Save The Date for the Buses, Bikes, and Brooms Statewide Commuter Challenge

The Buses, Bikes & Brooms challenge is back for 2022! During the month of October, join others from across the state in commuting to work using any mode other than driving alone. Try teleworking, bicycling, walking, carpooling or public transit, or any combination of these options.

To participate smart commuters will log their trips using the CommuteSmart NH web and mobile app (available on android and apple).

All month long you can see how you stack up on the leaderboard and earn rewards and a shot at raffle prizes. Encourage your colleagues to sign up and create some friendly competition.

Participants can win prizes throughout the month, including gift cards raffled off each week, and a grand prize gift card for our social media boo-itiful contest which encourages dressing up!

Learn more on the CommuteSmart NH website.

ICYMI: Planning Events of Interest

Connect to Protect Fall 2022 Workshops

Join UNH Extension, Great Bay NERR, and Northeast Conservation Services for a one-hour virtual training (offered at three time slots) on the 2021 NH Coastal Watershed Conservation Plan. This document identifies conservation focus areas (natural lands that protect water quality, provide wildlife habitat, and reduce flood damage) as well as priority agricultural resources (areas of productive and resilient farmland).  

Workshop facilitators will demonstrate how to access the plan's maps, use the information presented in the plan, and highlight opportunities for assistance to help move land conservation planning and projects forward. 

This training is geared towards municipal staff and volunteer boards in the New Hampshire coastal watershed (see map), land trust staff and board members, natural resource professionals, and interested residents. 

Those interested should register for one of the three available time slots for the training, Sept. 20 at noon, Sept. 30 at 9 a.m., or Oct. 4 at 4:30 p.m. 

Class size is limited! Learn more from the event flyer, or register online.

The Nickles and Dimes of Housing Development

Join NH Housing and the National Development Council, along with partners at the NH Municipal Association (NHMA) and the NH Planners Association, for a workshop on single-family housing development designed for professional planners. This event will take place at the NHMA from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 29.

This workshop will educate planners on how single-family housing development is financed and how local regulations and processes impact  the ultimate cost of housing development. AICP credits are pending.

Course instructor Matthew Wexler works with communities in the Northeast to structure and secure financing for community development projects. He teaches several courses in NDC’s nationally recognized certification programs, including ED 202 – Real Estate Finance and ED 515 – New Markets Tax Credits, and has led sessions for NDC Affordable Housing Academy, focusing on training Public Housing Authorities to redevelop and reposition their properties. Wexler also works directly with nonprofit organizations and municipalities to undertake real estate development projects – managing the design, permitting, and construction processes.

Class size is limited. Learn more and register online.

Check Out FHWA's New Planning and Equity Tool

FHWA recently launched a new "Planning and Equity Tool" to help transportation agencies analyze the potential impacts of future projects on transportation equity.

The online mapping tool is primarily targeted towards users from transportation agencies with little to no geographic information systems (GIS) capabilities or resources. With the tool, users can view national datasets, including:

• Boundaries for States, counties, MPOs, and Census urban areas;
• American Community Survey (ACS) datasets from the Census Bureau, including race and Hispanic origin and poverty status, among others; and
• USDOT-defined Transportation Disadvantaged Communities (DACs) from the Justice40 initiative.

Daytime Closure of the Open Road Tolling Lanes on I-95 in Hampton

$66 Million To Build Out High-Speed Internet

Advocates make push for Montreal-to-Boston passenger rail

September 16, 2022