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Open Space committee outlines trail projects, seeks volunteers and partnerships
Summary
The Beverly Open Space & Recreation Committee reported two open seats, highlighted Eagle Scout signage projects and ongoing trail-connectivity efforts including a proposed Norwood Pond bridge and stalled talks with Endicott College over trail access.
David Alden St. Pierre, chair of the Beverly Open Space & Recreation Committee, presented the committee’s annual update to the Beverly City Council on Nov. 17. He said the committee currently has two open seats in Ward 3 and Ward 4 and asked council members to refer interested residents. St. Pierre credited local scouts for two Eagle Scout projects—by Noah Boudreaux and Ben Walsh—that installed routed signage at Norwood Pond, Sally Milligan and Beverly Commons to help visitors navigate the trail system.
St. Pierre reviewed the committee’s outreach efforts, including updates to a city-maintained page of playground and beach-access amenities and regular posts to the Beverly Trails Instagram and Facebook accounts. He described partnerships with the Beverly Public Library and local naturalists for popular bird walks and cited Green Beverly as a collaborator on native-plant and pollinator initiatives that the committee promotes for municipal and private landscapes.
On infrastructure, St. Pierre said the committee is planning routine trail maintenance (stair replacement at Whitehall Circle) and a bridge replacement at Beverly Commons. He described a proposed roughly 70-foot bridge at Norwood Pond intended to improve connectivity with land behind the North Shore Music Theatre; he said the conservation commission approved a bridge and the committee is exploring involving Essex Tech students in construction.
St. Pierre also raised two recurring problems that affect trail management: unauthorized "rogue" trail-building that can create unsafe conditions, and stalled negotiations to formalize public access to trails on Endicott College property. He said that Greenbelt had placed cease-and-desist signs in one area and that the posted notices referenced fines and potential jail penalties for unauthorized activity. St. Pierre said several e-mails to Endicott College and the mayor’s office about a memorandum of understanding had not received replies.
Councilors asked questions about right-of-way access, leasing arrangements near a solar field and whether the city’s open-space residential design (OSRD) process gives the committee formal notice of large development proposals; St. Pierre said committee members who attend planning meetings typically flag projects that will trigger OSRD review.
