In a state with little public transportation available, with roads that aren’t always built with pedestrians and non-motorized traffic in mind, how do people get from Point A to Point B if they don’t have a car?
The Nashua Regional Planning Commission has one solution for a portion of the southern part of the state – take a rail line that already runs along sections of Route 101 and Route 101A, and create a pedestrian corridor that would give access to area shops and professionals to walkers and bikers.
Christopher Buchanan, who has been active in the effort to gauge public interest in a rail trail through the rail line, said those highways don’t cater to non-vehicle traffic.
“The reality is, this is a bit of a safety problem,” Buchanan said. He said that’s not unusual when building roads, particularly major throughways. “The consideration of safety, especially when it comes to non-motorized users, it’s secondary if not further down the list.”
The Nashua Regional Planning Commission estimates that there are 3,000 households with members who don’t have access to a motor vehicle or can’t drive within two miles of the corridor, making it a relevant problem for many people, Buchanan said.
During a webinar session on Thursday, representatives of the Nashua Regional Planning Commission and the newly developed Friends of the Souhegan Valley Rail Trail laid out the concept for creating a pathway that would likely run parallel to an in-use rail corridor which runs from Wilton to Nashua.
The rail is currently active, though not heavily used, and the plan the NRPC presented suggested a model that uses the corridor, with a paved path running next to the tracks, and keeping the rail lines in use. Buchanan said while there could be the possibility CSX does not want to continue to maintain the line, as there are still active users, the more likely scenario is either an easement or purchasing land adjacent to the track for a trail.
Matt Waitkins of the NRPC said the Planning Commission was “100 percent for” increased usage of the freight line and moving heavy truck traffic off local streets, and wasn’t interested in trying to disrupt that if CSX or another eventual owner was interested in keeping the line running.
Buchanan noted that there are other trails across the country that run parallel to active tracks, some much more active than the Wilton to Nashua line. Sometimes they have a fence or barrier between the rail and trail, and sometimes not, but are still statistically safer modes of travel for pedestrians than walking on the street or even on a sidewalk.
The plan at this point is largely broad strokes, with the NRPC mainly recruiting volunteers to lay the groundwork for the possibility of a future trail and gauging public interest. Before the project could even get off the ground, the state would first have to negotiate with the railway’s owner, which is currently PanAm, but is undergoing a transfer of ownership process to CSX.
Peter Leishman, the owner of the Milford-Bennington Railroad, which carries freight on the rail line, said after hearing more about the concept during Thursday’s webinar, he’s reassured that the rail line and a pedestrian corridor can work together.
“They made it clear they’re not looking to see the line removed, but to coexist,” Leishman said.
And though there’s many details to work out, Leishman said that as a concept, he can support a side-by-side trail and rail line.
“They have a long way to go, but it certainly could work,” Leishman said. “There’s ways to make it work.”
Among those issues, if the owner of the line is amenable to the concept, include an environmental and engineering study to determine the feasibility of building a trail. There are several points where the rail line goes over bridges or crosses wetlands, and a crossing that cuts across Route 101 which would require creative solutions to resolve.
If you are interested in joining the effort to create a rail trail, the Friends of the Souhegan Valley Rail Trail is scheduled to meet the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. via webconference. For more information about how to become a Friend of the Souhegan Valley Rail Trail and upcoming initiatives, volunteer at souheganvalleyrailtrail.org/join. More information is available on souheganvalleyrailtrail.org, or on Facebook at Friends of the Souhegan Valley Rail Trail or on Instagram @souheganvalleyrailtrail.