The East Coast Greenway (ECG) is a project to create a nearly 3,000-mile (4,800 km) urban greenway/rail trail linking the major cities of the Atlantic coast of the United States, from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Florida, for non-motorized human transportation. It is similar in length and conception to the 12 routes of the EuroVelo project throughout Europe, and the Trans Canada Trail project in Canada.
Work on ECG began in 1991. As of 2014, 30 percent of the trail is complete (off-road).[1]
History
In 1991, a group of cyclists and long-distance trail enthusiasts met in New York City and formed a national non-profit organization, the East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA), to plan and promote a greenway linking existing and planned trails into a contiguous "spine route" between Atlantic coast cities.
In summer 1992, the ECGA sent nine cyclists from Boston, New York , Vermont, and Washington, D.C. on a 30-day "exploratory" cycle tour. In June 1999, the ECG was selected by the White House for designation as a National Millennium Trail.
Between February and June 2000, the ECG Wave non-motorized relay transported a bottle of sea water from Key West, Florida, up the eastern seaboard to Canada along the route of the ECG.
Route
Major cities connected by the spine route are:
- Calais, Maine
- Bangor, Maine
- Portland, Maine
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Newburyport, Massachusetts
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Hartford, Connecticut
- New Haven, Connecticut
- New York City, New York
- Jersey City, New Jersey
- Trenton, New Jersey
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Annapolis, Maryland
- Washington, DC
- Richmond, Virginia
- Durham, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Wilmington, North Carolina
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Savannah, Georgia
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Key West, Florida
A planned alternative to the Richmond-Wilmington leg of the journey hews closer to the coast, passing through Virginia Beach in the Tidewater region and continuing on through the Elizabeth City, Greenville, New Bern and Jacksonville in North Carolina before rejoining the main line near the mouth of the Cape Fear River at Wilmington. Other alternate routes are planned for Maine, Massachusetts, and Florida.
Active segments
As of 2014, a sampling of segments of the East Coast Greenway that are accessible include:
Maine
- Calais Waterfront Walkway
- Downeast Sunrise Trail
- Kennebec River Rail Trail
- Lisbon Trail
- Androscoggin River Bicycle Path
- South Portland Green Belt
- Eastern Trail
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
New Jersey
Near Lincoln Park, Jersey City
New Jersey's spine route is 93 miles (150 km) long, running between the Hudson River and the Delaware River.[3][4] It passes through bustling urban areas — Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton — as well as quiet suburban settings and more rural landscapes. As of 2011, it had the second highest percentage of completed trail of any East Coast state. 48 percent of the greenway in the state was along traffic-free paths, including the longest completed trail in the system – the D&R Canal Towpath, which is 34.3 miles (55.2 km) long. North of the Raritan River, travelers alternate between park paths and interim on-road sections to Newark.[5] There are calls for replacement of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River to provide for pedestrians/cyclists crossing the New Jersey Meadowlands.[6] In Hudson County parts of the greenway use Lincoln Park, Liberty State Park, and the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. Plans to use the Harsimus Stem Embankment are mired in controversy.[7]
Pennsylvania
Delaware
- Northern Delaware Greenway
- Christiana Riverwalk in Wilmington
- New Castle Industrial Track Rail-Trail in New Castle
- New Castle Riverfront Greenway in New Castle
- Delaware Route 58 sidepath
- Delaware Route 4 sidepath
- Delaware Route 72 sidepath
- James F. Hall Trail in Newark
Maryland
Maryland's 164-mile (264 km) spine route of the East Coast Greenway takes a jagged S-shaped course across urbanized Central Maryland. It travels from Delaware due west to the Northern Central Rail Trail, turns south to pass through Baltimore and then southeast to Annapolis, and then turns west and winds toward Washington, D.C. There is also a branch of the East Coast Greenway across the Chesapeake Bay on the Eastern Shore: it starts just past the Delaware state line and travels south across the Delmarva Peninsula to reach the Cross Island Trail, then crosses the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to rejoin the spine route in Annapolis.
Maryland is the only state on the East Coast Greenway where motorist assistance is required on the spine route: the Thomas J. Hatem Bridge over the Susquehanna River has no bicycle or pedestrian accommodations. A crossing service was once provided by Biller's Bikes in Havre de Grace. In 2012, Harford Transit began regular bus service across the bridge with buses equipped with two-bike racks. On the Eastern Shore Route, bicycles are prohibited on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and there is no crossing service there at all.
Two future trails are expected to become parts of the East Coast Greenway: the South Shore Trail between Odenton and Annapolis and the connection of the two pieces of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Trail (WB&A). The WB&A's segments are separated by the Patuxent River and a property dispute.
District of Columbia
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Florida
See also
References
External links
