Construction continues in St. Stephen on the Coastal Link Trail. When finished, it will join the East Coast Greenway Trail with the Trans Canada Trail linking the U.S. and Canada with sections in Saint Andrews, St. George and Saint John. (Photo submitted by the Southwest NB Service Commission)
A cross-border trail linking Canada and the U.S. has active tourism potential.
The 177-kilometre Coastal Link Trail will join the Trans-Canada trail in Saint John to the East Coast Greenway trail in Maine with stops in Saint Andrews, St. George and St. Stephen.
Coastal Link chair Darren Turner said about 10 years ago, people like Bob Poirier and others noted there wasn’t a linkage between these trails.
“He was envisioning a direct link between Acadia National Park in the U.S. which sees visitors in the millions and is generating about $66 million a year in cycle tourism alone and extending that network to the Fundy Park here in New Brunswick,” Turner said.
Turner said construction began on the St. Stephen section in July.
“We just finished with Saint Andrews. There was a motion in council to accept the route. We’ve just acknowledged the requirements of St. George in terms of a mixed-use trail in their municipality,” Turner said.
Turner acknowledged the current momentum in getting people back on bicycles, walking and hiking.
“So we are seeing our trail, the regional trail, integrate seamlessly now with efforts that the municipalities are taking in terms of redefining their street networks, their activity levels,” Turner said.
St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern is excited about the health benefits of the Coastal Link Trail, adding trails and tourism will pave our streets.
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