Portland is finalizing designs for two new trails that will nearly complete a route that will allow cyclists and pedestrians to circumnavigate the peninsula.

The city’s trail network already covers large swaths of the peninsula’s perimeter, like the Eastern Promenade and the Fore River Parkway, but several gaps leave bikers and pedestrians navigating traffic and dangerous intersections.

“We’re always looking to provide more safe and comfortable biking and walking routes for the public. These are the types of facilities that families feel really comfortable biking and walking on,” said Bruce Hyman, the city’s transportation program manager.

The first project, called the Union Branch Pathway, will be built along the old Union Branch rail line stretching from State Street behind Deering Oaks, Fitzpatrick Stadium and Hadlock Field to Park Avenue. The new, landscaped path will feature a two-lane paved bike trail alongside a gravel walking path.

Hyman said he envisions families biking to Sea Dogs games at Hadlock, or kids walking and biking along the path to King Middle School.

The second project, the Union Branch Connector, will address a gap between Park Avenue and the Fore River Parkway and connect to the Portland Transportation Center, where Amtrak and Concord operate rail and bus lines, respectively.

“This is a really big step for our community,” said Paul Drinan, the active transportation director for the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. “Giving people the opportunity to conduct their daily lives without using a car. Having active transportation infrastructure in place is something that pays dividends to our community in multiple ways. Nothing is cleaner, more affordable, more accessible and therefor more equitable than walking and biking.”

Designs for the Union Branch Pathway should be finalized this winter, Hyman said, and construction will begin in spring or summer 2025. He said the project will be mostly done by next fall with the exception of a few landscaping details that will be finished in spring 2026.

The project didn’t require planning board approval, he said, but was approved by the historic preservation board because the old rail line is within the historic landscape district, which includes Deering Oaks.

The Maine Department of Transportation agreed to put up the full $2.8 million cost to support the project after it was initially paused while the city struggled to find funding, Hyman said.

Hyman said the city has mapped out a preliminary route for the Union Branch Connector, too, running along Valley Street from Park Avenue to Congress Street and then along Congress Street to County Way.

Once the state approves that route,  the city will move forward with more design details, at which point public meetings will be held to give people an opportunity to weigh in on the design and come up with a cost estimate. The city has funding to design that project but not for construction.

The city ultimately aims to connect all of the trails around the peninsula, Hyman said, but even with these two projects, there are still some gaps.

One is a short gap on west Commercial Street between Beach and High streets. The city already has applied for state funding to fill that hole. Another one along the Bayside Trail between Brattle and State streets is included in a study the Maine DOT is conducting to improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

A cyclist pedals along the Eastern Promenade as the setting sun touches the treetops on March 8. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

The only gap without the beginnings of a plan is a stretch of Commercial Street from High Street to the Eastern Promenade.

Drinan, from the bicycle coalition, hopes the city will continue to prioritize these projects to improve walking and biking infrastructure around the peninsula.

He said creating a city where more people can walk and bike makes people physically and mentally healthier, helps people who can’t afford a car get around the city and alleviates traffic.

“These trails allow people to safely navigate and go about their daily lives without having to depend on a car. And every person who walks or bikes is one less car on the road. So not only are these people safer, but they’re benefiting even the people who do choose to use a car,” said Drinan.

He emphasized that it’s important to build biking infrastructure that is separated from the road.

“A stripe of paint will never save a life,” he said. “When we build separate infrastructure more people will use it because they feel safer.”