KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) Keene City Councilor and State Representative Phil Jones was the featured guest Thursday morning on WKBK’s Good Morning with Dan Mitchell, where he spoke in depth about the successful effort to rename the city’s “South Bridge” in honor of Charles Redfern, a key figure in Keene’s trail development movement.

Jones, who spearheaded the initiative, detailed the process during the live interview, emphasizing the collaborative effort between local leaders, community advocates, and the New Hampshire legislature. “It’s all about safety. It’s all about a healthy community, and it’s connecting neighborhoods. It does a lot for the city of Keene,” Jones said during the broadcast.

The bridge, a 340-foot span over Route 101 linking Keene State College’s main campus to its athletic fields, had long been referred to simply as “South Bridge.” That changed thanks to House Bill 745, which Jones introduced and championed through the legislative process. The bill passed unanimously in both the New Hampshire House and Senate this spring, officially renaming the structure the Charles Redfern Bridge.

Charles Redfern, a former Keene city councilor, is widely regarded as the driving force behind the city’s trail system. He co-founded the nonprofit Pathways for Keene, an organization that has raised millions in private donations to fund the creation and maintenance of Keene’s extensive network of bike and pedestrian trails. “Without the vision, the tenacity, and the dedicated efforts of Charles Redfern, there would be no alternative use trail system in Keene,” Jones noted in a statement read before the House in February.

The renaming effort was initially intended to surprise Redfern, who was in Florida at the time. However, he inadvertently learned of the plan after being mistakenly included in a chain email requesting public support for the legislation. Still, the official announcement came as a meaningful moment, delivered to him over breakfast by Jones and colleagues.

During Thursday night’s City Council meeting, the Council and Mayor Jay Kahn are expected to formally endorse the legislative action and present a commemorative document to Redfern recognizing his decades of service. Jones’s speech from the legislature will also be included in the presentation.

The bridge naming is more than symbolic. It underscores Keene’s growing reputation as a model for pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure and celebrates a grassroots legacy that helped transform the city’s landscape. As Jones put it, “Chuck must have a lot of friends”—a sentiment echoed in the overwhelming support the effort received across all levels of government.

Listen to the full interview: