Send Comments RE: NH State Trails Plan

[pk]

Comments Needed by June 4th RE: Use of New Hampshire Rail Trails

The State of New Hampshire is currently deciding how it will use about 300
miles of state-owned rail corridors. Many of these old rail lines are
currently unused and some still have tracks in place. New Hampshire
Department of Transportation is considering many of the sections for
increased ATV use, and the ATV organizations are heavily involved in the
process.

Cyclists and pedestrians should provide public input about which trails
should allow motorized use and which should be for non-motorized use. Many
are concerned that the trails that have motorized use will displace other
users, and some of these trails pass ecologically sensitive areas that could
be adversely affected by ATV use.

For a map of the proposed trails, download this PDF:

http://www.rizzo.com/nh_state_trails_plan/pdf/NH%20State%20Trails%20--%20Statewide%20Map.pdf

Please send your comments about what uses you'd like to see on the proposed
trails to:


Ram Maddali, Project Manager
New Hampshire Department of Transportation
7 Hazen Drive, PO Box 483
Concord NH 03302-0483

To comment by email: rmaddali@dot.state.nh.us

The form at the link below highlights the type of input requested:

http://www.rizzo.com/nh_state_trails_plan/docs/comments%20form%20for%20public%20meetings.doc

The Appalachian Mountain Club has highlighted the following points:

1. Safe places for recreation and transportation
The state-owned rail corridors present an opportunity for the citizens
of New Hampshire, as well as tourists, to build healthy lifestyles by
engaging in outdoor non-motorized recreation and transportation. In both
metropolitan and rural areas, these corridors can provide an inviting
and safe way to get off roads to places where people can feel safer
walking and cycling for either recreation or transportation.

Mixing motorized and non-motorized uses on the same trail can often
intimidate non-motorized recreational users. The recreational experience
should not be an intimidating one and the State of New Hampshire has an
excellent opportunity to make public trail opportunities more readily
available to its citizens by making non-motorized trail designations on
the rail corridors.

2. Demand for non-motorized recreation
While approximately 22,000 New Hampshire residents (2%) have wheeled
OHRV's registered in the state, 290,099 residents (25.6%) participate
in off-road bicycling (not including paved road and single track
bicycling) and 79% of New Hampshire residents enjoy walking, jogging,
or running for recreation. These figures show that there is a strong
demand for public recreational uses.

3. Connecting Communities
The planning for state-owned rail corridors should be integrated with
city and town planning for bike and pedestrian opportunities. Many of
these rail trails could increase connectivity with communities' existing
or planned trails.

4. Impacts of ATVs on sensitive ecosystems
The impacts of ATV use on rail corridors that cross fragile habitat or
bisect important landscape habitat should be thoroughly evaluated before
designating them for ATV use to protect the ecological integrity of
sensitive areas. Many of the trails pass through areas of exceptional
biodiversity and critical wildlife habitat.

Philip Keyes
Executive Director
NEMBA
PO Box 2221
Acton MA 01720
P: 800-57-NEMBA
P: 978-636-1718 (outside USA)
F: 928-395-7759
E: pk@nemba.org
http://www.nemba.org

[ArmOnFire]

I'll do my part.
There must be more people from NH in here.

[snembalen]

Here is your chance, and we are down to the wire, don't put it off, get it done today and know you have done your part.

It's simple send an email to Ram Maddali, Project Manager at rmaddali@dot.state.nh.us and let him know how you feel the old rail trails should be used.

There are powerful lobbys at work here but this decision is up to the public and the most votes wins. Be counted, make your voice heard!

[CouchingTiger]

4. Impacts of ATVs on sensitive ecosystems
The impacts of ATV use on rail corridors that cross fragile habitat or
bisect important landscape habitat should be thoroughly evaluated before
designating them for ATV use to protect the ecological integrity of
sensitive areas. Many of the trails pass through areas of exceptional
biodiversity and critical wildlife habitat.


Impact of ATV use on a rail corrodor. That's a good one. Uh, yea, 100 years of creosote soaked RR tie leaching coupled with continual spray of defoliants on the bed is AOK, but god forbid ATV's are allowed on the crushed rock beds. WTF?

Driving between my place in MA and my place in ME up RT93 in NH I'm amazed at the number of vehicles with muiltiple ATV's. It's not to the point where the numbers are as high as snowmobiles but it's getting there, quickly. It's certainly more than the number of bicycles I see.

ATV's are also paying customers as they need state registration. The states of NH and ME are starting to see the benefits of ATVs in terms of tourist dollars, much the same as that of snowmobiling. It'll be interesting to see how this goes. Personally, I think RR beds are the perfect spot. They are also heavily used in the winter for snowmobiling which means dual purpose, year long trails that are already setup and probably the best bet from an eco standpoint.

-Couch

[ArmOnFire]

I've been doing my own little survey on my rides home from work, MA to NH on Friday afternoons this summer.

More bicycles counted than ATV's. (all types of bikes, all types of ATV's)

Route surveyed: parking lot 495