== Bike-Walk Alliance of NH ==

December 2011: Four bridges and rail trails in the news

If you bike or walk in New Hampshire, there is something on this Bike-Walk Alliance of NH web site that should be of interest to you! There is so much activity here in the Granite State involving biking and walking it is difficult to write about all of it. However, let's get started!

Highlights of December 2011 news follow:

The Memorial Bridge between Portsmouth NH and Kittery ME will be replaced starting in January 2012 with the new bridge targeted to be functional in July 2013. The 88-year-old bridge was in very poor condition and was abruptly closed to motor vehicles on July 27, 2011. Bike-ped crossings of about 900 a day continued for the rest of the year. With no bridge for at least 18 months, an hourly bus shuttle service running from 5 am to 1 am, seven days a week, is the current plan. The 12 passenger bus capable of carrying six bikes is considered totally inadequate by BWA-NH and was so expressed at a hearing in Portsmouth on November 29. A follow-up email was sent to the project managers and NH-DOT officials since there will be "Public Outreach Committees" dealing with local concerns during the project and even about aesthetics of the bridge itself.

Many cyclists including BWA-NH feel the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge (the "middle bridge") could be used for vehicular cyclists and leave the shuttle for pedestrians, disabled, and bicyclists who cannot pedal about half a mile on a two-lane, 30-foot wide roadway. The new Memorial Bridge is to allow cyclists on the roadway in two five-foot lanes with the curb-to-curb width being 32 feet. The Sarah Long Bridge is considered "unsafe" for bicyclists by some people in the Maine and NH DOTs. However, all ideas are still "on the table" as we seek a more practical crossing between Portsmouth and Kittery without biking to Dover, a detour of about 28 miles on many roads not great for cycling. A detour route over the Sarah Long Bridge from Prescott Park in Portsmouth (NH end of the Memorial Bridge) to Warren's Lobster House in Kittery (Maine end of the Memorial Bridge) would be about three miles by bike. The Memorial Bridge "detour" signs lead all vehicles including bicyclists to the Sarah Long Bridge, so what do hundreds of cyclists per hour do when they cannot cross the river if the restriction is not lifted? More discussion on this topic with various DOT officials is definitely expected before prime cycling season resumes.

Details about the Memorial Bridge project may be viewed on the NH-DOT web site.

A little photo history of the Memorial Bridge

.

Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth NH side looking toward Kittery ME.
September 25, 2011, GSW Seacoast Century Weekend with green lights.
Bridge closed, bike-ped crossings allowed, July 27, 2011, photo taken August 14, 2011.
Photos courtesy of Barbara Amos and Dave Topham.

.

Memorial Bridge as of August 14, 2011. Note the red lights.
As of January 2012, we expect no lights and no bridge. Plague reads:
"Memorial to the Sailors and Soldiers of New Hampshire
who participated in the World War 1917-1919"

Views of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge

.

Sarah Mildred Long Bridge approach, Kittery, Maine and crossing the
bridge toward Portsmouth, NH, August 5, 2011. Note the 30-foot-wide
roadway with 14-foot travel lanes and one-foot shoulders on this
35 MPH road with a smooth concrete surface and excellent sight lines.
Recommend 4-11-11-4 striping to create bike lanes.

Manchester Airport Access Road (MAAR) and Pearl Harbor Survivors Bridge across the Merrimack River opened November 11 for motorists and bicyclists. This multi-million dollar project as started some years ago was originally designed to exclude bicyclists on the main roadway (now called the Raymond Wieczorek Drive) connecting Bedford to Manchester, Londonderry, and Litchfield. A bike path, not to be illuminated at night, cleared of snow in the winter, or providing a direct connection to local roads, was part of the design but that would not accommodate vehicular cyclists requiring a 24 x 7 x 365 transportation corridor. Mopeds and electric bicycles were also to be prohibited from using the bridge to access local roads where they are commonly used. In 2009, advocates from the Granite State Wheelmen and Bike-Walk Alliance of NH were made aware of these restrictions and sought to have them lifted to be in compliance with Federal guidelines. Another bridge built years earlier down-river connecting Nashua and Hudson (the Sagamore Bridge) had the same restrictions. After many inquiries to NH-DOT and pointing out the need of cyclists to use these bridges for transportation, a series of high-level meetings between NH-DOT and FHWA starting in March 2010 resulted in the restrictions being removed from both the Sagamore Bridge and the MAAR bridge on May 24, 2010. BWA-NH reported this major accomplishment at the time and sent a "thank you" letter to key NH-DOT personnel.

Aerial view of the completed MAAR project.

.

Bill Fisk on bike and NH State Police on horseback at the
MAAR ceremony, November 10, 2011.

On November 10, the official dedication ceremony was held on Ray Wieczorek Drive at the airport end. Bicyclists, runners, and walkers were the first to check out the new roadway and sidepath. BWA-NH and GSW members participated with a definite preference to cycling on the road, not the sidepath which was being well used by local residents out for a walk, children on bikes, dogs being walked, babies in strollers, etc. Vehicular cyclists just want to ride from point A to B with the least hassles in the safest manner, and the road with wide, smooth, and maintained shoulders serves that purpose very well. The MAAR project was opened for full use by all vehicles on Veterans Day, November 11, a very symbolic gesture.

A new $2.3M rail trail bridge in Keene crossing Routes 9, 10, and 12 on the Cheshire Rail Trail was started in September after being in the works for over a decade. Called the "North Bridge", various groups pulled together to secure funding from multiple sources; Pathways for Keene alone donated $100K with money raised from fundraisers over ten years. The need for a safe crossing of the three busy roads was highlighted on November 29 when a man was struck and killed by a NH-DOT truck when he attempted to cross. The need for a "South Bridge" in Keene crossing equally busy roads and connecting sections of the Ashuelot Rail Trail was stressed to NH-DOT by Charles Martin, NH-RTC President.

A new bridge under the Windham Rail Trail about 3/4 mile south of the Windham Depot parking lot is nearly complete so the popular trail will be open for winter activities. Connectivity of two Spruce Pond housing developments required the new bridge construction which severed the trail for about two months. A "new look" will await all rail trail users: fewer trees but a new bridge and road under the trail instead.
Other rail trail news includes the Derry Rail Trail Alliance (DRTA) announcing the completion of paving two-miles of their trail from Bowers Road to Windham Depot thanks to the Town of Derry and many local contributors. Trail users must go "up and over" Bowers Road or use the six-foot diameter culvert to make that crossing until funds are available to install a full-width 12-foot box culvert, about a $400K job which may be covered under a TE grant. The new section provides users to enjoy a paved rail trail from downtown Derry to the Windham Depot to Roulston Road, just 0.6 mile from Salem. That remaining 0.6 mile of the Windham Rail Trail goes over the new Rt. 111 bike-ped bridge and should be paved next year under a TE grant awarded in 2010. Trail-side parking at the southern terminus near Range Road and Route 28 (Windham-Salem town line) has been approved.

Other rail trail news includes the Derry Rail Trail Alliance (DRTA) announcing the completion of paving two-miles of their trail from Bowers Road to Windham Depot thanks to the Town of Derry and many local contributors. Trail users must go "up and over" Bowers Road or use the six-foot diameter culvert to make that crossing until funds are available to install a full-width 12-foot box culvert, about a $400K job which may be covered under a TE grant. The new section provides users to enjoy a paved rail trail from downtown Derry to the Windham Depot to Roulston Road, just 0.6 mile from Salem. That remaining 0.6 mile of the Windham Rail Trail goes over the new Rt. 111 bike-ped bridge and should be paved next year under a TE grant awarded in 2010. Trail-side parking at the southern terminus near Range Road and Route 28 (Windham-Salem town line) has been approved.

NH Rail Trails Coalition (NH-RTC) fifth annual conference was held November 12, 2011 in Concord at the SHC-NNE / BWA-NH office, 57 Regional Drive. Rail trail organizations and advocates from around the state participated and learned a lot about recent developments, projects, and funding issues. Speakers from the City of Keene, Carl Knoch of the Rails to Trails Conservancy, and Larry Keniston of NH-DOT presented much useful information. A special guest, Joe Hattrup, CEO of the Iron Horse Preservation Society, was able to answer questions about how his organization can build a basic rail trail at no cost to anyone. (The NH-RTC is affiliated with BWA-NH.)


Methuen (MA) Rail Trail Alliance (MRTA) finalized paperwork with the City of Methuen and the Iron Horse Preservation Society (IHPS) to build their section along the M&L corridor - at no cost for the basic rail trail. A ceremonial ground breaking photo-op by the MRTA was held on December 3 with actual work to be done during the winter as weather allows. BWA-NH has been coordinating efforts between IHPS, Salem, and NH-DOT to have similar work performed in NH, hopefully starting in Salem right after IHPS completes work in Methuen.

Methuen Rail Trail Alliance members announce the start
of construction in December 2011.

Londonderry Trailways has contacted NH-DOT about the rail remaining on their section of the M&L corridor and whether it could be used for an Iron Horse rail trail construction project. An inventory of the rail was taken by NH-DOT on October 28; next comes the determination of Iron Horse being allowed to work in that town. Meanwhile, Londonderry has outlined their plans for building the trail in segments as documented in their brochure.

Meanwhile, users of the paved sections of the Derry and Windham rail trails can't wait until the centers of Derry and Salem are connected. For the same Manchester-Lawrence railroad corridor extending south through Salem and into Methuen, MA, discussions are continuing between the Methuen Rail Trail Alliance, Iron Horse Preservation Society (IHPS), NH-DOT, and the Town of Salem with BWA-NH helping to arrange critical meetings in Concord. The concept of IHPS building a useable rail trail at no cost in exchange for old railroad material is a new concept for New Hampshire so new guidelines must be established before any work is done. At this time, IHPS is likely to start work in Methuen in December 2011 and would certainly benefit all parties concerned if they are allowed to continue north along the M&L corridor into Salem in the spring of 2012. A five-way meeting on May 12, 2011 set a precedent -- this was the first time NH-DOT, IHPS, Salem, Methuen, and BWA-NH representatives got together to discuss options of interest to the Southern NH Rail Trail Alliance. To prove we really did see each other, a couple photos follow.

.

Left to right: Bill Scott, Salem Community Development Director; "Kit" Morgan, NH-DOT Bureau
of Rail and Transit Administrator; Joyce Godsey, Methuen Rail Trail Alliance President; Joe Hattrup,
Iron Horse Preservation Society CEO, and Larry Keniston. NH-DOT Bike-Ped Coordinator.
Meeting held May 12, 2011 at NH-DOT, Concord.
(Photos by Dave Topham, BWA-NH.)

Classroom and on-bike training for elementary school students continues, mostly under local Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant programs. An adult-level "Train the Trainers" program offered by BWA-NH to train and certify school phys-ed teachers, coaches, nurses, and other staff members to become LAB "Bicycling 1-2-3 Youth Instructors" so they can conduct LAB-designed bike-ed courses year after year in their schools for grades 4 and 5 is being implemented. The most recent training sessions were held in Warner and Pembroke with Pittsfield and Concord scheduled for the spring. This "TTT" program is funded by a SRTS grant to BWA-NH therefore it is free for the schools on a first-come, first served basis. Please contact the BWA-NH office for details: info@bwanh.org, 603.898.9926.

The two Distracted Driver Simulators obtained by the NH Highway Safety Association in April and as supported by the Injury Prevention Center at Dartmouth and BWA-NH may soon have some "company." NH-HSA is reportedly planning to purchase two more units based on the excellent feedback of using the first two for six months. In addition, BWA-NH plans to obtain one with touch screen features for demos, training sessions, and promoting wider use of the simulators. Several driver education schools, bike advocacy groups, and NH-DMV have already expressed an interest. The intent is to increase awareness and stop texting, cell phone use, and impaired driving before a crash occurs. Did you know a driver just talking on a cell phone (hand-held or hands-free) is twice as impaired as someone legally drunk at the 0.8 level? And texting while driving equals four times the impairment of a drunk driver? Let's do what we can to stop the crashes caused by distracted driving, not just analyze cell phone records after a crash when someone, usually a bicyclist or pedestrian, is seriously injured or killed.

The two computerized Distracted Driving Simulators as unveiled at the NH Highway Safety Conference in April have been used in several school districts with excellent reports. The Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow was the first in the state to use the simulators with about 200 students taking two or more tests. Distracted driving induced by cell phone use (talking or texting) and driving under the influence were simulated with student comments including "I got in an accident pretty quick. I rear-ended a car and lost my license." "I hit a deer. Then they did a drunk test, put me in a police car and took me to jail." This was not a game being played by the students. One commented how he lost his brother to drunk driving.

Jim Esdon of the Injury Prevention Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center is the program manager. The units were slated for use in Sanborn and Seabrook before the end of the school year. As of June 1, over 500 students have been tested. BWA-NH will be involved in the logged results of the tests recorded by the two simulators and help maintain the units as more and more schools and organization use the machine which proves that distracted driving leads to crashes - and that no one is immune from being distracted. For more information, please contact BWA-NH at info@bwanh.org.

Recent News

Did you miss reading about what the BWA-NH has been doing in the past months and years? If so, check out our Archived News page.

Other news