Recent flooding on Bay Road in Newmarket at the Lubberland Creek Crossing.
( Photo Courtesy of Joanne Glode )
Planning
Over the last several years, principal regional planner Kyle Pimental has worked with Newmarket to achieve its resiliency goals by drafting new stormwater regulations and identifying sea level rise and coastal flooding in the town’s most recent hazard mitigation plan. At the SRPC Policy Committee’s Nov. 29 meeting, Newmarket Commissioner Peter Nelson said the town has received two grants to support projects that enhance coastal resilience to current and future hazards. Both grants will be leveraged for a tidal culvert replacement project at the Bay Road crossing of Lubberland Creek (a project that was cited in the 2018 hazard mitigation plan update ).

The update is part of a larger project that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been working on with support from its GIS & conservation manager Peter Steckler in partnership with the town and SRPC. TNC and Peter Steckler have taken the lead up to this point, and they will continue to be involved in the outreach components of the new grants by engaging stakeholders to advance resilient tidal crossing replacement at other sites in the coastal zone. Other important stakeholders include Newmarket’s public works department, the NH Coastal Program, and NH Fish and Game. Construction is slated for 2019 and will remediate existing flood risk, restore fish passage, and improve salt marsh migration.

Stay tuned for more information on the project.

Pieces of Interest


Transportation
On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Jen Czysz, executive director, and Colin Lentz, senior transportation planner, attended a meeting at the Kittery Town Hall. This meeting was the first of several devoted to guiding a Joint Land Use Study focused on the Town of Kittery and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). PNSY is anticipating sustained federal investment over the next 20 years that will result in infrastructure improvements and employment for approximately 8,000 workers (an increase from the current 6,000). Transportation and parking are a major concern for PNSY and the town of Kittery, with high traffic volumes through a small community and limited access to the base (which is on an island). PNSY is partnering with Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission on the study. Strafford MPO has been asked to participate on a technical sub-committee to guide initial planning efforts.   The process is just getting underway and is expected to be completed over the next 15 months.

For more information, contact Colin at clentz@strafford.org .

Pieces of Interest

Economic Development
The Strafford Economic Development District (EDD) staff has been working this week to finalize details of the Dec. 6 EDD/SRPC Commissioners meeting . Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC) Executive Director Sylvia von Aulock and Access Navigators team members Todd Hanson and Anne Weidman will discuss inclusive community design and accessibility.
 
Sylvia will introduce SNHPC's Becoming Age-Friendly program and its innovative work. She will discuss what an age-friendly business is, how SNHPC has engaged the business community in age-friendly awareness, and steps New Hampshire can take to become age-friendly. Sylvia will also review the types of stakeholders that have been interested in age-friendly conversations, and will describe some of the unique partnerships coming out of the age-friendly movement.
 
Todd and Anne will give an introduction to Access Navigators, whose focus is on helping people with disabilities know what to expect when navigating historic New England. Their presentation will include a brief history of Access Navigators and information on why inclusive communities are important. Todd and Anne will also discuss accessibility factors they consider when completing their accessibility guides, how and where they collect their data, and how the outcomes benefit individuals, families, communities, and businesses.
 
Anyone interested in attending the meeting is encouraged to RSVP to srpc@strafford.org by Tuesday, Dec. 4. The meeting will take place from 3:45 to 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room 1A of the SRPC office, 150 Wakefield Street, Rochester.

Pieces of Interest

Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org
November 30, 2018