==
Bike-Walk Alliance of NH == 
March 2009 : BWA-NH expands programs and outreach in 2009
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!
NH
DOT Bike-Ped Coordinator position filled:
Effective March 27, Larry Keniston will start his new position as the NH Bike-Ped
Coordinator working with Jerry Moore and reporting to Kit Morgan in the Bureau
of Rail and Transit. Larry was one of two candidates interviewed by a panel
of three including a BWA-NH representative. At that time we learned of Larry's
extensive background within NH DOT and his sincere interest in bicycling,
an activity which he does routinely. We expect to have many topics to review
with Larry in the months and years ahead, and we certainly wish him well in
his new position.
$5,000.00 in grants to NH rail trail groups from the GSW:
Effective March 30, the Granite State Wheelmen recreational bicycling club awarded five $1,000 grants to rail trail groups around the state. A total of ten groups submitted applications for the five available grants. Here is the email from GSW President Bill Kennedy who announced the winners:
----- Original Message -----
From: bk47gh@comcast.net
To: GSW List Serve
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 3:48 PM
Subject: [gswbike] Granite State Wheelmen $1000 Grant Winners!
Greetings Club Members and fellow cyclists,
It is with great pleasure that we announce the following organizations as
winners of the five $1,000.00 grants from the Granite State Wheelmen.
Windham Rail Trail Alliance (WRTA)
Derry Rail Trail Alliance (DRTA)
Manchester Moves, Inc. (MMI)
WOW Lakes Region Trail (WOW-LRT)
Friends of the Salem Bike-Ped Corrider (FSBPC)
These grants will be used by the winning groups to help them continue the
conversion of rail trails to bike and pedestrian paths through out New Hampshire.
There are 22 rail trail groups that form the NH Rail Trail Alliance, a division
of the BWA-NH. Of these 22, 10 submitted applications for the grant money.
We would like to also thank the Friends of Northern Rail Trail, Merrimack
County (FNRT-MC); Friends of the Northern Rail Trail, Grafton County (FNRT-GC);
Friends of the Goffstown Rail Trail (FGRT); the Mount Washington Bike Path
Committee (MWVBPC); and the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway (NHSG). The fact
that we were unable to award these groups grant money is not an indication
that they were not worthy, but only that we didn't have enough money! I would
encourage anyone reading this email to consider a donation to any or all of
these organizations that are working hard to provide safe riding and walking
trails for all of us to enjoy here in New Hampshire. We would encourage all
to check out the BWA-NH web site at www.bwanh.org for more information about
all of these hard working and worth while organizations.
We are planning to host a news conference in Concord around mid-April to publicly
announce and introduce the winners. We would appreciate as many GSW members
as possible attending this event. We will provide more details as they become
available.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all the groups for your efforts
to promote safe cycling.
Bill Kennedy
President, Granite State Wheelmen
Other
Rail Trail News:
New legislation was introduced via Senate Bill 203 seeking clarification of
how "rail with trail" could be implemented here in NH. In particular,
the desired rail trail in the Lakes Region runs along a lightly-used "active"
line used by the Hobo Scenic Railroad. Issues of safety, liability, fencing,
access, and wildlife crossing are all under consideration. Please
see our legislation page for more details about SB-203.
On April 1, Alex Bernhard of NH Rail Trail Alliance and Dave Topham, BWA-NH
Director, are to meeting with NH DOT's Jack Ferns as a follow-up to the initial
meeting with Jack and DOT Commissioner George Campbell on August 26, 2008.
We expect to develop a closer working relationship concerning rail trail development
and maintenance. Details will be announced after the meeting.
BWA is becoming better known throughout NH as the voice for bicyclists and
pedestrians concerning advocacy and education. The various NH rail trail groups
agreed to form the NH Rail Trail Alliance (NH-RTA) which is actually a division
under the BWA "umbrella" to minimize overhead and gain more wide-spread
support than being an independent organization. By working with the NH-RTA
Steering Committee and staff members at the Department of Resources and Economic
Development (DRED), BWA now has a vote on the Statewide Trails Advisory Committee
(STAC). While interest in rail trail development and management prompted BWA
to seek membership on DRED's STAC, all off-road facilities of interest to
bicyclists and walkers will be of prime concern to BWA. By sharing information
and ideas between all users of the NH trail systems, BWA sees our involvement
in STAC to be a win-win story for everyone.
BWA-NH supports stimulus TE funding of rail trails
and bike-ped projects:
Federal law directs each state to spend 3% of its highway allocation on the
Transportation Enhancements program. The expected allotment for New Hampshire
in 2009 is $3,883,217. In addition, the state is slated to receive $129,440,556
of the entire $27.5 billion stimulus road and bridge funding. This spending
is flexible, and New Hampshire can spend its allotment on bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure as it desires.
A letter (see copy)
was sent to Governor John Lynch on March 9 by BWA-NH Board member Josh Sattely
reminding him that rail trail and bike-ped projects should be included in
the distribution of these funds. In a public hearing held by NH DOT on March
13 and attended by at least four BWA-NH members, we learned that several rail
trail projects are on the "short list" thanks to earlier actions
to apply for these TE grants. How far the money will go is another matter,
but at least we are trying!
"Safe
Kids 500" at the NH Motor Speedway in Loudon
The fifth annual "Safe Kids 500" will be held on Monday, May 4, 2009 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. In 2008 we had good weather so about 500 people participated. Both the kids and the parents had a great time cycling on the track after their bikes passed a safety check by S&W Sports. Helmets are required, likewise helmets are available at the event and a helmet fitting service is provided by the Safe Kids Coalition and BWA-NH. For more information about this famous speedway, click here. For info about the Safe Kids 500, click here.
Implementation HB-1203 RSA's:
While HB-1203 was officially signed into law by Governor John Lynch last July
and is in effect as of January 1, 2009, the public needs to be informed of
this new law and how it should improve the interaction between motorists and
bicyclists. BWA is working with NH DMV, NH DOT, and both radio and TV PSA
producers to help spread the word. Driver education instructors will be informed
during their monthly workshops conducted by NH DMV while BWA will help when
and where possible. Support from AAA is also expected. Informational handouts
and the PSA's are planned for distribution in April and May to help everyone
become aware of the "3-foot rule" and all the other points covered
in this bill. Some unique "3 feet please" T-shirts will be used
for this public information campaign. To
view the bill click here.
Safe Routes to School:
This federally-funded SRTS program for children in grades K-8 living within
two miles of their schools provides for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure
projects, up to $100,000 each for the third round projects. The application
period for Round 3 closed on Monday, February 2, 2009. Projects submitted
to the NH DOT Safe Routes to School Coordinator will be reviewed by the nine
Regional Planning Commissions after which the applicants will present their
requests to the SRTS Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC) at the NH DOT Concord
office on Hazen Drive. The SAC then conducts a deliberative session and sends
their recommendations to DOT Commissioner George Campbell. At this time over
$3M remains for SRTS grants.
This new year offered Granite State communities another opportunity to apply
for reimbursement grants under Safe Routes to School (SRTS).
This 100 percent federally funded program encourages and enables students
in kindergarten through 8th grade to safely walk and/or ride bicycles from
home to school. SRTS is designed for children, including those with disabilities,
who live within approximately two miles of school.
Applications for the Round 3 cycle of grants had to be filed with both the
N.H. Department of Transportation (NHDOT) and the Regional Planning Commissions
(RPCs) by the end of business on Monday Feb. 2, 2009. See the complete February
SRTS e-newsletter for details.
BWA-NH is pleased to be one of ten voting members on the SRTS Statewide Advisory Committee. For more details about this reimbursement program, please visit the NH SRTS web site http://www.nh.gov/dot/bureaus/planning/SRTS_home.htm.
Bicycling education programs requested:
Several
of the communities which applied for SRTS funding have included a bicycling
education component in their grant application. BWA has been asked to provide
various levels of bike-ed ranging from simple one-period presentations to
longer programs including on-bike activities to "Train the Trainers"
programs for a sustainable bike-ed program in a given school. There are five
LAB-certified bicycling education instructors in NH who will provide the expertise
for these programs. BWA is pleased to coordinate the efforts and to help meet
the SRTS goals. See our Bike-Ed
page for an introduction.
Note:The NH BikeSmart
program featuring 45-minute presentations aimed at students in grades
3-5 now enters its third season. The program is owned and managed by Roger
Lohr of Hanover NH, 603.643.0920, email Lohr21@myfairpoint.net. Details will
be found on this web site as a courtesy to promote all levels of bicycling
education in our schools, but BikeSmart is not a BWA or LAB supported program
nor does BWA have any control or management of NH BikeSmart.
7th Annual NH Bike-Walk to Work Day now part of "Green Commute Week":
NH DOT has again partnered with BWA to organize and promote the annual Bike-Walk
to Work events during May, this being the 53rd annual at the national level
having been started by the League of American Bicyclists (actually the LAW)
in 1956. This year in NH, alternative transportation including ride sharing,
van pools, bus and rail transit options will be promoted along with bicycling
and walking. A combination of these transportation methods should help a person
not to drive a single occupant car. Note that the "to work" phrase
does not mean just going to work! Any destination normally accessed by using
a car counts. Shopping, visiting friends, going to the gym, school, or GSW
ride starting locations all count. Stay tuned and visit the BWA web site www.bwanh.org
for details about this statewide event. There will be commuter breakfasts
and drawings at most locations then a wrap-up event to announce awards in
June.
See
the Green Commute Week page on this web site for details.
National Bike Summit, Washington DC, March 11-13, 2009
This year Greg Bakos of the BWA-NH Programs Committee attended this annual
League of American Bicyclists event in Washington, DC. Many workshops and
meetings with the US Reps and Senators from NH make the summit a very worthwhile
event. Representatives from other NH organizations including GSW President
Bill Kennedy attended. Activities during the summit could be monitored in
real time via Twitter. A constant stream of "tweets" kept bicycling
advocates informed in a totally new and modern way. For
details please check the LAB web site.
BWA-NH organizational structure enhanced:
At
the December BWA-NH Board meeting, the foundation for an Executive Committee
consisting of ten divisions or committees was created. With all the bicyclist
and pedestrian advocacy and education programs now underway or planned, BWA-NH
simply needed more talented people devoting more time to make things happen.
The organization chart and listing of people filling the positions will appear
soon. BWA-NH is very pleased with the progress to date. The expertise and
commitment being devoted to the primary BWA-NH goals is very significant and
will result in a "cross-over" of support between the divisions and
committees. Established groups and organizations are encouraged to join BWA-NH
as affiliates with everyone retaining their own identity and internal structure.
Groups just forming are welcome to join BWA-NH as members or sponsors in order
to derive the benefits which can be provided by a state-wide "umbrella"
organization - and that is us!
BWA-NH attains IRS non-profit status:
In
conjunction with the enhanced structure, BWA-NH is now a fully-certified IRS
501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. This allows tax deductable donations and
grants going back to our name change on April 10, 2006. All donations, memberships,
and sponsorship are deductable less $15.00 a year which pays for the GSW newsletter
and membership benefits. Our new Fundraising Committee will be seeking grants
to fund expenses such as PSAs for implementation of HB-1203 and "train
the trainer" programs to have bike-ed taught in public schools on a sustainable
basis. And this is just a beginning!
National Bicycle Commuter Act:
While the year ahead promises plenty of challenges, there are also incredible opportunities. One is that people need to get on their bikes now more than ever - and thanks to the Bicycle Commuter Act, this will be first year you can actually get some credit from Uncle Sam for riding your bike!.
Many
details are now available. If you are interested,
read on!
New
video awareness tests posted:
See
the "How Smart are
You?" page for new videos from Peter Warner of Transport for London
(TFL). Motorist often don't see bicyclists just because they are not looking
for them. Distractions like cell phones and texting are major problems, but
if a person is concentrating on one item the changes in surroundings (which
might include a bicyclist) are often not seen. How about you? Take the video
awareness tests to see if you notice details!