Hale Street Pedestrian and Bike Improvements

Hale Street is an important route connecting Newburyport’s western neighborhoods to the schools, recreation facilities, business/industrial park, and downtown. This two-lane road provides a primary access to these destinations for one in nine Newburyport households, 15% of the City’s residents, and 21% of the school population.

However, Hale Street is unwelcoming for walkers and bicyclists – particularly young people getting to school and activities – due to high speeds (data for 2024 & 2025), truck traffic, lack of sidewalks, and narrow to nonexistent shoulders. This has the effect of isolating West End residents from the rest of the City. Residents have been asking the City for decades to provide safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure along Hale Street so that they can enjoy the same level of access as those living east of I-95.

Hale Street also links to the Coastal Trails network, with a trailhead for the Gloria Braunhardt Bike Path that provides a safe route to the Storey Avenue business district and the Garrison Trail. The map below shows how a shared-use path along Hale Street would extend the existing network of off-road trails, leaving only a section of Low Street needing to be improved to complete an all-ages-and-abilities connection between the Gloria Braunhardt Bike Path and the Clipper City Rail Trail.

Making Hale Street safer and more comfortable for walking and cycling will be expensive. The City’s 2019 Complete Streets Prioritization Plan estimated the design and construction costs at between $2,365,000 and $2,950,000 for the 1.75-mile distance from Low Street to Turkey Hill Road. These planning-level estimates were by no means precise, and construction costs have risen in the last seven years, but they indicate the level of investment that the City will ultimately have to make if it takes the matter seriously. It is important to start thinking about how Hale Street fits in with the City’s other infrastructure priorities, and to program funding accordingly.

Community Input and Planning Process

2020 – Community Meeting and Concept

On February 4, 2020, Newburyport Livable Streets organized a public meeting about making the road safer and more accessible. City Engineer Jon-Eric White presented concepts to make the road safer for walkers and bicyclists getting from the West End and Squires Glen neighborhoods to schools, recreation, and the downtown. About 40 residents and City officials attended the meeting and discussed their concerns and priorities.

The concept presented at the February 2020 meeting would involve widening the paved roadway from its current 22-24 feet (plus a sidewalk near Low Street) to 30 feet in order to accommodate 4-foot shoulders on each side, making for safer bicycle travel. In addition, the concept called for a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side of the street, separated from the shoulder with a 6-inch curb. Thus, the total proposed width from edge of pavement to the back of the sidewalk would be 35.5 feet. This widening could take place within the existing City right-of-way, which is probably 50 to 60 feet wide throughout the corridor.

Meeting attendees had a number of comments on this initial improvement concept. The discussion revolved around balancing safety with cost and the speed within which a project could be completed. In particular, there was debate about whether to include a sidewalk along the entire 1.7-mile road, because this would require the addition of a closed drainage system which significantly adds to the total cost. Yet without a sidewalk the road would most likely have to be made even wider to provide adequate lateral separation from traffic.

A video of the February 4, 2020 public meeting is online at the PortMedia YouTube channel here. The Department of Public Services, Engineering Division’s Hale Street project page (here) includes a link to City Engineer’s presentation at the meeting.

The next steps were to develop a proposed design with estimated costs and a phasing plan, and to identify potential sources of funding such as MassDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program and Complete Streets Funding Program.

On March 11, 2020, NLS submitted a letter to the City Council (also signed by two dozen other residents) requesting that the Council support an anticipated request by the Mayor for $125,000 to be appropriated for survey, wetlands delineation and conceptual plan development for pedestrian and bicycle improvements on Hale Street. A week later, the COVID-19 pandemic upended normal government functions, and the focus turned to maintaining economic activity in the City. As a result, the public outreach, planning, design and funding processes for the Hale Street project were deferred.

2021-2022 – Survey and Wetlands Delineation

The City’s Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Years 2022-2026 included scaled-down funding for pre-planning activities related to pedestrian (but not bicycle) improvements on Hale Street. The CIP showed $75,000 in FY2022 for survey and wetlands delineation for a project titled “Hale Street Sidewalk and Pedestrian Access.” However, no funding was identified for conceptual planning or for any construction work within the next five years. The City Council approved the CIP at its meeting on May 10, 2021.

In 2022 the City began the planning process by performing a topographic survey of the entire road right-of-way and delineating the wetland resource areas. This provides the base information necessary to develop concept plans and designs for bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

2023-2025 – Planning and Conceptual Design

In January 2023 the City issued a Request for Proposals to consulting firms for Planning and Conceptual Design for the “Hale Street Complete Streets Project”. Several consultant teams submitted proposals, which were reviewed and evaluated by City staff. However, the City administration decided not to proceed with the project at that time, having determined that other capital projects had priority.

Responding to a resolution by the City Council in June 2023, Mayor Reardon submitted a proposal in August to appropriate ARPA funds for the conceptual design work. The City Council voted to appropriate $125,000 from ARPA funds.

Following the issuance of a new RFP, the Department of Public Services selected a consulting team in mid-November. The City executed a contract with the selected consulting team at the end of March 2024. Wetlands flagging was completed by the environmental consultant, GM2, in July.

In July 2024 management of the project was transferred from the Department of Public Services to the Office of Planning and Development.

The City held the first public informational meeting about the project on May 29, 2025. A copy of the presentation at that meeting is on the Planning Department’s website here.

The concept plan includes an 8-foot-side shared-use path along the north side of Hale Street between Turkey Hill Road and Squires Glen Drive (approximately 1.5 miles of the 1.7-mile corridor). Between Turkey Hill Road and the bridge over I-95, the shared-use path will be created by widening and improving the existing sidewalk. Between the bridge and Doe Run Drive, the concept plan includes three segments of boardwalk to minimize impacts to wetlands.

No improvements are currently being considered for the segment between Squires Glen Drive and Low Street because of existing infrastructure restrictions. Walkers will be able to transition onto the existing sidewalk, but eastbound bicyclists will need to cross Hale Street to continue to the Low Street intersection.

According to the concept plan presented at the May meeting, all construction related to the shared-use path will take place within the City’s right of way or on City property, with the exception of minor adjustments to two private driveways.

2026 – Budgeting for Phased Design and Construction

The City’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for FY2027-2031 includes two items for the Hale Street project. The first item is $627,500 ($65,000 design, $450,000 construction, and $112,500 contingency) to be appropriated in FY 2027 for final design and construction of a segment of shared-use path between Doe Run Drive and Squires Glen Drive, ending at the existing sidewalk to Low Street. (Bicyclists would still have to travel in the street along the 0.25-mile segment between Squires Glen Drive and Low Street.) The project is proposed to be funded primarily by a MassTrails Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The second item in the CIP is a $2 million budget for designing and constructing the westerly 1.3-mile portion of the shared-use path between Doe Run and Turkey Hill Road. This project is planned to take place over four years, beginning with survey, environmental permitting, final design, and bid documents in FY 2028 and FY 2029 ($450,000); followed by phased construction in FY 2030 and FY 2031 ($1,550,000). It is important to note that these budgeted costs are based on estimates prepared by a consultant in December 2025 and are subject to significant change, and the timeline is subject to funding availability. The CIP identifies three funding sources: $1,350,000 in borrowing, $500,000 in “federal/state grant” funds, and $150,000 in Community Preservation Act funds.

Thus, if the City is able to secure funding for the project and maintain the planned timeline, the long-desired infrastructure for walking and cycling on Hale Street could be in place by the end of 2031, with only the quarter-mile of road closest to Low Street left to be improved.

Resources

The Small Town and Rural Design Guide contains examples and guidance for accommodating bicyclists and pedestrians on roads like Hale Street.