Baboosic Greenway: Amherst South 01

Amherst South 01 forms the beginning of a southward spur in the route which stands to connect the Village with the Lac Rubis trail network, Forest View Cemetary, Souhegan High School, Amherst Middle School, Ponemah Bog, and Buck Meadow Conservation land.

A photo culvert work in May 2024 along the route of Amherst South 01

Location

This segment of the Baboosic Greenway is in the center of Amherst, just southeast of the Amherst Village Historic District, spanning 5,663 south along the abandoned Milford and Manchester Branch rail bed, until it reaches Boston Post Rd. Starting at Baboosic Greenway segment Amherst North 03 to the north, where it joins at a proposed midblock crossing at Amherst St (NH 122) and Baboosic Greenway segment Amherst South 02 to the south, also at a proposed midblock crossing, across Boston Post Rd.

Map of the proposed treatments and routing of Amherst South 01

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to complete a segment of the Baboosic Greenway by the establishment of ROW and a shared-use path along the abandoned Milford and Manchester Branch rail bed. This segment of the route has perennially appeared in local plans, studies, and requests in the Town of Amherst as it stands to serve a crucial role in a north-south alternative transportation corridor in town, with hopes of connecting the Amherst Village to the southern school campus area.

This project continues to build out the mission of the Baboosic Greenway, which stands to create a regional spine for a broader off-road trail network for the purposes of enhancing safety, increase regional mobility, and expand accessibility for persons who are unable to transport themselves by motor vehicle.

Connectivity-focused facilities such as these provide area residents with a unique opportunity to move throughout their town and the region off-road, offering a peaceful journey reduced interaction with motor vehicles. This can provide exceptionally safe and convenient mobility for multimodal users, especially if they are a member of a vulnerable population or if their route would otherwise take them on a busy roadway.

Need

This segment of the Baboosic Greenway offers a direct, parallel route for users to bypass NH 122 between Boston Post Rd and the Amherst Village area. This portion of NH 122 has a fairly narrow ROW, horizontal and vertical sight distance problems, narrow shoulders, and is generally seen as dangerous for nonmotorized users. This portion of NH 122 has a level of traffic stress of 4, “uncomfortable for most”. By providing a safe alternative along one of Amherst’s highest volume roadways, this project would represent a significant accomplishment toward developing an area-wide, safe alternative transportation network.

Improvements in the area of Mulberry Lane

Data

Calculating the data of this project, linear feet numbers of each treatment are provided below:

Project Status

The current status of Amherst South 01 is as follows: