Where the Sidewalk Ends - a one-mile radius of Rundlett

The African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child" reminds us how important the entire community is when it comes to raising healthy, flourishing young people. Located in the south end of Concord, Rundlett Middle School has been described by School Board members as an area that leaves no room for expansion. I wanted to see what opportunities are safely accessible beyond the school property, but within one-mile of Rundlett.

Flags 1-7: 125 acres of green space, gardens, athletic fields, courts, playgrounds & trails owned by the City, State, and Concord School District.

8-9: Concord Regional Technical Center spaces on either side of Warren Street.

10-11: Community bike center & climbing facility.

12-13: 327 units of housing

14-17: bus stops

There are over 84 acres of sports offerings including: baseball, basketball, softball, football, field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, ice skating, cross country skiing, track, swimming, trail hiking, rock climbing, and soon a mountain biking pump track. There is also 14 acres of community gardens and 27 acres at Project SEE, a science and environmental learning center.

Less than a quarter mile away to the east is Rollins Park. Rollins Park was established in 1913 and its 23 acres contain a baseball field, basketball court, softball field, tennis courts, gazebo and picnic shelter, playground equipment, walking trails, port o potties, ice skating in winter and a pool in summer.

Less than a half mile away to the north is Memorial Field. A 31-acre park with two football fields, a track, a baseball field, two softball fields, a Little League field, two soccer/lacrosse fields, 10 tennis courts, two basketball courts, cross country skiing, walking trails and restrooms. The Concord School District and existing leagues have priority of this field’s usage.  

Russell Martin Park to the south can be accessed from South Street to Iron Works Road. There is a sidewalk on South Street, but none along Iron Works Road. There is a trail entrance to the park at the intersection of Norwich Street and Rolinda Avenue, which comes out behind the softball backstop and also in the middle of the parking area for the large middle lacrosse/football/soccer field.

The park's 29 acres was purchased by the Concord School District in 1966 for a future elementary school, but swapped with the City to build Beaver Meadow Elementary School in 1985. The City is in the process of designing a mountain biking training track, known as a "pump track" at Russell Martin Park.

To the west, there are over 14 acres of Community Gardens on Birch Street, which is a graded dirt road between Clinton Street and Iron Works Road. There are no sidewalks on Birch Street.

Owned by the Concord School District since 1981, Project SEE Learning Center for Science and Environmental Education on Clinton Street is over 27 acres. Clinton Street has wide shoulders, but the sidewalk ends at the Langley Parkway intersection, 0.3 miles away.

One mile to the north of Rundlett is the Fletcher-Murphy Playlot a City-owned half acre park on the corner of South and Fayette Street that contains a playground and basketball court. It was named for Lucy Fletcher and Teresa Murphy who gave their lives serving in the US Army Nurse Corps in 1918.

Owned by the Concord School District since 1864, West Street Playlot is 0.6 miles from Rundlett and contains a playground and basketball court. There are sidewalks on both sides of South Street, West Street and Fayette Street with crosswalks to the parks.

Private companies catering to health, wellness, fitness and community include S&W Sports and NH Climbing and Fitness are further to the east. There is a sidewalk running along South Main Street in the front of S&W Sports, but there is no crosswalk across to Langdon Ave or connecting the sidewalk when it is broken by adjacent streets.

The nearly-completed Railyard Apartments will host 192 units of workforce housing. Workforce housing is affordable to households earning 60 - 120% of the area median income ($46,724 - $93,448). Rent ranges between $1,125-$1,350/mo. The developers are building a sidewalk along Langdon.

There are four bus stops within one mile of Rundlett for the Crosstown route. The one across from Memorial Field is the only one covered with seating. The Crosstown route overlaps with the other two routes: Penacook and Heights. The buses are free to ride, though they only run Monday through Friday.

There is no doubt that the middle school is presently located in the middle of many opportunities that they may not have access to otherwise.