Construction is expected to start this year on a major pedestrian and bicycle path in Keene. “We've been working for this since 1995,” Chuck Redfern told the Valley Post. He is a member of the board of Pathways for Keene, a group of volunteers that promotes the development, maintenance, and use of alternative transportation in Keene. “We raised $30,000 for this and we think it's finally going to happen.”

The project will cost about $650,000 and will be paid for mostly by the state. Some of that money will be used to buy land for the trail. City officials will hold a public hearing about the project on January 6 at 6:30 p.m. at 60 Winter Street. About 23,000 people live in Keene. It's the biggest town in southwestern New Hampshire.

This project will create “the core of the system where where three major trails, the Cheshire Rail Trail, the Ashuelot Rail Trail, and Jonathan Daniels Trail converge,” city engineer James Donison said.

The Cheshire Rail Trail is 42 miles long and goes from Keene to Winchester, New Hampshire. More information about the Cheshire Rail Trail trail, and photos of the trail, are at:

www.nhstateparks.org/explore/bureau-of-trails/cheshire-recreational-trai...

The Ashuelot Rail Trail is 23 miles long and goes from Keene to Hinsdale, New Hampshire. Hinsdale borders Brattleboro, Vermont. More information about the Ashuelot Rail Trail trail, and a photo of the trail, is at:

www.railstotrails.org/news/recurringfeatures/trailmonth/archives/0302.html

More information about the new trail that will be built this year is available by contacting the board members whose names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses are at www.PathwaysForKeene.org or by calling Donison at (603) 352-6550.

There are rail trails in Brattleboro www.WestRiverTrail.org and Northampton: www.fntg.net.