Design obstacles facing second phase of WOW Trail may not be as daunting as originally feared

LACONIA — After walking the planned route of the second phase of the Winnisquam-Opechee-Winnipesaukee (WOW) Recreational Trail, between Veteran's Square and Belmont, with officials of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT) yesterday, Diane Hanley, president of the WOW Trail Committee, was encouraged that the design and engineering challenges appear less formidable than first feared.

Hanley, along with Alan Beetle, a founding member of the WOW Committee, were joined by Brian Lombard and Larry Keniston of the Rail and Transit Bureau of DOT as well as Luke Powell, assistant director of public works, Kevin Dunleavy, director of parks and recreation, Eric Senecal of the Lakes Region Planning Commission, City Councilor Matt Lahey (Ward 2) and Rick Ball of the Belmont Planning Department.

The second phase of the trail follows the railway corridor to the point on Court Street, opposite the St. Francis Home, where a paved and fenced footpath crosses the Belmont town line and leads to the Belmont town beach. The purpose of the tour was intended to identify sections of the corridor where its width and topography would not readily accommodate a paved recreational trail 12 feet from the railroad track and eight to ten feet in width.

The trail path lies within the railway corridor, which is owned by the state and used by the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, and since 2003, when it was first conceived, the DOT has prescribed stringent conditions on its design and engineering. However, Hanley said that Lombard was "receptive and encouraging" during yesterday's tour and more eager to overcome obstacles than to raise them.

There are stretches of the route where the trail would run close to private businesses and residences, one where there are two sets of rails alongside Pitman's Freight Room, and several between Fair Street and Bayview Avenue, a private road off Court Street. In a number of places, state-owned property within the corridor, where the trail could be built, has been landscaped by adjacent property owners, in particular beyond Bartlett Beach where the steep slope to the lake requires the trail to be built on the east side of the tracks.

The WOW Committee has opened conversations with abutters. Many, especially those whose property backs on to Lake Winnisquam, are troubled by the prospect of a four-foot chain-link fence, which DOT requires between the trail and the track. Hanley was pleased to learn that when Powell asked Lombard if split-rail fencing, or some other more aesthetic barrier could be erected near private properties, he received a positive response.

Fencing has long been a bone of contention between the WOW Committee and the DOT. Lombard said yesterday that he was concerned that where the trail borders the lake people would be tempted to cross the tracks to reach the shoreline. "The fence is a barrier and containment," he said.

Hanley was also glad to learn that wetlands along the route were unlikely to pose major problems. Between Bay Street and Keasor Court there appears sufficient space to route the trail on the west side of the tracks, avoiding the residences and wetlands to the east. There is a wetland area near Bartlett Beach, which Powell expected could either be traversed with minimal impacts or skirted by crossing to the east side of the tracks. A ditch alongside the east side of the tracks beyond Keasor Court, Powell said, had little or no value as a wetland.

Earlier Steve Smith of Steven Smith & Associates Engineers, Inc., who is a member of the WOW Committee, suggested that because of the narrowness of the corridor, presence of wetlands and proximity of businesses and residences, the cost of the second phase of the project could reach $1-million.

After walking the route Powell declined to offer an estimate, but said that apart from a footbridge over Durkee Brook at the south end of Bartlett Beach, the route did not appear to require major structural work, like the retaining walls at Moulton Street on the first phase.

Although pleased by the DOT's approach to the route, Hanley indicated that the committee would continue to press the agency to lift or relax its requirement for fencing along the length of the trail as well as to renew its pursuit of legislation to indemnify railroad operators from liability.

Senecal noted that trails within active railway corridors "work without fences or barriers all over the world" while Charles Martin of the New Hampshire Rail Trail Coalition warned that "liability is killing this whole trail concept."