Knibbe: Support The Amherst Rail Trail

By Clo Knibbe

AMHERST, NH — Article 35 on the 2025 Amherst Town Election ballot concerns Amherst’s Baboosic Greenway Rail Trail.

This article requests matching funds for a state grant that has already been awarded. The grant and matching funds will be used to complete two sections of the ongoing townwide rail trail project. The grant covers 80 percent of the cost, but we must raise the 20 percent matching funds. The tax impact for the average assessed home in Amherst will be $36 per year for four years and $15 for a fifth year.

If Article 35 passes, we can build the two sections for $0.20 on the dollar. If it fails, we lose the $2.6M in grant funds, and our ability to secure future grants is impacted.

This visionary rail trail will connect neighborhoods across Amherst with schools, parks, and community landmarks. Most residents will be within a mile of the trail. It will connect with projects in Bedford, Brookline, Merrimack, and Milford, creating a unified trail network. The trail is designed with everyone in mind — walkers, joggers, bikers, families, and individuals in wheelchairs. And the trail will make Amherst an even more desirable place to live, boosting our home values.

The website baboosicgreenway.org provides a detailed overview of the entire Baboosic Greenway project, as well as specifics about the sections covered by Article 35. There are interactive maps that show the ultimate vision of the project, the current state, and how this portion fits in.

Because this is a multi-year financing article, it requires a 60 percent supermajority to pass. This is a very high bar; every vote is critical. We need your support: help us spread the word about this once-in-a-generation funding opportunity.

Please vote YES on Article 35 on March 11, 2025, and ask your friends to do the same.

Clo Knibbe lives in Amherst.