presents the
 Yahoo! Listserve |
|||||||
BIKE TO THE SEA News
The Trail to the Sea
has a Name! The Northern Strand Bike to the Sea is an idea, an experience, a goal, and the name of a nonprofit, but it is not officially the name of the trail! As we anticipate the construction of the Everett section and a portion of the Malden section of the trail over the next few years, the fact that the trail needed a name has become more and more clear. We have tried many times over the years to come up with a good name, but with out much luck. The trail encompasses so many wonderful ideas, landforms and communities it has been difficult to come up with anything that had a nice sound to it. The name S.L.E.R.M. came up a few years back. It is an anagram of Saugus, Lynn, Everett, Revere, and Malden. Slerm sound more like a snail than a trail. The cry goes up, "Let us schlep the Slerm!" Quaint perhaps, but hardly inspiring. We wanted something with a nice ringing to it. A name that sounded historic and substantial. We wanted something that would be in good company with Boston' Emerald Necklace and the Charles Rivers Esplanade Park. Then, during a committee meeting while throwing ideas around, we had a brainstorm and "The Northern Strand" was born. The northern part of the name is easy. It refers to the towns North of Boston that the path runs through. It also represent access to the north shore beaches and back roads. The Strand part take a little more digging. If you look in your dictionary a strand is a beach or point of land. The community trail ends at the Nahant Causeway with access to Revere Beach, Point of Pines and Deer Island. Thus the geographical reference. It also refers to the path resembling a strand of fabric of string. The Strand was also a famous Jazz-Age opera house in Roxbury, which ties the name deeper in Boston's local history. Finally and perhaps (at least to me) best of all, it's the name of a song. Back in the 1980's there was a dance band named Roxy Music. They had a great song called, "Do the Strand." So now perhaps we even have an unofficial theme song. The nonprofit (us) Bike to the Sea, like Slerm the snail, is also evolving. Over the last year we have organized in to committees to focus on specific needs and goals. We have also produced a new and more professional brochure. We are entering into negotiations with Everett and Malden for real on the ground progress. We need your support. We need more members to inspire our political leader to do what it takes to get this trail built. Do you have a friend who has expressed interest in the path? Get them to join! I will give you a hand-full of our new brochure! Check out our web page and our calendar of events. We need people to lead monthly rides, staff information booths and help fold the new brochures. Come to a committee meeting and find out how your skills can help build a landmark. Like Slerm the snail, we have left the mud of our dreams and we are ascending the beach of our goals. Trail Negotiations
Being in Earnest After 6 years of patient waiting, negotiations between the MBTA and the Cities of Malden and Everett have begun in earnest for the first two mile stretch of the trail from the "Village Section" of Everett near West and Wellington street to Main Street in Malden. In preparation for the negotiations, Bike to the Seas sponsored a community meeting for Malden and Everett at the Madeline English School that immediately abuts the trail in Everett. President Howard Stranger led the meeting off with a presentation about the trail and its benefits. Dr. Stranger emphasized the trail will increase opportunities for physical activity for children and adults - a key strategy for combating the obesity crisis. The Cities of Malden and Everett have each contributed funds so that Bike to the Sea can spearhead negotiation efforts. Former President, Attorney Stephen Winslow leads the negotiating team with support from Mark Puleo. Mr. Winslow reports that good progress has been made with the MBTA and that a meeting has been held with Guilford Rail. He commented that "once we hear official word that Guilford will give up its freight right, we should be able to move quickly to closure."
Several important actions occurred over the past year that show progress is being made to improve on-road conditions for bicyclists in our area. On Revere Beach Boulevard, the illegal "No Bikes on Roadway," signs have been removed. DCR has Hired an engineering company to make design improvements to the Boulevard. Bike to the Sea hopes to participate in someway in those discussions and will be at the Revere Beach Festival on July 14th. In Malden and Medford, the newly reconstructed stretch of Commercial Street / Corporation Way has bike lane signs and should, as of the newsletter, have striped bicycle lanes. Also in Malden, the rehab of the Malden MBTA station included new bike racks that nearly double the capacity of the station to hand bikes. In Lynn and Everett, improvements on Boston Street in Lynn and Broadway in Everett include Traffic loop detectors for bicyclists. This was a result of the Bike and Pedestrian Access law passes several years ago as well as comments by Bike to the Sea.
The Essex National Heritage Commission awarded Commission awarded Bike to the Sea a grant o make further progress on the Lynn Section of the trail. Bike to the Seas has hired Fay, Spofford and Thorndike to develop an Environmental Notification Form and an improved design for this segment of the trail.
Rotary International, a network of service organizations that works at both the international and local level is celebrates its 100th anniversary. Local Rotary clubs have been asked to undertake a local community project o honor this important milestone. The Rotary Clubs of Malden and Everett have selected Bike to the Sea to be their Centennial Project and are undertaking fundraising efforts to raise $5,000 dollars each to support the first two mile segment of the trail. The Malden Rotary held it's 2nd annual St. Patrick's Day Road Race to raise funds. The Everett Rotary Club will hold a "Texas Hold'em" Poker Tournament. Saugus Iron Works, Bike to the Sea Day Bike to the Sea, Inc, is sponsoring a picnic day, Saturday, April 30th from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM, at the Saugus Iron Works, to make local residents more aware of the efforts to develop the Northern Strand Community Trail (aka, the Bike to the Sea Trail) through Saugus and Lynn. The day will start at the Iron Works, 244 Central Street in Saugus, with sign-up and registration beginning at 9:30. A brief bicycle tour of the proposed Saugus and Lynn section of the Trail will tart at 9:45 AM and a tour of the Iron Works will be available at 11:15 AM. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the Spring weather. Free refreshments will be available. There is no charge for the day. Bring your own bicycles and helmets. All ages are welcome. Bike to the Sea, Inc. promotes bicycling and bike safety in the Saugus and Lynn area and promotes the development of a rail trail that will extend from Boston to Saugus and Lynn. For more information call 781-397-6893 or 781-231-0170, or visit www.biketothesea.com. For more 2005 Events, please see our Calendar. Volunteers Needed for all Events and Rides Bike to the Seas is sponsoring monthly group bike
rides this season. Each month a different member chooses and leads
a bike ride. If you would like to sponsor a monthly ride, please
contact 781-397-6893 or email nbrave8@hotmail.com. Monthly rides
are only posted on our newsgroup at -
|
|||||||
| |
