Seabrook Rail Trail
The Eastern Rail Road Corridor begins at Route 286 and the MA State line.
This is where the Atlantic Depot Station once stood. This area could be an access point for Veterans Memorial Park on South Main Street. Photo looking south towards Route 286.
From Rt.286 the corridor runs parallel to Pickens Ave, then alongside Quaker Lane.
(Looking south from Walton Road)
Next it crosses over Walton Road. This bridge may come down at some point. One of the goals of this group would be to make sure it becomes a safe crossing for bikes & pedestrians if the bridge is removed.
If sidewalks were installed on Walton Road, this connection would be great! Imagine students being able to ride their bikes or walk safely to & from school, the library, Rec. center and ball fields or home!
It's possible that we could get grant money from Safe Route to Schools (SRTS).
FYI
According to the United States federal government, in 1969 approximately half of all students in the U.S. walked or bicycled to school,
and 87 percent of children who lived within one mile of school came on foot or by bicycle
(Bureau of Transportation Statistics 1969). But by the year 2003 the situation had changed, with only about
15 percent of U.S. students making the trip to school under their own power .
(Environmental Protection Agency 2003).
North of Walton Road the corridor crosses
Cains Mill Pond and Noyes Pond, which is separated by the beautiful Historic Gothic Stone Archway Culvert. In recent years this unique treasure has sustained serious damage through vandalism and weather extremes.
One of the priorities should be to stabilize this town treasure to prevent future damage, then to restore it to it's former beauty. The Seabrook Conservation Commission has attempted to get this listed on the NH State Register of Historic Places. If this happens, we may be eligible for funds to restore and maintain.
(Photos credit Duncan Mellor Waterfront Engineers.com)
Abutting the Stone Arch Culvert and Cains Mill Pond, (behind Home Depot) is a 1.5 acre parcel designated as a park. The plan is to make this small park into a picnic area and canoe launch.
The 'Cains Brook Watershed Restoration' project, headed by
Seabrook Conservation Commission,includes the dredging of Cains Mill Pond. (It could look like this!)
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It then runs between the Seabrook Library and the Walmart/Shaws shopping center. This would be a possible parking area for citizens who want to use the trail, but do not live close enough to walk there. (Click on map)
It continues to pass by Boynton Lane, which possibly could be used as an access point to the Seabrook Recreation Center and Market Basket shopping plaza. When the traffic lights were put in for the Boynton Lane/ Kohls shopping center, a cross walk was also added as a safe place to cross Route 1 to the recreation center.
Next it crosses Railroad Ave where the bridge was removed years ago. This would be a great access point for residents of the Senior Housing Development.
Our senior citizens would have a safe place to walk and use their electric wheel chairs/scooters to access the library and shopping centers. Looking south from Railroad Ave.
Beyond the Railroad Ave crossing, we head north towards Seabrook Station. That is the tricky part. When we reach the South Access Road, the trail could take a detour off the R.R. corridor. This all depends on what can be worked out with FLP, who owns the plant. We have had a meeting with them and FLP seemed approachable for solving our problem. Though nothing is written in stone, it could mean skirting the outside of the property.
Once the North Access Road is reached, east bound would connect you back to the RR corridor. West bound could connect you with the area of the Market Basket/Northgate shopping center. Hopefully, when the shopping center is renovated, if a traffic light goes in, a crosswalk could be added and it could become a safe crossing for access to the Gov. Weare Recreation Field (top left corner of photo).
Past the FLP Plant is the Brown River Culvert. It was rebuilt a few years ago and you can see all the way to Hampton Beach from there. It would be a great area to place a few benches and drop in a fishing line. It then proceeds to the Hampton Falls marsh and onto Hampton.
(Above photos courtesy of Kenyon F Karl unless other wise noted, Maps by Google.)
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