== Bike-Walk Alliance of NH ==

January 2012: Good deeds deserve recognition

If you bike or walk in New Hampshire, there is something on this Bike-Walk Alliance of NH web site that should be of interest to you! There is so much activity here in the Granite State involving biking and walking it is difficult to write about all of it. However, let's get started!

Highlights of January 2012 news follow:

The 2011 BWA-NH "Golden Spoke Award" was presented to Larry Keniston by Linda Gould, BWA-NH Exec. Director, and Dave Topham, Director and Co-Founder, during a brief visit to NH-DOT on December 21. Those of us in the entire NH bike-ped community feel Larry has done an exceptional job in his position as the "NH Bike-Ped Coordinator" (really the "Intermodal Facilities Engineer") for the past two years and nine months. His knowledge of NH-DOT, enthusiasm for his position, being a commuter cyclist, and many hours of his own time for evening and weekend bike-related meetings have been highly recognized and appreciated. He is our "spokesperson" within NH-DOT and goes out of his way to get things done. The certificate and token with his name on them are just a small gesture to say "Thank You" for all the work done for the NH bike-ped community.

BWA-NH Exec. Director Linda Gould with NH-DOT Bike-Ped
Coordinator Larry Keniston in his office, December 21, 2011.

Dedicated Federal funding of bike-ped programs still in jeopardy. Much has been written and discussed in bike-ped circles for the past several months about the new Federal Transportation Bill (MAP-21) which may delete dedicated funds for programs that support and encourage bicycling. Transportation Enhancements (TE), Recreational Trails Program (RTP), Congestion and Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ), and Safe Routes to School (SRTS) are all being targeted as being non-essential and "frivolous" by several key Representatives and Senators in DC. Our NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen has gone on record for keeping the dedicated funding while Senator Kelly Ayotte apparently feels the money could be better spent on other projects or at least let the state DOTs decide where to spend the money. Keep in mind that only 1.6% of the Federal transportation budget is for bike-ped programs which serve 12% of Americans who bike or walk to work. In an effort to sway Senator Ayotte's opinion prior to the vote which comes up in March, BWA-NH arranged a meeting on December 14 with Senator Ayotte's State Director Bud Fitch. Linda Gould and Dave Topham of BWA-NH, Diane Hanley, President of the NH Rail Trails Coalition, and Dean Williams, President of Manchester Moves, met with Mr. Fitch for near two hours to present our viewpoints. Prior to the meeting, we were coached by Jeff Miller, President of the Alliance for Biking and Walking in DC. Bottom line, we feel the relatively minor expenses provides a huge return in better health, less pollution, less oil burned, and overall better public experiences when active transportation is supported. All the "talking points" as presented may be viewed via this PDF file. Note that Senator Ayotte is physically very active, a jogger, and former bicyclist so she knows first hand how exercise helps in many regards.

The Memorial Bridge between Portsmouth NH and Kittery ME will be closed for bike-ped travel and dismantling started any day in this month of January 2012. Discussions between the Maine DOT and NH-DOT with the Bike-Walk Alliance of NH and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine are underway concerning bike-ped crossings for the approximate 18 months before the new Memorial Bridge should be available. The two DOTs propose to provide an hourly free shuttle service to transport 12 people and up to six bikes across the river using the Sarah Long Bridge, the old Route 1 "middle bridge." How that plan would accommodate the approximate 900 crossings per workday, most at commuter hours and more on "tourist weekends", is not understood. BWA-NH and BCM are recommending the Sarah Long Bridge bike ban be lifted, re-stripe the lanes to AASHTO guidelines, post a few signs, and let the shuttle service be used only for pedestrians and the disabled. Presently both DOTs claim the Sarah Long Bridge is "unsafe" for bicyclists, but why we don't know. With 30-feet curb-to-curb, a good surface, 35-40 MPH motor traffic, and easy on/off locations, the bike community does not see the bridge to be any more "unsafe" than a regular two-lane road which might not be a full 30 feet wide. Note the new "state-of-the-art" Memorial Bridge to be completed in 2013 will have a 32-foot lane width including five-foot bike lanes in each direction, plus two six-foot sidewalks. One or more "Public Outreach / Advisory Committees" are planned by the DOTs with NH-DOT taking the leading role - and BWA-NH will be at the table.

Details about the Memorial Bridge project may be viewed on the NH-DOT web site.

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Left photo shows the 88-year-old Memorial Bridge to be dismantled
in January 2012. Right photo shows an engineering rendition of the new bridge
due to open in June 2013. Compare the lane widths of the new bridge
to the existing Sarah Long Bridge below.

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Views of the Sarah Long Bridge traveling south from Kittery to
Portsmouth. Note the 14-foot travel lanes and smooth pavement.
Bicyclists are presently restricted from using this bridge. Why?

A new Distracted Driver Simulator is now owned by BWA-NH. This touch-screen unit will be used for training in our Concord office and demonstrated around northern New England. There has been much discussion about the proposed ban of all cell phone use while driving while the legislation and enforcement at the state and local level is initially difficult to impossible. Meanwhile, through drivers education classes, public demos, media coverage, and support by the high schools, we hope to increase the awareness factor of using phones when driving. "Distractions" have always been a problem when driving, but the level of distraction when using a phone is much higher and drastically more dangerous for vulnerable road users like bicyclists, pedestrians, highway workers, police, service vehicle operators, EMTs, et al. A driver can usually take his eyes and attention off the road for a few seconds to do something simple like change a radio station or glance at a GPS unit. Try that for 20 seconds (or more) while concentrating on a text message and see what happens. Just being engrossed in a phone call, hand-held or hands-free, can demand so much attention that the driver will not see what is immediately in front of him. Most people agree with these statements and feel others should not do it, but "they are better than most" and can multi-task so effectively the "hang-up and drive" statement does not apply to them. Those are the people we wish to see "driving" our new simulator for 20 minutes. A crash is just the start of a long and sad story for the driver, not to mention the innocent person who was hit.

Did you know a driver just talking on a cell phone (hand-held or hands-free) is twice as impaired as someone legally drunk at the 0.8 level? And texting while driving equals four times the impairment of a drunk driver? Let's do what we can to stop the crashes caused by distracted driving before they happen, not just analyze cell phone records after a crash when someone, usually a bicyclist or pedestrian, is seriously injured or killed.
For more info about the Distracted Driver Simulator from Virtual Driver Interactive, please contact Dave Topham at the BWA-NH office, dave@bwanh.org, 603.898.9926. For an on-line overview of the V-Touch model simulator and the "One Simple Decision" software, please visit http://www.driverinteractive.com/osdtrailer.shtml .

Let's not forget about progress on rail trails!

Construction started on Methuen Rail Trail - Salem next! After years of working in the background to clear paperwork hurdles, on December 19 President Joyce Godsey and other members of the Methuen Rail Trail Alliance welcomed the Iron Horse Preservation Society (IHPS) to start construction of the rail trail along the old Boston and Maine Manchester-Lawrence corridor. The crew started at the Salem NH/Methuen MA town line and will develop the trail to Lawrence MA - and at no cost to the City of Methuen or anyone else. The rails will be "re-purposed" for distant projects, the ties trucked for safe disposal in Pennsylvania, the rail bed will be graded, a trestle will be decked, and a surface of "T-Pack" (recycled asphalt) will be applied. Work will continue through the winter as weather allows. Once this project is complete, the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor Committee working with the Southern NH Rail Trail Alliance hopes to obtain approval of NH-DOT to have IHPS start in Salem. Details are being resolved but the estimated start date in Salem is April 2012.

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Iron Horse Preservation Society starts work on the Methuen Rail Trail
along the Manchester & Lawrence corridor, December 19, 2011.

A new bridge under the Windham Rail Trail about 3/4 mile south of the Windham Depot parking lot was completed in December so the popular trail is now open for winter activities. Connectivity of two Spruce Pond housing developments required the new bridge construction which severed the trail for about two months.

With the Derry Rail Trail being paved from Bowers Road to Windham Depot, biking and walking on a paved surface is possible from downtown Derry at Hood Park to Roulston Road, Windham (behind Cyr Lumber Co.). The remaining unfinished 0.6 mile in Windham crosses the Route 111 bike-ped bridge and ends at the Salem line behind the Cycles Etc. bike shop where a new trail-side parking lot will be developed beside Route 28.

Londonderry Trailways is seeking to continue development of the Manchester-Lawrence rail trail corridor by having IHPS help build the very scenic section between Route 28 (Mammoth Road) and Harvey Road (adjacent to the Manchester Airport). Some obstacles must be addressed and overcome, most concerning paperwork and finances, not construction issues. While this section would not immediately connect to other paved sections of the M&L rail trail, it would serve as a useful trail unto itself for bike commuters living along Mammoth Road and Route 28 going to work on Harvey Road and other companies adjacent to the airport.

From Lawrence to Manchester, there is a lot of progress underway on rail trail development with the obvious goal of connecting all sections as envisioned in 2003 by the NH-DOT "Rizzo Study" for the Salem-Concord Bikeway.

Bicycling Education programs being scheduled

Classroom and on-bike training for elementary school students continues, mostly under local Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant programs. An adult-level "Train the Trainers" program offered by BWA-NH to train and certify school phys-ed teachers, coaches, nurses, and other staff members to become LAB "Bicycling 1-2-3 Youth Instructors" so they can conduct LAB-designed bike-ed courses year after year in their schools for grades 4 and 5 is being implemented. The most recent training sessions were held in Warner and Pembroke with Pittsfield and Concord scheduled for the spring. This "TTT" program is funded by a SRTS grant to BWA-NH therefore it is free for the schools on a first-come, first served basis. Please contact the BWA-NH office for details: info@bwanh.org, 603.898.9926.

Looking Ahead: We encourage all interested parties, cyclists or not, to speak up in favor of improved bike-ped policies, education, and facilities. GSW members can renew their membership for just $20.00 more than the basic GSW rate of $15.00 if they wish to help financially with a tax deductible donation as our organization is 501(c)(3) certified. To upgrade from GSW to BWA-NH status, please make checks payable to "BWA-NH" as this automatically includes your full GSW membership. Check out the membership page on this web site.

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