Maine voters went to the polls in November, 2008 and, among other things, approved a $5 million bond providing funding for improvements for riverfront communities statewide. The City of Saco, in a partnership with Mattson Development, was awarded $675,000 for a variety of river-oriented enhancement projects.

To date, the Riverfront Community Development Bond (RCDB) program has resulted in some very visible improvements for both the Saco Island project, and for Saco's RiverWalk Trail:

• The RiverWalk Trail includes the Riverfront Park, a Florida Power and Light-owned parcel of land immediately downstream of Pepperell Square. Fishermen and others who enjoy access to the river's edge have long used a well-beaten path down the steep bank and along the river. Completed in Fall 2009, users now find new precast concrete stairways and metal handrails, greatly improving access to the water and along the bank. The Trail offers a great view of Cataract Falls, and downriver views past the Yacht Club and of Cow Island. Visited lately?
• Public access to Saco Island has been vastly improved with the construction of a brick walkway departing from the Main Street sidewalk and extending along the south edge of the island, adjacent to the river. This access was part of the 2007 approval of the redevelopment project, and RCDB funding has made these improvements possible. The grant has also provided for parking lot lighting, landscaping, and replacement of the old chainlink fence along the riverbank with a handsome new steel fence, fabricated right across the river by local metalsmith Dana Peck. Benches and waste receptacles lend a completed look to a viewing area that ranks among the best in Maine: the beautiful Saco River coursing between 150 year old mill buildings, several of which are undergoing or have completed renovations for residential and commercial use.
• A couple of projects are happening right now, thanks to the RCDB funds:
  1. a local geotechnical engineering firm, R.W. Gillespie and Associates, is well into a structural inspection of the granite retaining wall next to the brick walkway, in order to ensure its condition.
     
     A computer graphic of the proposed pedestrian bridge that would connect Saco Island and Biddeford. A Transportation Enhancement program application was submitted jointly this summer by Saco and Biddeford.
  2. In early August a contractor will be on site for the purpose of removing the old steampipe and water pipe from the metal superstructure that crosses the river from Biddeford to the island. This is the first step in what, hopefully, will be the replacement of the superstructure with a new pedestrian bridge by 2012. Saco and Biddeford submitted a joint application to the Maine DOT in late June. If successful, it will provide funding for removal of the old superstructure, repairs to the abutments and installation of a new steel bridge, as well as a stairway to ground level from the abutment on the island.
  3. When did you last visit Jubilee Park, the little gem of an island accessed via covered bridge from Water Street? The bridge, built in 1981, now has a newly shingled roof thanks to the RCDB program. Workers installed the same shingles used for the Transportation Center roof: a composite made of recycled soda bottles, that looks like expensive slate and will last forever. The roof work was completed the last week of August.