As more residents and visitors elect to walk and bike around the city, Lebanon is committed to making our streets safe and inviting for non-motorized users. The purpose of the Walk, Bike, Ride Leb (WBRL) Plan is to create a safe, comfortable, and connected walking and bicycling network in the City of Lebanon, including connections to public transportation. The WBRL Plan is founded on a review of existing data and plans, and the incorporation of diverse public input. It identifies the community’s highest priority multimodal improvements. Now near completion, the final draft of the WBRL plan is poised as a key tool to inform how walking and bicycling improvements are factored into City budgets and Capital Improvements Programs, which grant opportunities are pursued, and how new and existing developments can be connected to the walking and bicycling network.
To provide comments on the WBRL Plan, email rebecca.owens@lebanonnh.gov or attend one of the following public meetings where the plan will be considered for endorsement and adoption. Full meeting details will be available at LebanonNH.gov/LIVE.
Do you remember how the Greenway looked ten years ago? There was a vision:
“The Mascoma River Greenway (MRG) will be a 4 mile multi-use separated pathway starting from the current terminus of the Northern Rail Trail at Spencer Street in downtown Lebanon, NH to West Lebanon’s Rt. 12-A and Seminary Hill, extending the Northern Rail Trail from its beginning in southern NH. The MRG will be the core transportation corridor for bikes and pedestrians through the heart of Lebanon and West Lebanon, connecting Lebanon’s neighborhoods with workplaces, schools, open spaces, shopping areas, restaurants, a medical center and transit stops.”
Did we fully appreciate how many steps there would be along the way? So much problem-solving! Negotiations with the State of NH and the railroads, fundraising, access points, parking, maps, benches, kiosks, bridge reconstruction, erosion control, tunnel redevelopment, collapse of the Iron Horse Park plans that would facilitate reaching West Lebanon.
It has taken huge effort on the part of many people (browse through this blogsite to see some of that effort), including lots of volunteer energy to get us where we are today. And there is lots of energy building, in West Lebanon in particular, to complete and expand the vision. Last October, a host of volunteers turned out for the clean-up and revitalization of the Bridge Street area – a new park which now has picnic tables, story signs, and many more trees and plantings. (See Photos and Lebanon Times article on the event.) And then take a look at an expanded vision of developing the Westboro Yards Waterfront Park and connecting the trail to downtown West Lebanon, to Vermont, to Boston Lot and beyond. You can join the mailing list at that expanded vision site and follow the progress . . . and maybe join in the effort? Lots of other resources available at that site.
Here is the text of Cindy Heath’s tribute to the MRG founders and supporters at the official Opening Day of the MRG in 2018.
After years of stasis on making land in the Westboro Rail Yard publicly available, state and city officials last week met to talk over a potential sale of 6.7 acres of state-owned land along the Connecticut that could, at some point, become a park and provide a link through West Leb to the Mascoma River Greenway and Northern Rail Trail. They reached a tentative agreement, reports Patrick Adrian in the Valley News: The city will buy the land for an undetermined price, the state will remove existing contaminants. There is a long list of official sign-offs to come.
Thanks to grants from the AARP Community Challenge program and the Granite State Wheelmen, Friends of the Northern Rail Trail (FNRT) and Lebanon Recreation, Arts, and Parks have collaborated to bring Cycling Without Age to Lebanon’s MRG and NRT Trails. This international program connects volunteer cyclists with seniors and others with mobility restrictions to enjoy a ride on the Trails. We’re building our team of “pilots” now!
If you would like to learn more about becoming a trishaw pilot and upcoming trainings, contact Sean.dittrich@gmail.com
To support this program in other ways, contact Amyjwchan@gmail.com.
For a 3 min video introduction to the program, check out
Over the years, progress has been made toward improving the safety and comfort of walking and bicycling in the City of Lebanon. Some notable achievements include the construction of the Mascoma River Greenway, improved pedestrian safety along the Miracle Mile, addition of sidewalks, and the adoption of a Complete Streets policy.
However, Lebanon has never had a comprehensive, citywide plan for walking and bicycling. Once completed, this plan will identify specific actions that the City can take to develop a safe, comfortable, and connected walking and bicycling network, including connections to public transportation services.
The plan will inform how walking and bicycling improvements factor into future City budgets and Capital Improvements Programs, which grant opportunities are pursued, and how new and existing developments can be connected into the walking and bicycling network. Taking a City-wide approach will help identify the highest-priority improvements that can be achieved with limited resources and funding.
Walk, Bike, Ride Leb – Online Survey
What would help you and others to get around Lebanon by foot, bike and bus more often–and with less stress? Take a visual stroll with us through the Walk, Bike, Ride Leb plan’s themes and take a brief survey to share your thoughts with the City of Lebanon decision-makers. Access the Public Input Portal here.
Looking eastward under Hanover Street bridge toward the downtown Mall
Though it will be many months before the work is completed, it’s encouraging to see progress toward connecting the Mascoma River Greenway to the Northern Rail Trail via the tunnel. The Mall parking area, that once formed the roof of the tunnel, has been removed. (See the plan for how it will eventually look.) There is a plan for major work to be done on the Hanover Street bridge next summer, which is likely to delay tunnel use, but step by step we are moving forward.
Join Upper Valley Apple Corps and the MRG Pollinator Corridor Project for a day of planting fruit trees and berry bushes along the Mascoma River Greenway. We are “Planting for Solutions” as a part of the global strike week to raise awareness about climate emergency. With funding from the Robert F. Church Charitable Trust, we will be planting organic fruit trees and berry bushes in support of pollinators, wildlife, and even hungry humans.
WHEN: Saturday, September 21st, 10:00-3:00 pm with a lunch break at 1:00 pm
WHERE: Park across from Alice Peck Day Homestead Building and walk west along the Mascoma River Greenway to the next parking lot ~ 500 yards.
WHY: To be a part of the solution, to have fun with community, and to learn to plant and care for fruit trees!
Bring gloves, water, and lunch. Tools and cider will be provided.
As we expand our MRG Pollinator Corridor to support healthy habitat for bees, butterflies, birds, and other creatures, it is especially exciting to learn of the Lebanon Recreation & Parks Department’s plans for controlling poison ivy: “Goats NOT Herbicides.”
The pilot project will begin Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at Riverside Community Park, Civic Memorial Park, Basin Field, and on the Mascoma River Greenway near the public art sculpture “Wheels”.
The goats and sheep will be fenced in around their browsing (eating) areas containing poison ivy, which will include shade and water for the animals. The animal’s caregivers will also be onsite.
For some “Goats 101” if you stop by to see them at one of these sites:
Respect the herders and listen to what they say; they are here to keep the animals safe and need your cooperation.
Please do not try to pet the animals; goats can eat and be exposed to poison ivy with no harm to them, but touching the goats exposed to poison ivy oils can affect humans.
Keep dogs on a leash at all times.
Please remember good trail etiquette and slowdown in the work zone.
If you would like to stop and watch the animals, please stand off the trail to allow other users to pass safely.
The Mascoma River Greenway is still a work in progress. The closing of the tunnel under Lebanon’s downtown mall has stymied our linking to the Northern Rail Trail; renovations of the tunnel and the mall are scheduled for summer 2020. The connection to White River Junction on the western end is still in search of a solution. There are other items on the drawing table:
A map of the MRG with parking and access points and distances between points is being created by Dartmouth’s Thayer School students. Way-finding signage is also in progress.
Kiosks are being repaired and built – they will display the above map and other items of interest.
Benches are purchased and awaiting installation.
A pollinator corridor is being created. There are currently four gardens with more plantings planned. (More info)
The MRG is a well-used and much enjoyed resource and will continue to improve over time. In the meantime, it has been great to see runners, bikers, dog walkers, baby strollers, roller-bladers, birders, wildflower enthusiasts, skateboarders, skate-skiers, snow-shoers, cross-country skiers, and young children learning to ride bikes, all actively enjoying this wonderful resource.
The Mascoma River Greenway 