Good News For Bikers and Walkers

Efforts to pave trails are paying off, one step at a time

MANCHESTER – Gisele Sevigny Fontaine drove from her home on the east side to meet her friend Orianna Dolbec on the West Side.

The two senior citizens crossed the newly opened pedestrian bridge over the Merrimack River, strolled along the riverwalk and ended up at a late-morning Fisher Cats game next to the paved pathway.

"It was like killing two birds with one stone," Sevigny Fontaine said. "You got your exercise and you got to see a good game, even though they did lose."

Piece by piece, the city is expanding and paving existing or over-grown natural trails to make it easier for people, such as Dolbec and Sevigny Fontaine to walk and bike around the city.

"The whole point is for this to connect into the neighborhoods, so people don't use their cars," said Chuck DePrima, the acting director for the city's Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries Department.