Construction Continues on Little Bay Bridge and the Spaulding Turnpike

Source: Nancy O' Connor

Planning
One of the efforts supported by SRPC's Fiscal Year 2019 Coastal Program grant is Dover’s Rising Waters initiative, which is being led by a group of volunteers working to implement climate actions identified in the city's master plan. The initiatives first undertaking, the  High Water Mark Project , seeks to engage the community in public art projects that convey future flood risks as sea levels rise and extreme precipitation becomes more frequent and intense. The goal of the project is to spark community conversations about the local impacts of climate change and what Dover can do to prepare for them.
 
At its meeting this week, the group reviewed the most recent design from artist Sophie Self. Sophie is the 13-year-old Dover resident and student at the Seacoast Charter School who submitted the winning art design titled “The City in the Sea” last month. Sophie says her painting is intended to “stop people and make them think about what it is trying to convey. This image can be interpreted in many ways, such as whether our future is beautiful or terrifying, or if people are still there or not. This image could tell a different story for each person.”
 
Among the other items the group discussed were project location, size, publicity planning, and future sponsorship/fundraising needs. The project team wants to present Sophie’s final design on a large poster board at Apple Harvest Day with the hope of raising additional funds needed for materials.
 
For more information on Dover’s Rising Waters Project, contact Kyle Pimental, SRPC principal regional planner, at kpimental@strafford.org  or at 603-994-3500.


Pieces of Interest

Transportation
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is seeking public input on alternatives for maintaining pedestrian and bicycle travel during work on the General Sullivan Bridge, the key bridge over Little Bay connecting Dover and Newington. To that end, NHDOT will hold a public information meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dover City Auditorium, 288 Central Ave.

NHDOT is considering a range of alternatives for the bridge, from rehabilitation to complete replacement, and wants to maintain bicycle and pedestrian access while work on the bridge proceeds.

In addition to collecting comments from the public, NHDOT will provide an update on the widening of 3.5 miles of the Spaulding Turnpike (NH Rte.16) from north of Exit 1 in Newington to the Dover Toll Plaza, just north of Exit 6 (US Rte.4) in Dover.

The NHDOT website has more information about the public meeting here .

Contact Colin Lentz, SRPC regional transportation planner, with any questions at clentz@strafford.org or 603-994-3500.


Pieces of Interest

Economic Development
New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute Releases Report

The New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI) released a report this week analyzing the state’s economic outlook. Measuring New Hampshire’s Municipalities: Economic Disparities and Fiscal Capacities explores the implications that demographics and socioeconomic factors have on local needs and municipalities’ ability to pay for them. Authors Julie Vieira and Phil Sletten use data available at the municipal level to identify disparities between regions in the state and between neighboring communities in the same region.
 
The report begins by considering important demographic trends affecting communities’ needs, such as population growth. Strafford County ranks third in estimated population growth since 2010, which has been fueled primarily by people moving to the seacoast region. (Strafford County ranks second in net migration over the same period.) The report goes on to analyze indicators of poverty, income, and municipal property wealth, which are closely related to municipalities’ need for, and ability to provide, services to their residents. NHFPI has published  interactive maps from the report on its website. How does your community measure up?

Pieces of Interest


Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org
August 24, 2018