at the event, as were state legislators Rep. Pete Capano (D-Lynn) and Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn).
Town Manager Scott Crabtree offered brief remarks ahead of the ribbon cutting, praising the trail as a “recreational staple.”
“[This] helps generations here in the future to keep moving and getting out to the outdoors,” Crabtree said. “As town manager, it brings me great joy to see that.”
The project is the result of decades of advocacy from Bike to the Sea, which has been pushing for the creation of the trail since 1993, as well as volunteers across the municipalities along the trail. One of those volunteers, Jim Tozza, of Saugus, an elected member of the town’s housing authority, said in an interview that he pressed state Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus) to create a trail when Wong served as a member of the town’s Board of Selectmen.
“We did it,” Tozza said. “Thirty years later, it’s built.”
The 10-mile stretch celebrated Wednesday represents what is set to become the middle of the trail — with the Northern Strand set to extend further into Lynn, stretching along South Common Street, Market Street, and the Carroll Parkway before reaching Nahant Beach. The design phase of that project is 75 percent complete. On the southern end of the trail, the City of Everett has been building a segment from West Street to the Mystic River.
Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson said he was “thrilled” to see the city added to the path.
“These opportunities happen when people collaborate and I’m so grateful to all of you for stepping up to do that, it’s beautiful and we can’t wait to enjoy it,” he said.
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria praised the completion of the trail as a “transformative multimodal transportation investment for the communities north of Boston that have been historically underserved by our transportation network.”
The completed project will result in a transportation and recreation corridor of about 11.5 miles from the Somerville side of the Mystic River at Assembly Square to the beach at the Nahant causeway.
EEA Secretary Beth Card said in an interview following the ribbon cutting that part of the importance of investing in a resource like the trail is being able to provide transportation for all those that need it.
“It’s helping people get to the places that they want to go, whether it be to work or to restaurants or to recreational opportunities, and then it’s the actual recreation and getting outdoors itself,” Card said. “During the pandemic, we saw across the Commonwealth people availing themselves of our state parks and our state resources and this is a good example of giving a place for everybody to be able to get outside, enjoy nature, get some exercise and enjoy the resources that we have here in Massachusetts.”
Tozza, who is disabled, said being able to ride his bike to doctor’s appointments in Malden from his home in Saugus has been a tremendous benefit of the trail.
“It’s so wonderful, getting off the street, it’s so much easier,” he said. “It’s so wonderful, you’re riding with no cars … it’s like ‘wow, I get home in five minutes’ it’s unbelievable. It’s wonderful.”
Governor Charlie Baker, in a statement, said projects like the Northern Strand Trail serve as “critical assets that link communities and residents across the Commonwealth together.”
“Our administration has been proud to collaborate across state government and with municipal partners and trail advocacy groups to advance these projects that bring numerous environmental, recreational, and transportation benefits to communities in Massachusetts,” he said.
Jonah Chiarenza, Bike to the Sea’s executive director, said the organization is looking to leverage the investments made in the trail over the course of the next three decades via extending the trail and connecting more communities to it, serving as a custodian of the trail, and increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization.
“We sincerely thank the Commonwealth, Secretary Card, and Assistant Secretary [Kurt] Gaertner and the communities of Everett Malden Revere Saugus and Lynn for their partnership, investment, and commitment to the Northern Strand trail with world class active transportation and recreation,” Chiarenza said.
Seeing turnout from so many communities and local partners on a day with heavy rain showcased just how high hopes are for the impact of the trail, Card said.
“It’s incredible and the fact that we had such an amazing turnout of partners on a less-than-optimal day is a real testament to how excited people are to have this trail and this access to our natural resources for everybody for more than 10 miles,” Card said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming. … It’s not been easy, but it’s thrilling to finally be here today.”
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
