MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • June 1, 2025
We express our firm support for the passage last week in Augusta of two trail development bills, LD 29 and LD 30. The advancement of both is the result of hard work by advocates of outdoor recreation in our state. LD 30, the replacement of the abandoned rail line connecting Portland and Auburn with a multiuse pedestrian the Casco Bay Trail is supported by the mayors of both cities. “Economically, trails bring real dollars into local businesses,” wrote Mark Dion (Portland) and Jeffrey Harmon (Auburn). The viability of passenger rail in Maine, while hotly and persuasively defended, is still grimly theoretical. There is no doubt that a forward-looking Maine would benefit greatly from robust networks of both rail and trail. These trails pay off. Let’s start bringing them into being.