Pedestrians are uncommon along the most congested thoroughfare in Tilton.
Whenever Police Chief Abraham Gilman or one of his officers spots a person among the current of cars, he’ll roll down a window and ask them where they’re headed, especially at night.
As many as 25,000 vehicles pass through the Tilton segment of Route 3, also called Laconia Road, on any given day. Major stores attract shoppers and commuters earning their living, as is the case with the area’s major employer, J. Jill’s distribution center on Birch Pond Drive. In the summer months, the town’s commercial backbone doubles as a gateway to the Lakes Region, and daily through-traffic can reach 50,000 vehicles, according to Gilman.
At intersections, where the street widens to accommodate a turning lane in either direction, pedestrians must cross a total of six lanes to reach the other side. Some stretches lack sidewalks entirely. The lampposts that light Laconia Road are dim.
The area is starved for improvements to pedestrian access, Gilman said, but a recent pivot in the plan to complete the Winnipesaukee River Trail gave him pause.
Instead of running along a protected railroad corridor, the proposed segment would traverse 0.7 miles along the dangerous Route 3 corridor.
“The reason I get a little bit wary is, obviously, if you build it, people will then walk it, which is fine,” he said. “I think in the future, it needs to be done, but I think there’s a lot of talking that needs to go on to find out the safest way.”
Of the four pedestrian collisions that occurred in Tilton from 2020 to 2025, two resulted in severe bodily injury. The other two pedestrians, who were fatally struck, had been walking along Laconia Road.
Earlier this month, a motorcyclist was killed in a four-car crash where the road intersects with Lowes Drive.
Asked whether there are any roadways in town more dangerous than Laconia Road, Gilman’s answer came clipped and with an uneasy laugh: “I would say no.”
For almost three decades, cyclists, pedestrians, hobbyists, trail enthusiasts and municipal and business leaders have hitched their hopes on the trail’s promise to connect Tilton, Northfield and Franklin and provide accessible outdoor recreation.
Today, the trail comprises four existing segments along protected railroad corridors, sidewalks and pedestrian walkways: on-road from downtown Franklin to Trestle View Park, also in Franklin; on-trail from there to Surrette America Battery Park in Northfield; on-road again from there to the Salmon Run Conservation Area in Tilton; and on-trail from Salmon Run to Route 140.
To bridge the gap between Route 140 and Tilton’s town line with Belmont, the Winnipesaukee River Trail Association had for years intended to build along a railroad corridor. The challenges there, including navigating a sewer basin and sensitive wetlands, might have been surmountable. But in March, those plans were frustrated when the association’s two most recent grant applications were rejected.
“A lot of times, when these projects get put forth, they have cost estimates for construction, maybe some concept plans, and they’re essentially in a way shovel-ready, or as close to shovel-ready as possible,” said Glenn Trefethen, transportation planner with the Lakes Region Planning Commission, which has been assisting the Association and town in funding the project.
Trefethen leads a transportation advisory committee of 31 participating municipalities, helping facilitate grant applications and bring projects to fruition. The committee submitted five applications to the federally-funded Transportation Alternatives Program, ranging from sidewalks in Andover and ADA compliance in Center Harbor to three rail trail applications, including Tilton’s.
In its application, the town asked for $594,000, comprised of $475,000 in federal dollars administered by the state’s Department of Transportation and a 20% match raised locally. The funding would have enabled the Association to undertake the very first step toward building the Tilton segment: engineering and design.
“The other municipalities that brought forth projects had more detailed concept plans and cost estimates, which then led to the prioritization of those projects,” Trefethen said.
When the town’s application was denied, along with a second grant application through Build America’s federal Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program, the Lakes Region Planning Commission began to contemplate an alternative: a multi-use path to the I-93 interchange on Route 3 to the Park and Ride east of Home Depot. With pedestrian access helping to ameliorate some traffic congestion, the trio of stakeholders hopes that the trail expansion would become a strong candidate for grants through the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program.
“This pivot with the Winnipesaukee River Trail really hits all those notes,” Trefethen said. “We’re talking about expanding sidewalk access, connecting to a park and ride where people can park and carpool, reach a destination from there, while accessing those businesses.”
Recent estimates placed the cost of laying down one mile of sidewalk at $1 million, according to Trefethen, but the ballooning price of materials and inflation could drive expenses even higher. The segment between Route 140 and the Park and Ride measures about 7/10 of a mile. Before construction begins, the project will still be subject to a rigorous public hearing process for community input, especially if the town were to commit any taxpayer dollars to building it.
CMAQ grants require a 20% match, which could come from corporate donations, the trail association’s independently-raised budget or the town of Tilton, which doesn’t have a discretionary fund for the Winnipesaukee River Trail and would need to put the question to voters in the form of a warrant article.
Town Administrator Scott Hilliard said he doesn’t believe taxpayers will need to chip in, but “speaking for the Board [of Selectmen], we look at safety as #1.”
“It’ll be a great asset to continue that in our community, and I can foresee the period in time, I hope in my lifetime, where you can go from Franklin to Laconia and never touch a public highway, that would be a great benefit to all of those communities,” Hilliard said.
The adjusted plan bringing a multi-use path to Route 3 is still in its fledgling stages. Gilman is gathering accident data to support the town’s grant application. Over the next several months, the town, trail association and planners will work to refine the proposal and address concerns over pedestrian safety.
Ken Norton, president of the Winnipesaukee River Trail Association, sees the plan as part of the “bigger picture” of Tilton’s development.
Norton, who lives on Main Street, watches commuters whiz by his home on e-bikes during rush hour every day, headed to jobs at the box stores, the Tanger Outlets, banks and eateries on Route 3. For tourists and out-of-towners, the area looks like a shopping hub, but “what it really is is a job center,” he said.
Even though the move to the Route 3 corridor, for all its promise, may take time to materialize, Norton is confident the trail will garner public support.
“When it was first proposed, the Select Board in Tilton, they were completely opposed. Now, it’s beloved,” he said. “25 years ago, people couldn’t really envision it, but now rail trails are all over the place.”
