Glenn Cusack, trail master for the Portage Lakers Snowmobile Club, watches progress on the Dana’s Crossing bridge on Jan. 13. Credit: Courtesy of Portage Lakers Snowmobile Club

Mainers voted Tuesday to pass a $30 million bond proposal that will go toward designing, developing and maintaining trail systems.

The yes side of Question 4 had 55 percent of votes to 45 for the no side when the Bangor Daily News and its national partner, Decision Desk HQ, called the race at 1:16 p.m. Wednesday.

Half of the money borrowed under the measure will go toward recreational trails, while the rest will be divided about evenly between motorized and non-motorized trails. A wide coalition of environmental and business groups supported it alongside snowmobile and ATV clubs.

The measure easily passed the Maine Legislature with support from Democrats and Republicans from a mix of urban and rural areas. It was opposed by rail advocates who have long seen trails as subsuming rail networks that they think should be returned to use.

Michael Shepherd joined the Bangor Daily News in 2015 after time at the Kennebec Journal. He lives in Augusta, graduated from the University of Maine in 2012 and has a master's degree from the University...

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *