On Earth Day 2008 Salisbury had another great trail building day with Timberland Company. April 22 dawned bright and sunny and the cool temperatures invigorated all involved. Timberland brought a remarkable number of employees to the Salisbury Point Ghost Trail as part of their worldwide Earth Day service effort. They were joined by volunteers from City Year, the Essex National Heritage Commission, Salisbury’s Hilton Senior Center and of course many local residents from Salisbury Coastal Trails. They and Town employees from the DPW and the Planning Department all spent the day extending and improving the trail.

The results are impressive. The volunteers built an entryway to the trail from Lion’s Park as well as two heavy-duty bridges across wetlands, while laying stone dust from Lion’s Park to the new bridges. They installed trail entrance signs at Lion’s Park and Cushing Street and built fences in both locations. Others worked on trail clearing and brush chipping. The rest of the trail from Lion’s Park to Cushing Street has been cleared and graded and is ready for finishing with gravel and stone dust.

This was Salisbury’s fifth major trail building day with Timberland Company. So far almost a mile of the trail has been completed, including six entrances and three bridges. Vaughn Manufacturing and John St. Cyr recently agreed to provide trail easements that will allow the Town to extend the trail to Rabbit Road and to build a connection to Elm Street. When completed the trail will extend 1.8 miles from Lion’s Park all the way to the Salisbury/Amesbury town line.

This was Salisbury’s fifth major trail building day with Timberland Company. So far almost a mile of the trail has been completed, including six entrances and three bridges. Vaughn Manufacturing and John St. Cyr recently agreed to provide trail easements that will allow the Town to extend the trail to Rabbit Road and to build a connection to Elm Street. When completed the trail will extend 1.8 miles from Lion’s Park all the way to the Salisbury/Amesbury town line.

Salisbury’s trail building success is the product of cooperation and help from many quarters. The volunteers were kept well supplied with food throughout the day, starting with coffee and Dunkin Donuts donated by Elm St. Sunoco. Lunches were prepared by volunteers at the Hilton Senior Center and provided by Timberland. SPS New England once more donated heavy equipment and manpower to remove and dispose of old railroad ties. Lisa Pearson, the Town Planner, and Ray Cote of the Salisbury DPW worked unstintingly on preparing for the work day with Timberland’s planning team as well as throughout the day.

Funding for the trail building is being provided not only by Timberland’s contributions of materials and rental of machinery, but also by grants from the State’s Recreational Trails Program ($50,000) and the Fields Pond Foundation ($5,000).

The Salisbury Point Ghost Trail is one part of the developing Coastal Trails Network that will link Amesbury, Salisbury, Newburyport and Newbury by rail trails, together with on-road bike lanes to Plum Island and Salisbury Beach. The Coastal Trails Coalition and the four municipalities are cooperating on the 30-mile trail project with major help from the Essex National Heritage Commission and the National Park Service.