4.85 Miles of Salem Bike Lane Striping Complete

The following press release is courtesy of the City of Salem.

The City of Salem in conjunction with the Salem Bike Path Committee has completed striping a 4.85 mile on-road bike lane, which creates a north-south biking corridor through the City and connects the Salem Bike Path at the Marblehead Town line to .  

The bike lane connects to several City parks, open spaces, schools, attractions, and beaches. Additionally, the bike lane connects the various fragmented off-road bike paths throughout the City. The majority of this project was funded with Community Development Block Grant funding.

Mayor Driscoll stated that “striping dedicated bike lanes will help educate vehicular traffic that they need to share the road with bicyclists and make bicyclists more comfortable riding on the road with cars." She added, “this will also promote bicycling as an alternative transportation option, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality in Salem."

Salem has been very proactive at improving the circulation environment for its bicyclists. In June 2006, the City created the Salem Bike Path Committee charged with enhancing, promoting, and implementing measures to make Salem a more desirable urban environment by establishing safe and well planned on- and off-road bike routes.

In 2009, the City of Salem installed its first on-street bike lane in conjunction with the Lafayette Street Safety Improvement Project from approximately Harbor View Terrace to the Marblehead town line.

In January 2010, the City and its Bike Path Committee created a Citywide Bicycle Circulation Master Plan with the help of consulting engineers Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike (FST). The plan builds upon the significant progress the City and Committee have made since 2006, recommends phased measures to improve the bicycle commuting and recreational environment, and provides sound broad-based technical recommendations for future decisions on creating and/or improving bike circulation facilities in Salem.

To date, the City has implemented the following bike facilities and initiatives: construction of a ½ mile long off-road bike path (The Salem Bike Path) which extends the Town of Marblehead’s Recreational Trail at Lafayette Street to Canal Street, the construction of a new off-road bike path adjacent to the Bridge Street Bypass Road, the installation of 54 bike racks in downtown Salem, and the construction of the aforementioned 4.85 mile long on-road bike lane.  

Currently, the City is planning a 1½ miles long extension of the Salem Bike Path, from Canal Street (near Gardner Mattress) to downtown Salem. Once completed, the bike path extension will effectively connect downtown Salem to downtown Marblehead with an entirely off-road bike path.

All photos taken by Frank Taormina, City of Salem DPCD.