==
Bike-Walk Alliance of NH ==
October 28 "M&L North Tour" from Derry to Londonderry and Manchester
Meeting location: Hood Park, Rollins Street, Derry, NH
Coordinated by: Bike-Walk Alliance of NH
Rail trail advocates brave rain for tour (text below)
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Group leaving Hood Park, Derry <-------------> Culvert under Madden Road, Derry
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Old bridge over corridor near "B" Street, Derry <-----> New Route 93 Exit 5 bridge, Londonderry
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RR bridge over wetland south of airport <----> Corridor heading to Londonderry
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Meeting with Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Assistant Director Richard Fixler
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The "wet group" checking the Little Cohas Brook trestle and the South Manchester Rail Trail
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Hands Across the Merrimack Bridge, Manchester <----> View on bridge toward West Manchester
DATE:
October 29, 2009
PUBLICATION: New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, NH)
By Derrick Perkins Union Leader Correspondent
DERRY -- Raw October weather yesterday didn't keep rail trail proponents from
exploring the wooded, overgrown paths they would use to encourage foot and pedal
traffic from Salem to Manchester.
The tour was the second advocates have hosted to rally support for a $1.3 million
grant, said David Topham of Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire. There are $40
million dollars in projects competing for $6.4 million available in the next
two years. The federal money was set aside by 1991's Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act, which helps states fund projects that "preserve the historic
culture of the transportation system."
First proposed in 2003's Rizzo Interstate 93 Bikeway Study, the proposed trail
system closely follows the path of the historic Boston & Maine Railroad,
which first laid rails in the Granite State in 1840. In July, advocates gave
state officials a tour of 4.1 miles of already-completed trail in Windham, Topham
said.
The outreach serves a couple purposes, Topham said. It gives N.H. Department
of Transportation officials a boots-on-the-ground perspective while bringing
together rail trail groups in three communities. "It shows us what needs
to be done, what obstacles need to be addressed ... basic areas that are not
passable and what to do about it," Topham said. "We can get a handle
on the whole scenario so we can establish a fully bike-able paved path to Manchester."
Keeping a spotlight on the project is crucial with so much competition for funding,
he said. Hoping to increase the project's visibility, Mark Connors, vice president
of the Derry Rail Trail Alliance, and other trail advocates in Windham and Salem
formed the Southern New Hampshire Rail Trail Alliance. "We feel that our
project, the tri-town project, should be ranked much higher than any other project,"
he said. "Our project serves a greater density of people than any of the
other projects in our region and many of the other projects won't impact as
many residents. "We're talking about connecting trails. If we get this
we're going to be able to fill in the gaps, giving the whole region 15-plus
miles of recreational trails."
Splashing through puddles of mud and dodging rain drops yesterday, DOT employees
Jerry Moore and Larry Keniston got a good look at the work that needs to be
done. Topham and Connors led the small group to several stops along the proposed
trail in Derry and Londonderry, pointing out construction challenges along the
way.
"Some of it is passable and some of it is paved," Moore said. "We're
looking at encroachments and seeing what we can and cannot do to get this moving
and get it up to Concord."
Copyright, 2009, Union Leader Corp.
"Working together works!"