Transportation Edition
Crowd at the Granite Clean Cities Coalition Meeting (SRPC Photo)
Granite State Clean Cities Coalition Holds Interactive Meeting

Colin Lentz attended a meeting of the Granite State Clean Cities Coalition  on Friday at the McConnell Center in Dover. The coalition's coordinator Jessica Wilcox and Mike Scarpino from US DOT Volpe Center gave a presentation about FHWA's alternative fuels corridor designation program. Jessica also updated participants on the Volkswagen settlement. The highlight of the meeting was certainly the live demonstration of an all-electric bus from New Flyer . Everyone boarded a demo model of New Flyer's 35-foot "Charge" bus and took a quick tour around the City. A New Flyer representative described the bus and answered people's numerous questions during the tour. Electric buses are cleaner and quieter and large transit providers are investing in them but vehicles, new infrastructure, and vehicle range make for significant costs and logistical challenges for small transit providers that serve rural areas.   
Stafford MPO Planner Attends Route 108 Complete Streets Tour

Colin Lentz attended a complete streets tour of Route 108 on Thursday, Jun. 27. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) hosted the event, which encouraged members of the public to participate in a walking tour of proposed improvements to a 5-mile section of NH Route 108 in Dover, Somersworth, and Rochester. The event allowed attendees the opportunity to provide community input on the corridor and desired changes that would follow the principles for a Complete Street. For those not familiar, a complete street is a road network that balances the needs of motorized, non-motorized, and transit users.

The three stops highlighted during the tour included the intersection of Blackwater Road and Route 108, the intersection of Long Hill Road and Route 108, and the intersection of West High Street and Route 108.
For more information on this project, or for future input opportunities visit the project website .
Strafford MPO Kicks Off Level of Traffic Street Outreach

Over the past few weeks, Strafford MPO staffers having been preparing for outreach activities related to the Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) project. This project includes collecting data as part of a statewide effort to gauge the stress motorized traffic causes bicyclists. This effort is being coordinated by Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC) in partnership among New Hampshire’s four Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO), one rural regional planning commission, and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. 
 
Preliminary maps were prepared over the past few months showing road segments and calculated levels of stress on a 1-4 scale. Beginning next week, Strafford MPO staffers will attend local community events, like farmer's markets, and set up at bike shops in the region to have local bicyclists look at the maps, verify data, and fill any gaps.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page to see where we will be in the coming week, by searching the #LTSontheroad.
 
For more information contact Nancy O'Connor via email or at 603-994-3500.

Pieces of Interest



Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org
June 28, 2019