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The Northern Area Greenway Task Force, a nine member body of Reading residents appointed by the Board of Selectmen, spent 18 months (from September 2006 through March 2008) exploring the feasibility of creating a greenway along the Ipswich River. The Task Force recommends calling the trail the Ipswich River Greenway. The intent is to link together Town-owned lands extending from the site of the water treatment plant on Strout Avenue easterly to Haverhill Street. Over half of the proposed greenway would follow existing trails through the Town Forest, the Biller
Conservation Area (encompassing the Lobs Pound Mill site and Marion Woods), the Mattera Conservation Area, and Bare Meadow Conservation Area. Other trails, including a proposed boardwalk along the Ipswich River from the Town Forest to Mill Street, would be built using a combination of volunteers and grant-supported outside expertise. Several focal points are planned including accessible fishing piers in the Town Forest and at the Lobs Pound Mill site, and an accessible wildlife viewing platform at Bare Meadow.
The greenway plan is coming together! The Conservation Commission and the Department of Fish and Game have signed an agreement for the State to construct a fishing pier at the Lobs Pound Mill site, and Mass Riverways has funded a feasibility study for the boardwalk. In addition, the Selectmen have created a new Trails Committee to oversee the development of the greenway and trail activities in general. The Town is actively seeking grants for major projects such as the boardwalk; volunteer efforts will be focused on smaller, unbuilt sections of the greenway. Efforts will be made to keep abutters and the public at large informed.
The goals of the greenway are to: · improve public access, · to more fully utilize these lands through interconnection and trails, · to establish and enhance passive recreation uses, and · to protect and preserve the natural
environment and the qualities which make these lands unique.
Links to related documents can be found below.
Please direct questions to: Kim Honetschlager GIS Coordinator 781-942-6631 |
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