Clipper City Rail Trail work on Parker St. to begin soon – The Daily News of Newburyport

NEWBURY Starting next week, contractors will begin extending the Clipper City Rail Trail from the Parker Street trailhead to the Route 1 rotary, the town announced.

On Thursday, J.J Phelan & Son Co. Inc. workers were spotted prepping the worksite by installing a temporary crosswalk and removing a fence that separates Parker Street from Oak Hill Cemetery.

Newbury Town Planner Martha Taylor said work is expected to begin Monday and be completed by the first week of November.

If all goes well, she said. Its exciting to be at this stage.

The project is being paid for with a $252,500 Shared Streets and Spaces grant awarded to the town over the summer.

Ever since the new trailhead opened on Parker Street, pedestrians, bicyclists and others have been forced to travel alongside the busy connecting road between Newbury and Newburyport toward the rotary. During construction, the trail will remain open but trail users will need to cross to the south side of Parker Street and then re-cross the street past the cemetery.

The towns portion will link with another section underway by the developer of an adjacent multifamily complex off Parker Street, she added.

The Clipper City Rail Trail is roughly 3.3 miles long and wends it way through several areas of the city, including the South End, Cashman Park and Marchs Hill. Visitors taking the train to the city can walk the trail from the Newburyport MBTA commuter rail to downtown and beyond. There is, however, a sizable gap at the Route 1 rotary preventing it from becoming a continuous loop.

That portion, according to Taylor, is under the purview of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Newburyport Planning Departments Geordie Vining called the section a vital link to the rest of the rail trail and said he was pleased that another piece of the puzzle was being completed.

We did impress on the contractor they need to route people around the parking area which will be occupied (by the contractors), Vining added.

For years, Vining has been championing the Clipper City Rail Trail and is hopeful that once the state completes planned work on the Route 1 rotary and the surrounding area, the citys dream of having a looped rail trail, a public space used and enjoyed by thousands of people, will come to fruition.

On Thursday morning, Newburyport resident Andrew Morris was rollerblading on the trail when he spotted the contractors painting lines and removing the fence.

Im so glad theyre doing this, Morris said, adding it only takes one distracted driver to cause a tragedy along Parker Street.

Dave Rogers is the editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

The rest is here:
Clipper City Rail Trail work on Parker St. to begin soon - The Daily News of Newburyport