Hale Street Shared-Use Pathway Project

The Hale Street Shared-Use Pathway project is exploring the feasibility of creating a universally accessible pedestrian and bicyclist pathway along 1.5 miles of Hale Street, which currently has minimal shoulders and discontinuous sidewalk segments. Hale Street is a critical east-west collector roadway and is currently unwelcoming and unsafe for many pedestrians and bicyclists, particularly families and children. As currently conceptualized, the pathway would be an off-road shared-use pathway buffered from the narrow road by a vegetated buffer strip or vertical barriers, and would include some boardwalk sections over wetland areas. The pathway could encourage a safe non-motorized travel option for hundreds of families to schools, the new youth center, athletic fields, conservation areas, commercial and industrial destinations, churches, and the downtown core. The project has multiple challenges, including significant regulatory constraints on impacts to wetlands, as well as cost, competing priorities, physical obstacles, etc. Many families have requested such a facility over the years. Additional funding is required in order to advance the project beyond conceptual planning.