BITS AND PIECES

A Weekly Update from the Strafford Region

Planning

In partnership with the Strafford County Public Health Network, SRPC developed an Age-Friendly Resource Guide to assist residents in the Greater Strafford Region find services that can help them lead a more healthy, livable lifestyle. This project was funded by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, now the Point 32 Health Foundation. The resources in the Guide have been sorted into the eight ARRP Livability Domains: Civic Participation and Employment, Communications and Information, Health Services and Community Supports, Housing, Outdoor Spaces and Buildings, Respect and Social Inclusion, Social Participation, and Transportation. Each domain includes healthy aging resources from around your community, the Strafford Region and the State of New Hampshire. The Age-Friendly Resource Guide is available on SRPC’s website and will be printed and distributed around the region shortly. If you have any suggestions for locations where the printed version should be made available, please connect with Principal Planner Angie Cleveland. Also, please feel free to share the online version with your networks!

Transportation

Staff has resumed work on SRPC’s first-ever Active Transportation Plan! Also known as the Bike Ped Plan, the plan serves as guidance for the region’s human-powered transportation needs – that is, biking, walking, and using public transportation. The plan will include an assessment of gaps in the region’s network of sidewalks, trails, bike lanes, and other features and will identify best practices for communities like ours. With the rise of e-bikes and growing demand for walkable communities, a crafted approach to infrastructure, accessibility, and safety is needed more than ever. SRPC hopes communities and residents alike will find the plan useful for making inviting environments. SRPC previously released a survey last summer and then formed a steering committee of pedestrian and cyclist advocates that met this past fall and winter. Following a brief hiatus, SRPC hopes the first draft of the plan will be completed by September. Reach out to Regional Planner Mark Davie with any questions.

Planning

After several months in the making, we are proud to launch an Employer Toolkit to help businesses with their hiring challenges. With funding from NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs, the Seacoast Economic Development Stakeholders (SEDS) selected SoHo Creative Studios to create an Employer Toolkit to help businesses on the Seacoast (and beyond!) address their workforce challenges. As the toolkit was being created, it was discovered that businesses are grappling with three things: attracting, developing and retaining talent. The Employer Toolkit takes a unique approach to exploring these three challenges through the toolkit, interviews with Seacoast employers who have or are overcoming these challenges, and through social media posts over a three-month period. The posts will be updated weekly on this page and included on SRPC’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages. In the meantime, check out more about this effort and the Employer Toolkit now!

July 21, 2023