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New Hampshire Coast Greenway Alliance updates council on rail-trail use, maintenance and funding plans
Summary
The New Hampshire Coast Greenway Alliance reported high use of Portsmouth’s rail-trail segment, ongoing volunteer maintenance, a $30,000/year maintenance cost covered by donations, and plans for an $850,000 grant and adopt-a-trail fundraising to support future upkeep.
David Allen, president of the New Hampshire Coast Greenway Alliance, gave the City Council an update on the rail-trail on May 4. The alliance manages maintenance coordination for the state-owned corridor and has contracted landscaping work that costs about $30,000 a year for the eight-mile Portsmouth-area segment. Allen said volunteer teams (including the Portsmouth High School cycling team and Eagle Scouts) helped install mile markers and kiosks and that traffic counters show as many as 1,200 users on peak weekend days and 400–500 users on weekdays in the Portsmouth skate-park area.
The alliance said it expects an $850,000 grant to fund trailhead design and will install six permanent trail counters with support from the East Coast Greenway organization. To fund ongoing maintenance long-term, the alliance plans an adopt-a-trail program offering small donor placards for families and businesses. Councilors praised the volunteer work and asked alliance representatives to coordinate maps and amenity wayfinding with city staff.
What’s next: Alliance plans ribbon-cutting for an extension later in May, installation of permanent counters, and launch of the adopt-a-trail fundraising software within weeks.
