Better together: non-motorized trail users speak up

February 10, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

I usually hike solo. The solitude and pace suit me. Sometimes, though, those of us who enjoy non-motorized travel on trails need to speak out together. We’re gentle folk, really, but when we’re provoked, we can get a mite testy.

A pair of recent provocations in the Granite State got us going. People listened. Way to go, team.

The Derry Tunnel

The I-93 exit 4-A project in Derry has been talked about forever, and when construction finally began, sighs of relief were heard up and down the highway corridor. The original plan called for the Derry Rail Trail to be routed through the area via a tunnel. Straightforward, safe, good for all users.

Then, a few years ago, the plan on paper was suddenly changed, without input from trail-user groups. A “spaghetti” route – the good folks at the state Department of Transportation probably hated that term, but that’s what it was – replaced the original plan. On paper, the revised route would have brought the rail trail up and around a curve to an at-grade crossing of a six-lane town road, followed by a descent back to the old rail right-of-way. The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition published a summary of the situation in April 2025, with a link to a New Hampshire Union Leader article.

Groups representing trail users pushed back politely, then more firmly, and heard “no” a lot before finally resorting to litigation against NHDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

Today, eighteen months later, there’s a Union Leader headline: “Settlement paves way for Derry Rail Trail tunnel.” I love that word “settlement.” This was never about one side needing to beat the other. It was about reaching consensus on a sound plan for a project that will benefit the area for years to come.

The Committee to Save the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel didn’t exist before the spaghetti route sprang up. The Committee came about when trail groups realized they had to band together and speak with one voice in favor of a plan that would optimize safety for everyone traveling near exit 4-A. I’m proud to have served once upon a time on the board of NHRTC, which was a driving force behind the effort to restore the tunnel plan.

Once the exit 4-A project and the rail trail tunnel are complete, the Derry Rail Trail will join up with the Londonderry, Windham, and Salem rail trails to create a continuous path from the state line to the Manchester airport. Eventually, this will all be part of a Granite State Rail Trail that will connect southern New Hampshire with the existing Northern Rail Trail, all the way to Lebanon.

milkweed growing in the foreground with a marsh in the background — Summer along the Derry Rail Trail: milkweed in bloom. Ellen Kolb photo.

The Bike Fee

Meanwhile in Concord, where state legislators labor, a proposal to impose a $50 annual bicycle registration fee seems to be going down in flames. A formal House vote hasn’t been scheduled, but the Transportation committee got an earful during the January 27 hearing on HB 1703.

Not only did people show up at the bill’s hearing, but over 14,000 people signed in online in opposition. For about two solid weeks before the hearing, I couldn’t check my email or open a social media feed without being hit with a blast from people urging opposition to the bill. It was beautiful, spontaneous, perfectly civil resistance to an ill-considered proposal.

The bill’s sponsor paid attention. As reported by WMUR, he said “We’re not going to be moving forward with this…please don’t beat up on the Transportation Committee anymore.”

The bill’s text indicated that its purpose was to raise funds for bike paths and trails. I agree with the sponsor that New Hampshire needs to come up with better ways to fund trails, but telling families to cough up fifty bucks per bike per year is a tough sell. The kicker was that the bill’s fiscal note said there would be no effect on municipal expenditures. Tell that to the cops who would have been expected to write up tickets for noncompliance.

Many voices delivering one message derailed HB 1703.

A place at the table

Many conversations loom ahead about funding and placement of trails and paths for walkers and cyclists. There’s always another highway project just around the corner. There are always questions about how to allocate limited state resources to trail maintenance. Where’s the money coming from? What are the best ways to align the interests of motorized and non-motorized trail users?

The two recent situations serve as a reminder that whenever such discussions are happening, non-motorized trail users belong at the table, working with all other interested parties.

One way to keep up with what’s happening with trail policy is to follow the NHRTC and the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire.

I still prefer hiking alone. When it comes to trail policy, though, I can see the advantage of working with a team.

Safety first for Derry NH Rail Trail

August 2, 2022February 26, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

Update, 2026: Three and a half years after the post below, after a lengthy period filled with public hearings and litigation, a settlement was reached that requires the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to use the tunnel plan recommended by trail advocates as NHDOT proceeds with construction of the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel as part of the expansion of Exit 4A on I-93.

I wrote about the impressive cooperative effort at “Better Together: non-motorized trail users speak up” (2/10/2026). See also the reports on the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition site: “It’s Official – the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel to be Built!” (2/11/2026) and “Big Win for NH Rail Trails” (2/12/2026).

The Granite State Walker is about celebrating New Hampshire trails – not the mountain trails that are well-documented elsewhere, but the southern New Hampshire trails that deserve to be just as cherished. Public-policy advocacy is not the usual beat for this blog. Something is coming up that prompts me to make an exception, and it involves the Derry Rail Trail.

Derry’s trail is part of what will someday be the Granite State Rail Trail, extending from Salem to Manchester and beyond. Already, the Derry trail connects with the Windham Rail Trail to the south, and it will eventually connect with the Londonderry Rail Trail to the north. One important segment yet to be built is the trail’s crossing of the proposed exit 4-A on I-93.

In brief, the state Department of Transportation intends to route the rail trail along a messy path, aptly nicknamed (not by the DOT) the “spaghetti route.” This is far different from the original plan, which was a simple tunnel routing the rail trail under the highway. The tunnel plan is safer and simpler.

What to do

On Thursday, August 4, the Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting at 6 p.m. at West Running Brook School in Derry. The purpose of the meeting is to present the DOT’s preferred plan to the public. It’s unclear how much opportunity there will be for public input. That’s not going to stop advocates for pedestrian and bicyclist safety from making an impression simply by showing up. [Note that the NH Department of Transportation later rescheduled the meeting to Thursday, September 22. The August 4 meeting was postponed due to hot weather. I wrote at the time “One might call that a safety concern. Let’s hope the same concern animates future moves in the Exit 4-A project.”]

Attend if you can, wearing something that’s a bright “safety yellow” color. The New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition’s Facebook page has more information about the meeting. (Full disclosure: I’m on the NHRTC board.)

Improve I-93? By all means. Build exit 4-A, which has been in the works for years? I’m OK with that. Let that project advance the safety interests of all transportation users, not just drivers. The tunnel plan would do just that.

Proposed exit 4-A project, showing Derry Rail Trail proposed path: brown line indicates the tunnel plan, while the blue line indicates the more convoluted plan favored by NHDOT. Image from Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire (bwanh.org)

For more information

The Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire has a helpful information page that includes illustrations and narrative descriptions of each of the proposed plans.

BWANH’s conclusion is right on target: “New Hampshire will be stuck with the outcome of this project for many years to come. Let’s get it right, and do it right the first time.”

Visit the trail now

You don’t have to wait for the completion of the Derry Rail Trail to enjoy the segment that’s open now. Start from Windham Junction and head north on the paved trail. You’ll see and hear I-93, but soon the trailside wetlands with their birds and flora will capture your attention. Watch along the way for the artistic tributes to poet Robert Frost, who once taught nearby. As you approach NH Route 102 in central Derry, plan a stop at one of the businesses that support the trail, such as The Grind coffee shop.

All along the way, remember: safety first.

pond at Hood Park, Derry, New Hampshire — Hood Park in Derry NH, seen from Derry Rail Trail. Ellen Kolb photo.

Beginning the NH Rail Trail Challenge: low-key, close to home

August 8, 2020February 25, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I can tell already that the Rail Trail challenge is going to figure into many future posts. I hope readers who are inspired by the challenge will share their own posts and photos so we can learn from each other.

I enjoyed a walk on the Goffstown rail trail a few days ago with Paula Bedard of the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire, of which the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition is an affiliate. If the Challenge has a prime mover and guiding spirit, she’s it. It was great to talk with her about our favorite trails and the shape they’re in.

Goffstown rail rail — Along Goffstown rail trail

She made an important point to me that makes me much more optimistic about earning that Challenge patch: participants must explore each trail, not travel every inch of every trail. Whew! OK, so I’m not just going to do a quarter-mile of the Northern Rail Trail and then check it off the Challenge list. But it’s good to know that an overgrown trail – northern stretch of Fort Hill, maybe? – won’t be a stopper.

The next day, at Paula’s urging, I picked up the second edition of Charles F. Martin’s book, Rail Trails of New Hampshire. The first edition has been my companion on many trips. With more trails developed and with conditions changing on existing ones, a new edition is timely.

Brookline, NH

Why go out of my way to check off anything from a trail list? In 2020, the only reason I need is that I am grateful for diversions from the challenges of COVID-19. I crave out-of-the-way places where no masks are required. Fresh air clears my head. A straight flat trail lends itself to prayer and reflection.

All of which brought me to the Potanipo rail trail in Brookline, NH. The little town already has a place in this blog thanks to the Andres Institute of Art with its trails and outdoor sculptures. The rail trail is nearby. It’s short, straight, shady, and ideal for a brief respite from routine.

I parked off of Bohannon Bridge Road, next to a ball field, just past the Nissitissit River. Finding the trailhead for the developed part of the old rail line was easy. A runner was just returning to her car. A gentleman was walking his dog ahead of me. Farther along I saw a pair of friends laughing and walking briskly together. The trail might have been new to me, but clearly the locals were familiar with it.

The trail is about a mile long. The slow-moving river alongside is concealed this midsummer by heavy vegetation. The trail surface is unpaved but wide and smooth. There’s one road crossing. The trail peters out at NH Route 13, behind a gas station and a pizza restaurant. The parking there makes a convenient starting point for anyone who wants to go out-and-back along the trail from that direction.

After a hilly walk at the Andres Institute, the flat Brookline trail might be a good way to get the kinks out of those sore legs.