Trails Committee Steps Forth in Berwick

BERWICK - A new committee in Berwick was born this week when the Trails Committee held their first successful meeting Thursday night at town hall. Town planner, John Stoll, and Downtown Vision Committee co-chair, Jessica Sheldon, met with three volunteers that expressed interest in developing trail systems in Berwick.

The group immediately identified the need to create a networking between locals that can contribute information on where existing trails are located.

“There are a lot of people that know a lot of trails and it would be great if we could get them all together and make this information known to the general public,” said Berwick resident Ben Watts.

Sheldon suggested a semi-formal dinner where potential stakeholders could gather and start conversation with each other on what could be done if they worked together to create a trail system.

The committee mapped out the trails they knew existed and advanced to brainstorming ideas for new trail systems. Some of the areas that were under discussion included Cemetery Road, Blackberry Hill Road, Pine Hill Road, Diamond Hill Road, and the elusive area between Logan and Dobson Road where the little known Penny Pond is said to exist.

Town Planner, John Stoll maps out existing trails with Berwick residents Ben Watts and Natalie Gould at the first Trails Committee Meeting in Berwick.

“Penny Pond isn’t really a pond, it’s more of a marsh right now,” said Stoll.

Stoll also spoke of the possibility of creating a trail system on two parcels of land off Blackberry Hill Road that were donated for land conservation.

“Just because it is conservation land doesn’t mean that we can’t create a trail on it,” said Stoll. “It means we can’t develop on it.”

Stoll suggested that landowners in the area may be in favor of the idea due to rumored squatters that were sitting on “land that wasn’t technically owned by anyone.”

The most feasible idea that came from the brainstorming session was creating a trail that ran from the Berwick Police Station to the Library. 

“Seeing the town owns all that land, it would be relatively easy to create a trail there,” said Stoll.

“The library is a great community asset but it’s a scary route to walk,” said Berwick resident Christine Irvin.

The idea was a hit with Sheldon who stated one of the things she would like to see most in Berwick was a way of connecting downtown to other parts of Berwick by trail.

Berwick resident Natalie Gould said adding a sidewalk in that area might be a possibility by means of utilizing a grant program called Safe Road to School.

“Well, I can tell you it’s certainly not a safe road to school right now,” said Sheldon.

The committee concluded the meeting by drafting a list of businesses, potential stakeholders, and organizations they could call upon for help in their efforts to move forward with the trail development tasks. The list included, but was not limited to, Eastern Trail Association, Rails to Trails Program, Salmon Falls Nursery, SAD 60, Great Works and PSNH.

“We want this to be a positive experience that nobody is going to be against and everybody is going to want,” said Stoll. 

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 If you could add a trail anywhere, where would it be, and why?