Saw a fair bit of discussion of the new trail at Rumney. I've not seen it, but sounds like it's intended to take foot traffic off the road. Anyone care to elaborate/share thoughts?

Its supposed to be "Handicap accessible" Which sounds insanely over done to me, but i think they just want to get folks off the road really badly. It's going to follow the blue ribboned trail from the Large parking lot. I think it's going to be done through a combination of AMC and USFS work, plus hopefully volunteer.

Yea.. don't try the along the road version yet.. i explored a bit from 5.8 over to the pole 37 trail and it's very loose leaf, dirt, etc at the moment.

There probably was some discussion a while back about a sidewalk. But then "they" agreed that it would be much better to just pave the woods.

I believe that the road is to narrow in spots for a side walk. As it is now the road is to narrow for two way traffic in one particular area where 3 kids went off the road and died last year. Right before the Main cliff parking lot is an area they'd need to blast rock for a decent side walk. I think trails will be nicer anyways because you wont have to suck fumes from the hillbillies trucks, and instead the trail will deliver you to the base of several crags.

I wouldnt hold my breath to much about the trail system/sidewalk/path through the woods because i have been hearing this discussion for a couple years at least. but the trail would have to be through the woods the road is way too narrow, but building a trail system through this area that followed the road would be a daunting task.

A handicap access (ADA) trail may seem way to excessive for the use that it will see, but to get funding for such projects, the more user groups you include in the explanation for funding the better. The people who appropriate funds for such projects may look at the proj. and ask why they want people off the road when historically it has worked. So when the people who wrote the project most likely started with wanting to get access to the approach trails off the road as there only concern, and most likely got shot down. So they went back with a bunch of other ideas (most likely all of them fluff) like an ADA trail. This way it opens the area to more user groups who will most likely never use the trail, but sounds good to the people that write the checks who most likely have never heard of Rumney, and know nothing about the problems associated with people hiking on the road. A well built trail may seem excessive at first, but remember a trail concentrates usage to one area, and in the long run will without question benefit an already overused resource.

What's the speed limit on that road? On similar ones in CT, (ie rural/residential) it's 25 mph.

i think its 30 mph