The committee envisions creating an interconnected trail system throughout town.
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

NORWAY – Supporters of a series of walking trails in Norway and Paris see promise in the redevelopment of the C.B. Cummings & Son property.

If federal transportation enhancement funding can be secured, it’s possible that a floating boardwalk could be built out onto the wetlands behind the mill, said Deb Partridge, a member of the trails committee.

The idea is not new; visions of a nature trail along Pennesseewassee Stream, which runs beside the mill, were part of the 1995 Quality Main Street plan for downtown Norway.

Partridge said the trails committee envisions creating an interconnected trail system that would run through the town-owned Pennesseewassee Park on Norway Lake. It would then run along Route 118 to take in the Norway Office Park, then Ordway Grove and on over to the mill property.

Another trail would link Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School with the Oxford Hills Middle School, where a walking trail has already been created around the athletic fields.

Ken Morse, president of Downtown Norway Revitalization, said building a floating boardwalk onto the wetland behind the mill would be “a big project, but it has a lot of potential.” He said there is a lot of wildlife in the wetland area and the boardwalk would provide educational opportunities for students.