Riverton Trolley Park
Revitalizing Riverton Trolley Park
A hidden gem with amazing potential
UPDATE: Fundraising for both the park and the mountain biking trail has been completed and group will be broken on the project in Riverton Trolley Park in Spring of 2024. Last year the Parks Conservancy led a public process to determine how to improve and reactivate this beautiful but underused park. Together, the PPC and the City have committed $535,000 toward new interpretive signage, ballfield upgrades, a native pollinator meadow, and a bike park with a flow trail.
With funding from the National Park Service's Land and Water Conservation Fund now assured, work can now begin in preparation for breaking ground in the Spring.
The land that is now Riverton Trolley Park has a rich history as a fishing area for Maine’s indigenous peoples, a corn canning factory, and as an amusement park at the end of a trolley line from downtown Portland. It became a City of Portland public park in 1947, but this spectacular open space on the Presumpscot River does not get much use today.
Working with the City of Portland Department of Parks, Recreation, and Facilities, the Portland Parks Conservancy is committed to making the changes needed to draw people to this little-used public resource off Forest Avenue.
The Conservancy conducted a public process in spring 2021 to learn from Riverton neighbors and other park users what amenities they would like to see added to the space. A community meeting was hosted via Zoom on March 30th to hear ideas from the public. An online survey was available in seven languages for those who could not attend the meeting.
Postcards from the Trolley Days
Plans for Riverton Trolley Park
Proposed improvements to Riverton Trolley Park include historical signage, a picnic field and pavilion, better marked signage, and a mountain bike flow trail.
Portland Parks Conservancy and the City of Portland have submitted a federal Land and Water Conservation fund grant for the revitalization of Riverton Trolley Park.
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