Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Three trail systems to link in Augusta

By Keith Edwards kedwards@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- Solitude within city limits is getting easier to reach.

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A new easement will provide better access to the Augusta Greenway Trail on the east side of the Kennebec River -- a trail that, someday, could also connect to Viles Arboretum trails nearby.

The lightly used Greenway Trail runs on the east side, from Old Fort Western south through the city's waterfront park and past the historic Kennebec Arsenal property, before ending between the river and Riverview Psychiatric Center.

The trail already connects with the Kennebec River Rail Trail on the west side of the river. The Greenway trail begins downtown at the riverside parking lot, goes across the Calumet Bridge and hooks up at Fort Western.

MaineGeneral Medical Center recently donated a new recreational easement to the city that links the trail to lower Eastern Avenue. With the easement, access to the trail becomes easy for city residents up the hill, including those in the large Mayfair neighborhood.

The new access point is at the end of Eastern Avenue.

"It'll allow those east side neighborhoods to access the trail directly," said Mike Seitzinger, president of the nonprofit organization Augusta Trails, which brought the idea to city councilors.

The City Council recently accepted the easement from MaineGeneral in a unanimous vote.

"It may be one of the least-known trails around," Seitzinger said, "but it's one of the most beautiful."

The approximately mile-long trail has a surface of dirt and stone dust, and offers quite a mix of views -- from the underside of Memorial Bridge to the Capitol dome, to ospreys hovering over the river as they dive for fish near the giant stone blocks of the riverside Kennebec Arsenal.

"It sounds like a wonderful project and gives more access for people to get down to that beautiful area," Mayor Roger Katz said.

The Greenway Trail is already accessible from the planned new access point just below a MaineGeneral parking lot. Seitzinger said a sewer easement for the Greater Augusta Utilities District already exists there, as does a rough trail. That easement is about 600 yards long, eight feet wide.

MaineGeneral is seeking state approval to build a new hospital in north Augusta. Hospital officials do not plan to keep the current hospital site if those plans are approved.

Chuck Hays, president and chief executive officer of MaineGeneral Medical Center, said in a news release that Augusta's developing multiuse trails give residents opportunities to improve their health by being active -- which he said is central to the hospital's mission.

Seitzinger said Augusta Trails has approached the governor's office about establishing a connector over the state's east side campus to the arboretum trails.

Seitzinger said the Capitol Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the connector trail proposal Sept. 28.

The connector would link the arboretum, via the greenway, with the Kennebec River Rail Trail, which goes to Gardiner.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com