Barbara Wilson of Explore Moose Mountains, welcomes vendors and guest to the MooseMade Expo (
SRPC Photo).
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Planning
Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) was awarded funding from the NH Children's Foundation in Dec. 2018 for
Pathways to Play
, a project focused on mapping and analyzing access to recreation in the Strafford region.
Following a project kick-off in Jan., staffers have been preparing maps for each regional community, showing known recreational sites such as playgrounds, parks, trails, and other areas. These maps were distributed to municipalities and recreational departments this week, with instructions for confirming current sites, and requesting reviewers to add missing sites. This analysis will allow staffers to refine the recreational sites database before they are eventually uploaded online in the Strafford region's ArcGIS online.
Following this process, SRPC will partner with the City of Somersworth to use the data and maps to create a customized recreation accessibility plan. The Hilltop City is a good partner for this pilot since 486 families in the city have children younger than 5 and those children make up a significant portion of the population (7.2 percent).
Pieces of Interest
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Transportation
On Wednesday, Mar. 8 data analyst Rachel Dewey conducted data collection in downtown Rochester for the Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) project. This data collection is part of a statewide effort to gauge the stress motorized traffic causes bicyclists. This effort, coordinated by Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC), is a partnership among New Hampshire’s four MPOs, one rural regional planning commission, and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
During her field work, Rachel measured the widths of bike lanes and parking spaces close by. Data collection efforts have primarily been conducted using online tools like Google Maps. Areas that have changed parking space or bike lane widths in the past year, like downtown Rochester, may not be up to date in satellite imagery. Staffers will continue to go out in the field to measure those areas in person. Stefanie Casella, data collection and analysis assistant is also assisting with the project, focusing on the region's northern towns, while Rachel is focusing on the cities and the towns in the south. Data in Madbury, Lee, Durham, and Newmarket was collected last year by a UNH student who was involved in the early pilots of the project.
Compiled data will be mapped at the outcome of the project.
Pieces of Interest
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Economic Development
On Monday, May 6,
Explore Moose Mountains
held its first MooseMade Expo, and celebrated its second birthday of
The Moose, NH
. Explore Moose Mountains, originally the Moose Mountains Regional Alliance, began in 2014 when a group of engaged citizens contacted Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) for technical assistance related to regional tourism. These individuals were interested in encouraging tourists to explore the unique scenic, historic, agricultural, recreational and cultural offerings off NH Routes 16 and 11 in the towns of Brookfield, Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Wakefield, and Wolfeboro.
The Expo allowed close to twenty business in The Moose the opportunity to network with each other. They were also joined by NH Tourism and NH Made, who made brief presentations, along with EMM itself. Guests also joined for the birthday celebrations following the expo, and enjoyed birthday cakes, food, and raffles from the local vendors. Board members would like to extend a special thanks to Dave Guttadauro, owner of Tumbledown Farms, who generously donated his barn and food selections, and hand-picked the music for the evening. The event was well attended with closed to 90 individuals.
Pieces of Interest
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