Updated 09/27/24 – What’s Happening?
First, fundraising! Please read on to learn more about our plans. We hope you will consider donating to help us finish this project in 2024.
- We recently rebuilt our entire parking lot to Accessible grades and surfaces.
- Starting in early-mid October, we plan on upgrading all 2,500 feet of Phase 2 trails (dashed lines in the revised plan) to the 6-foot-wide Accessible surface.
- Sometime later in the fall we will build the bridge on the Blue trail, closing the loop.
How are we paying for all this?
- First, let’s be clear on how we are NOT paying for this. People have asked why there was no Warrant Article to approve this project. The reason is simple – no Town of Atkinson tax revenue will be spent.
- The Engineering work was funded by a 2022 ARPA (Covid relief) grant. Without it, this project would most likely still be just a dream.
- The Phase 1 construction completed in 2023 was paid for exclusively with private donations from community-based civic groups, generous individuals, and local businesses. We are forever grateful for the trust you placed in this small-town Conservation Commission as we took on such an ambitious project. We hope you are as pleased with our Phase 1 results as we are.
- We kept our Phase 1 costs down thanks in part to approximately 150 hours of volunteer labor.
- For Phase 2, the good news is we have secured a 2024 Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant to support our construction. This “free money” comes with a catch – we must raise over $15,000 in matching funds.
- The scope of our RTP grant award is limited specifically to upgrading our parking lot and 2,500 feet of trails to accessible standards and surfaces. All wooden structures – the bridge, the observation platform, benches, etc. will require an additional $15,000.
Donate to 2024 Phase 2 Construction
Please download/print this form and mail it with your check if you can donate to our construction fund for Phase 2. Our goal is to receive $30,000 in private donations, ASAP. (9/27/24 update – we are halfway there, and hoping to raise the remaining $15,000 by October 15).
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The Forest
A brief recent history
The Slade Town Forest came to be in 1979 when the Atkinson Conservation Commission acquired the 12-acre Robert and Christa Slade parcel. In 2012 the 7-acre “Jane Jones Lot” was added, providing additional pristine forest, a seasonal stream, and frontage on the Stewart Farm Pond prime wetland. This 19-acre gem is home to some of the oldest trees in town. It was a well-kept local secret until October of 2022 when we started laying out our “Universally Accessible” trail system.
Location
You’ll find both a trailhead parking lot and a roadside trail entrance on Pope Road (not to be confused with Woodlock Park Lane, which was called Pope Road until 2010). The real Pope Road can only be accessed from Main Street/Route 121. The intersection is clearly marked with a white road sign and a green sign for Settlers Ridge. Our 2 access points are on the right, just beyond #4 Pope Road. Note the location in this aerial view:
(Our “Phase 1” trails with their 6-foot wide surface are clearly visible in this satellite image, taken in March 2024 with no leaves on the trees. )
Accessible Trails – General Information
What’s in a name?
Accessible Trail, Universally Accessible Trail, Accessible-to-All Trail, Wheelchair Trail, Handicapped Trail, and ADA Trail are but a few of the names we’ve seen or heard. The common theme is accessibility and accommodation for people of varying abilities. The primary considerations are the grade/slope, the smoothness and firmness of the trail surface, and the width of the trails.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is often mentioned, including much confusion regarding its applicability to forest trails. The related Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), 2015 Update, Chapter 10, provides technical and practical guidelines specific to recreational trails. Our trails are designed and built to these ABA standards.
Who are these trails for?
“All-Persons Trail” is the preferred name used for Accessible Trails built in recent years by the AMC, the Nature Conservancy, Audubon, and other organizations. It captures the welcoming nature of these trails to all people, of all abilities. We share the goal of breaking down barriers that might prevent anyone from enjoying a peaceful and fulfilling journey through this forest.
Atkinson’s Accessible Trails
What’s been done so far?
- A Trail Architect laid out a route on accessible grades in October and November 2022.
- Engineering Drawings were completed in February 2023.
- Conservation Commission members and other volunteers “roughed-in” the trails.
- Our contractor upgraded the 1,120 linear feet of “Phase 1” trails in October and November 2023.
- Our parking lot was roughed-in, and our roadside trail entrance was also built in Phase 1.
A picture is worth 1,000 words
Before we get into the details of the original plan, the replan, and things to come, please enjoy this Slideshow. It provides a look back at Phase 1 and a Phase 2 teaser.
About the Phase 1 trails in the photos
Our 6-foot wide trails are surfaced with a compacted, 6″ deep layer of “Hardpack” crushed stone material, making them suitable for many types of wheelchairs, rollator walkers, strollers, and other assistive devices. The relatively gentle slopes of the Slade Town Forest allow us to comply with accessible grade requirements with virtually no need to reshape the forest floor. Painstaking efforts were taken to protect the roots of the ancient trees while providing some close encounters with them. Our goal is to have our trails look like they were simply dropped into the forest. We think we achieved this objective in Phase 1. We expect that our Phase 2 replan will produce similar results.
Replanning the plan
Look closely at the trail routing in the “Marked-up plan” drawing. The greyed-out segments were part of the original plan. Ignore for now the new, narrower pink and blue lines heading toward the pond. Hold that squint. You are looking at the very ambitious plan originally presented to us by our Architect. (If you’d like to cut to the chase, and skip the details of why and how we revised/downsized this plan, scroll down to the “Revised plan…” drawing.)
Marked-up plan
We built the Phase 1 trails without reservation. But we had many concerns about the overall footprint. We began to weigh the impact, difficulty, and expense of building out each remaining trail segment vs. its benefits. This process was informed by lessons learned while building Phase 1.
Months of rain revealed several chronically wet trail segments, a problem that was not obvious when the trails were first laid out – in a drought year. The sections numbered 1,2, and 3 on the marked-up plan above were the 3 most problematic areas. We had doubts about building these segments BEFORE they flooded. They will not be built.
- Approximately 700 feet of the proposed Blue trail, including the 2 bridges across the stream. We saw little benefit given the impact and expense of construction.
- Approximately 220 feet of the proposed Blue trail that is rocky and rough. Building it would require extensive filling and at least 2 culverts.
- The entire Yellow trail. It was a redundant loop – and a seasonal stream in places.
We rerouted the trails to higher ground, avoiding wet areas and the roots of large trees, while creating a closed loop at the pond and dedicating more space to wildlife. Please see the “Revised plan…” below. The RTP Grant coordinator approved the change in the scope of Phase 2, agreeing that the new layout was more compatible with this relatively small forest.
Revised plan for Phase 2
Donate to 2024 Phase 2 Construction
Please download this form and mail it with your check if you are able to donate to our construction fund for Phase 2. Our goal is to receive $30,000 in private donations ASAP.
(To display or download the Donation Form, pop-up blockers may need to be disabled.)