Hampstead officials are mulling over what action to take to block off town-owned land next to the Fremont Branch of the Rockingham Recreational Trail for Off Highway Recreational Vehicles (OHRV). The trail runs along the old railroad bed and crosses under Route 121 (Main Street) through a newly completed tunnel. Trail users typically park their vehicles on what used to be the Old Derry Road that lies within Hampstead boundaries, despite that road's posting with "Road Closed" signs. Residents' complaints about the alleged misuse of the parking area by OHRV owners continue, even though the town voted two years ago to close the road and put up a gate. Craig Bennett, 589 Main St., lives across from the trail and parking area. He spoke to the Board of Selectmen April 26 and asked whether something could be done to permanently close the town-owned land to prevent OHRV riders from parking there. He said that on weekends, trucks and sport utility vehicles, largely from Massachusetts, park at that site with trailers and off-load their OHRVs. Residents find the noise level distressing, he noted. "Blocking it (the town-owned land) won't stop all the parking or cut out the noise, but it would slow it down," Bennett said. "Having fewer vehicles parked there would be better." The problem is that vehicles park and offload their OHRV along with multiple riders, he said. The OHRVs blast back and forth using the new tunnel under Route 121 as an echo chamber, or jumping off the mound of dirt left by the state when the tunnel project was finished. The noise level increases as the weather grows warmer, Bennett said. Living next to the trail makes one family virtually prisoners inside their home in the summer months. "We can't use our yard in the summer because of the noise the OHRVs make," said Cynthia Neale, who lives at 574 Main St. "We can't enjoy sitting out or cooking out because of the noise." On April 28, Police Chief Joe Beaudoin, Road Agent Jon Worthen, and Code Enforcement Officer Kristopher Emerson met with Bennett at the site in response to the desire by the Board of Selectmen to get information with Bennett's request for action. Beaudoin suggested that boulders, as the "cheapest commodity," could be placed along these boundaries close enough to keep vehicles out. The next step is for Beaudoin to bring the information gathered at the site Thursday, about the possibility of blocking off the Hampstead-owned property to parking, to the Board of Selectmen for the May 10 meeting.