WINDHAM — Before pedaling over the Windham Rail Trail, bicyclists paused by an information kiosk they hope, someday soon, will display a trail route through three neighboring towns.
Members of the Southern New Hampshire Rail Trail Alliance want to make that hope a reality by securing a $1.3 million state transportation enhancement grant to build a paved trail connecting an 8-mile stretch from Old Rockingham Road in Salem north to Derry Center by the old train depot.
Yesterday, six members of the alliance took a step — more like a spin — in that direction. They toured stretches of the abandoned Manchester & Lawrence rail corridor with two New Hampshire Department of Transportation employees.
The key word for the project? "Connectivity," Wayne Morris said. "You'll be able to go from Derry Center to Salem."
Morris and Mark Samsel are alliance members from Windham.
Today, only 3.6 miles of the trail is paved in Windham and a 1.3-mile section in Derry.
The alliance members said the greater the distance that is connected, the more utility the trail will have.
A lengthy trail will serve recreation, business and transportation needs. It will host biking and walking fun, attract tourists and connect workers to jobs — locally or a short distance from park-and-ride lots, where they can take a bus to metropolitan areas.
It will bring "better access, less traffic on Route 28, and safer commuting," said Dave Topham, a Salem representative on the alliance.
John Maurice, another Salem alliance representative, said a longer trail will draw eco-tourists to the trail's vibrant setting.
"People will come from all directions," he said. "They will stop and eat and buy things."
Family physician John Daley, who represents Derry on the alliance, said the trail will boost people's health.
To motivate people to exercise, the activity needs to be convenient and pleasing, he said. The trail would succeed on both those counts, Daley said.
The state DOT employees who joined yesterday's tour, Larry Keniston and Jerry Moore, were inspecting the trail and any right-of-way issues. The state owns the vast majority of the rail bed.
Keniston and Moore will report their findings to the agency. The grant decision will fall to a DOT committee. The department has $6.4 million available in grants over the next two years.
Ultimately, the alliance would like to see a trail go all the way from Salem to Concord.
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