Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board directs halt to new bike‑trail work until maps, signage and operations plan are clarified
Summary
After reports of unmarked or altered bike-trails, damaged culverts and missing signage at the Abenaki/Singlertrack trail system, the board voted to pause approval of new trail construction until staff and trail groups provide clear maps, naming, signage, and an agreed maintenance and operations plan.
The Wolfeboro Board of Selectmen on May 20 directed staff and trail partners to pause approval of new bike‑trail construction at the Abenaki/Singletrack system until the town receives clear, usable maps, consistent trail naming and a maintenance/operations plan.
Select Board members described on‑the‑ground evidence that maps the town had received did not match current trails, that signage had not been installed, and that some trail changes were made without board knowledge. "We had maps that we were using to try and locate trails and then we were told that the trails were not the trails on the map," one board member said during the discussion.
Staff and Parks & Recreation representatives said they would coordinate to produce a master map, install legible signage, and identify a staff point person (Beau) to monitor trail work and maintenance. The board asked that closed or discontinued trails be permanently gated or otherwise made nonfunctional, that hazardous modifications (for example, trail cuts that affect ski operations) be restored to agreed conditions, and that a letter be drafted directing trail groups to stop new work pending the plan.
The motion to stop further approvals until the requested materials and operational clarity are provided carried on a voice vote; staff were assigned to draft a letter to the trail operator and to work with the trail group on a remediation and maintenance plan.
Board members said the licensing agreement with the trail operator runs through Dec. 31, 2026, and that the town will use that window to update expectations and requirements for trail construction and signage.
