Navigating Manchester’s Urban Paths
Hello Manchester! Let’s talk more about adventures in our beautiful city on foot, scooter, bicycle, etc. Foliage is gorgeous, and wonderful days lie ahead, full of cool mornings & bright sun.
In this edition, let’s talk about ….
- the Bicycle Friendly Community Survey
- the Derry Rail Trail lawsuit & injunction
- Women finally invited to world’s biggest mountain-bike competition
- new bike lanes near Market Basket
- rail trail extension near Queen City Ave
Let’s dive in!
Bicycle Friendly Community Survey by League of American Bicyclists
Many of us would love for everyone to be able to ride their bicycles safely and enjoyably, with plenty of routes that are well-maintained and well-connected, and where everyone recognizes the benefits and joys of bicycling. Help the League of American Bicyclists move toward that reality, by taking their survey. They want to learn what it’s like to ride a bike where you live, and how your community can do better.
They hope to build a census of experiences and perceptions of bike riding across the United States.
Your personal biking experiences, and feedback about your community, helps the League understand what barriers keep people like you from riding more safely or more often.
Take the survey here.
Derry Rail Trail lawsuit & injunction
Rewind your memories, way, way back… all the way to 1988. In that year, plans were approved to build a new exit, Exit 4A, on I-93 in Derry. But then many delays intervened. Fast-forward to today, and work on Exit 4A is moving forward, with an access road already under construction near the Londonderry-Derry border.
• Original Plan
It is when we focus on this access road, Folsom Road, that things get interesting. Folsom Road, after this construction, will cross an existing multi-use rail-trail, already in daily use, which begins in Salem, hits a one-mile gap in Derry, then continues in Londonderry, through the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad Historic District.
This trail, the Derry Rail Trail, sees 1,000 to 1,500 commuters and recreational users each day, according to the NH DOT. Based on estimates of money spent by regular and visiting users during their travels, rail trails are expected to contribute about $18.7 million in annual revenue to the state. Of that, $7.5 million is expected to come from the Windham, Derry and Londonderry section, according to the DOT’s 2022 Rail Trails Plan.
The plan for Folsom Road to cross the rail-trail emerged in 2018 following a three year study which received funding of $5 million each from Derry & Londonderry. This plan called for a box tunnel under Folsom Road, thus totally eliminating interactions with traffic. Box tunnels are used frequently on rail trails across New Hampshire, including in Salem, Windham, Concord and Manchester. This plan was presented publicly, approved and fully funded in 2019. Most of the funding came from the federal government. This design also would complete the one-mile rail trail gap in Derry. Total project cost was estimated between $110 million to $130 million.
• Modified Plan
After the plan was approved & fully funded in 2019, something happened. In 2024, the state modified the design, removing the tunnel and replacing it with a long indirect path including steep grades, a 90 degree turn, and a traffic signal with button that trail users must push to request that 6 lanes of vehicle traffic stop so that the button pusher may cross those 6 lanes. Whether the amount of time allowed is adequate for pedestrians to cross six lanes has been questioned by many interested parties.
The state estimates that eliminating the tunnel will save about $750,000. Using the total cost estimates above, that means eliminating the tunnel will save at most 0.7 percent of total cost. To be clear, that’s ZERO POINT SEVEN PERCENT. Less than a penny on the dollar.
The modified plan was presented at a single public meeting during which the majority of the feedback was negative. However, it appears that feedback was ignored.
• Lawsuit
Following the changes to the plan, a lawsuit was filed Aug 26 2024 in US District Court in Concord by 2 plaintiffs:
- the Committee to Save the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel (local nonprofit)
- Rails to Trails Conservancy, a nation-wide nonprofit
The Suit claims the new plan is:
- unsafe to users (pedestrians, bikers, disabled)
- violates Section 4 F of the DoT Act, which says in part: “land from historic sites of national, state, or local significance will not be used for transportation projects unless there is no alternative for the project and if the project minimizes harm to the historic site. According to both nonprofits, rail trails fall under historic land.”
Named as defendants in the lawsuit were:
- NH DOT Commissioner William Cass
- FHA administrator Shailen Bhat
- FHA NH Division administrator Patrick Bauer
Some quotes from the lawsuit:
- “Creating Safety Hazards for Community”
- “NHDOT and FHWA are in direct violation of federal law”
- “completely obliterates the historic rail corridor”
- “…Tunnel has been completely jettisoned, even though it … would keep many thousands of anticipated users safe…”
- “Only one public meeting was held to review the alternate design, where public opposition was extensive, in part because of the safety concerns it introduces to the community.”
- “the pedestrian-walk phase of the crossing signal planned for these six lanes is unprotected from turning vehicles and does not provide sufficient time for older individuals and people with disabilities to cross.”
Video
Attorney Andrew D. Meyers produced a great 47-minute video on this topic, available here:
If you’re in a rush YouTube allows you to watch it a faster speed. I found 1.5x was eminently understandable.
Faults of New Plan as claimed by opponents
- longer
- less direct
- steep grades
- hairpin turn
- area prone to flooding
- maintenance costs accrue to town
- requires “beg button” to be pressed to cross 6 lane road
- cross light time insufficient for elderly, disabled, moms w/ strollers
- saves less that 1% of project cost
- violates federal law
- obliterates historic rail corridor
- unsafe
- insufficient public review
- negative public input was ignored
- crossing is unprotected from turning vehicles
- puts at risk $7.5 million of estimated spending by visitors along this section of trail
Benefits of New Plan as claimed by supporters
- longer, more scenic
- saves $770,000
- town would save on routine maintenance
- tunnel prone to flooding
- tunnel would cause more drainage issues for the town overall
I encourage you to read more about this plan. At the time of this writing:
- rail trail supporters have requested a preliminary injunction to halt construction until the court rules on the lawsuit
- the defendants (state & federal commissioner & administrators) have until November 8 to respond to that request.
The quality of multi-use rail trails in southern New Hampshire hangs in the balance.
Women Finally Invited to Rampage
Rampage is the biggest, scariest and most lucrative mountain-bike competition in the world. Riders fly down steep drops and over big jumps while carving turns at the edges of cliffs. It’s also by-invitation-only, and up until this year, all invitees had been men.
But last Thursday, after 20+ years, Rampage became the latest athletic spectacle where women finally have equal access and pay with men. Said one observer, “It’s 2024, and the stigma of girls doing the most extreme sports is a thing of the past.”
This year’s first competitor was 28-year-old New Zealander who navigated a series of rocky, technical sections and a couple of gut-sinking drops. She performed two backflips during jumps. After the event finished, she received the highest score and a prize of $100,000, the same as for the men who competed two days later and bigger than any other payout in the sport.
An Argentinean rider dropped out after a face plant during practice gave her a concussion, a broken nose and a dozen stitches on her face. Nevertheless, she hugged each of her friends as they reached the bottom.
Each year, the small number of invitees receive a starting point A and a finishing point B. But the route from A to B is up to them. They are allowed to visit the site, inspect it, bring friends and shovels, build the trail they want to ride, and practice on it. All so as to maximally impress a panel of five judges. Oh, and also to survive.
Read more here.
New Bike Lanes Near Market Basket
When the city repaves streets, they sometimes install additional improvements, such as bike lanes. This happened recently downtown near Market Basket, when West Auburn St. and the southern end of Canal St. were repaved. The new bike lanes are shown in purple on the map below.
These lanes give great access in and out of Market Basket. So expect to see some cargo bikes there soon!
Multi-Use Rail Trail Extension near Queen City Ave
Near where Queen City Ave slices through Baker Street, before intersecting with South Willow St., work is under way to convert the old rail line into the latest addition to the South Manchester Rail Trail. Soon you’ll be able to walk or skate or bike all the way from Queen City Ave to the trail’s south end at the airport, a little over 2.5 miles south with an elevation difference of 100 feet. A nice little stretch of the legs.
The map below shows the former railroad as a diagonal strip of green, with a marker where these photos were taken.
The image below zooms out to show the entire rail trail in blue from Queen City Ave to the airport. Note the northern end of the blue path is misaligned due to my navigation software being unaware of this new stretch of trail.
Call for Input
We very much want to hear from you! Do you have any questions or concerns? What topics would you like us to cover? Send your feedback our way and we’ll get on it! We want to ensure this column meets your needs.
Stay safe and have fun out there!
