Peabody is a heavily populated Gateway City that has been a leader in providing city residents as well as the entire North Shore community with greenway amenities. Peabody is successfully building out and connecting a robust shared-use path network connecting the Northshore Mall and the Lahey Clinic in West Peabody to downtown to Salem and to Danvers.
Background: Peabody’s Independence Greenway is the most utilized recreational resource in the town and all types of trail users have access to it. Currently, there are missing links in the trail. Initial seed money from Foundation in 2017 gave the City of Peabody the ability to leverage several Federal, State, and Local funding programs to move Peabody’s plans for two Independence Greenway Extension projects forward through planning and design. Now these projects are being recommended by the Boston MPO agency for federal funding through the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
The extensions will increase the Independence Greenway from 6 miles to approximately 10 miles and continue to connect segments of the national East Coast Greenway and the Border to Boston Trail. The extension of the Independence Greenway at I-95 and Route 1 with a new two-span bridge over Route 1 will provide a crucial final connection between two existing trail segments linking the Independence Greenway from the Northshore Mall and Lahey Medical Clinic to downtown.
Building on this success, with the support of the East Coast Greenway Alliance and MAPC, Peabody and Salem are now working together on plans to connect the last section of trails between their downtown centers.
Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
| 2017 | Grant from the Foundation provides matching seed money for initial feasibility study |
| 2020 | Independence Greenway Extension Project and Multi-Use Path Construction of Independence Green recommended for TIP funding |
| 2020 | Feasibility study for North River Corridor Extension to connect downton Peabody to downtown Salem begins with support from the Foundation, Peabody, and Salem |
| 2024 | Independence Greenway Extension Project funded through TIP |
| 2025 | Multi-Use Path Construction of Independence Greenway at I-95 and Route 1 funded through TIP |
Project Details
Initiated
- 2017
Solomon and Barr Investments
- $58,000
Partner Investments
- $484,955
- TIP funding totaling $8,100,000 anticipated in 2024 and 2025
Estimated Cost to Complete
- $8,100,000
Key Partners
- City of Peabody
Status
- Independence Greenway Extension Project and Multi-Use Path Construction of Independence Green scheduled for TIP funding
- Feasibility study for North River Corridor underway
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