Cheshire Rail Trail opens refurbished section, with more construction to come

Sep. 1—The latest work on a years-long improvement project to the Cheshire Rail Trail is wrapping up and construction on the next phase is slated to begin in 2023.

This recent portion of the work has improved trail infrastructure from Hurricane Road to Summit Ridge Road via the Ammi Brown Trail, according to a a news release from Keene's Parks, Recreation and Facilities Director Andy Bohannon.

The Cheshire Rail Trail begins in Walpole and runs 42 miles diagonally across the county and ends in Fitzwilliam.

The recent renovations contribute to an effort by city officials to connect the Elm City's neighborhoods to downtown and the business district through a continuous bicycle and pedestrian loop along West Street, Park Avenue, Summit Road, Summit Ridge Drive and the Cheshire Rail Trail, the release states.

The last bit of work that needs to be concluded, Bohannon said, is the repair of 16 sidewalk ramps on Park Avenue, which should be finished by Friday, according to a memo City Engineer Donald Lussier wrote last week to the City Council's Finance, Organization and Personnel Committee.

Other upgrades include two trailhead parking lots at Whitcomb's Mill Road and Summit Road, while markings were added along Park Avenue indicating bike lanes, Bohannon said in an interview Wednesday.

The Whitcomb's Mill lot can accommodate six cars, while the one at Summit Road can take eight, he said. Altogether, these additions improve access to local hotspots including the Keene YMCA on Summit Road, Stonewall Farm on Chesterfield Road, Stearns Hill Conservation Area, Monadnock Marketplace on Ash Brook Road and Keene middle and high schools.

Bohannon said the addition of bike lanes was a driving factor for the project.

"Making sure people who want to ride the road had a safe place to ride and be visible and not have to worry about riding on sidewalk was a big thing," he said. "But the fact they are on the street and in a lane visible to the car provides that rider's safety and visibility."

Bohannon added that the new designated lots will allow people taking advantage of the trail a safe space to park their car, enabling them to explore the city, or beyond, for a day.

"It has that economic impact factor in that it takes in anyone who wants to can use the park system and go downtown to go shopping or eat and ride back to one of those trailheads," he said.

The latest construction cost around $700,000, with 80 percent of that coming from federal monies through the Transportation Alternative Program, while the city paid the remaining 20 percent, around $140,000, Bohannon added.

Bohannon said the weight of the cost on the city was lessened through donations from Pathways for Keene and the Monadnock Conservancy, which gave $30,000 and $15,000 respectively.

The City Council also approved $50,000 in the fiscal year 2016 Capital Improvement Program and the remaining $45,000 in May, to come from a transportation reserve fund and unspent money from the previous phase of the project.

Ted McGreer, a past president of Pathways for Keene and board member for 20 years, said he's excited to see the work come to fruition. He added that many of the funds donated from Pathways were contributed from the 4 on the 4th road race.

"Our ability to raise 30,000 [dollars] and give back to the city is a direct consequence of people here," said McGreer, who owns Ted's Shoe & Sport on Main Street. "It's cool to think that all these people who live here are the ones able to provide for the enhancements to the trails."

Chuck Redfern, a director with Pathways for Keene, a non profit, said he thinks it's great to see the city addressing the need for parking along the trail.

"I think it will lead to further increased use," he said. "Those trails are a great way to experience the outdoors."

The impending culmination of the recent work on the Rail Trail will be celebrated at a ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for Sept. 14 at 11 a.m., at the new Summit Road trail head.

"It will allow people to make lots of positive connections for people and contribute to our bigger vision for the rail trail," Bohannon said.

And that vision includes the city's Transportation Heritage Trail Project, which would extend the rail trail from Eastern Avenue to the Swanzey town line.

The first wave of construction for that multi-year effort — turning an abandoned rail bed that runs from Eastern Avenue to Route 101 into a crushed-gravel trail — is slated to begin next year, Bohannon said.

That project is expected to cost $2.58 million, however the city received $394,800 in financial assistance from a federal spending bill in March, requested by U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, he added.

Hunter Oberst can be reached at 355-8585, or hoberst@keenesentinel.com.