== Bike-Walk Alliance of NH ==

August 2008: Summer cycling in high gear!

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 during this summer season it is difficult to write about all of it. However, let's get started!

Contest winners

Last month BWA-NH offered a contest via this web site in which the first three people to properly identify the "happy father" pictured on the home page would win a free one-year membership to our organization. The photo was taken at the "Safe Kids 500" event at the NH Motor Speedway on June 18. Shown wearing a very distinctive and colorful T-shirt was NH DOT Engineer Tom Jameson, formerly of the NH DOT Bicycle-Pedestrian Office where he was the Bike-Ped Coordinator for about eight years. The first three people to identify Tom by responding via email were Greg Geraci of Manchester, Dick Lemieux of Concord, and Kirk Hutcheon on Derry. Congratulations! We hope these winners enjoy their free new or renewed BWA-NH memberships and that they keep working to help us improve our bike-ped environment here in New Hampshire.


The new NH bike law now signed

House bill HB-1203 concerning bicyclists, motorists, and state roadways was signed by Governor Lynch. The "ceremonial signing" with media coverage was held July 18. The implementation phase is now underway before the law is to be effective January 1, 2009. Several "letters to the editor" have appeared in the Concord Monitor both supporting and criticizing the new law. Basically, it comes down to common sense and courtesy. Bicyclists and motorists must realize the dangers and opportunities of using our shared roadways. Both must follow the rules of the road, and BWA-NH supports enforcement of these rules, existing and as stated in HB-1203.


Rail trails

Progress on rail trails around the state continues! In addition to much activity on the old Manchester to Lawrence corridor in NH, a new effort in Methuen, Mass. will add another 1.5 miles from the Salem town line to the Methuen depot. This project is being undertaken by the Methuen Rail Trail group - see www.MethuenRailTrail.org for details.

The Manchester Regional Bike Tour on September 14 will help promote development not only in Manchester but the surrounding communities. Be sure to check out the details on this web site. Note: Event postponed until 2009 per notification received August 20, 2008.

Meanwhile, some articles have appeared about commuter trains using this corridor to provide alternate transportation for motorists using Route 93. While alternatives should certainly be considered and high-speed commuter trains are fantastic, the Manchester to Lawrence corridor simply cannot support this type of service. The Route 93 expansion project should help relieve traffic congestion for a little while. For commuter trains, the existing Boston-Lowell-Nashua-Manchester-Concord corridor is to be upgraded and is considered to be the only practical route for trains running from Boston to Manchester and later to Concord.

Check out our NH Rail Trails listings via the index provided on this web site.


Bicycling education

Bicycling education via the NH BikeSmart program concluded in June with 5,134 students and 450 adults representing grades 3-5 in 39 schools being reached this year. A more advanced LAB "Kids-II" program was held in Hopkinton for 85 students in grade 8; more are slated for the upcoming school year. See the BikeSmart page for more details. Under discussion are several "train the trainers" courses in order to reach more students with these highly-recognized and standardized bike-ed programs.


Safe Routes to School program

All applicants for the second round of the NH Safe Routes to School program gave their presentations at NH DOT in July and the Statewide Advisory Committee selected the proposed recipients of this reimbursement funding at a later meeting. The recommendations for nearly $1M will be forwarded to NH DOT Commissioner George Campbell for his review and approval. Round three is slated to start accepting applications late this year as approximately $3.4M is left in the NH SRTS fund. BWA-NH is pleased to be a voting member on advisory committee. See details in the July issue of the NH Safe Routes to School newsletter.


LAB/Maine Bike Rally - In Review

The LAB National Rally was combined with the Maine Bike Rally on July 11-13 in Fryeburg, Maine. Approximately 650 cyclists enjoyed the well-organized event which included wonderful rides, great food, and the chance to meet both regional and national cycling advocates. BWA-NH and the GSW had a shared table-top exhibit area. We look forward to the 2009 Maine Bike Rally which is again planned to be headquartered at the Fryeburg Academy.

New State of NH Bike Maps now available

A new set of seven regional NH bike maps are now available from NH DOT. After nearly two years of meetings, presentations, state-wide hearings, inputs for various cycling groups, revisions, budget cuts, and other time-consuming projects, the new maps were available in time for the Bike/Walk to Work Day events on May 16. To ensure the maps reach bicyclists and not just tourists looking for a free souvenir that is soon trashed, they must be requested. Distribution will be made via the rest areas on the NH Interstate Highways, by contacting the DOT, and from other key NH locations around the state. BWA-NH is a member of the bike map steering committee and can testify that a lot of time and effort has gone into these maps. To be sure, they are not perfect and the state infrastructure is a moving target that cannot be reflected on a map which may be outdated before it is printed. To compensate for such, the NH DOT Bike-Ped web site http://www.nh.gov/dot/nhbikeped will carry updated versions of the maps available for free downloading plus notation of corrections. Any problems or suggestions concerning the maps should be sent to the attention of Jerry Moore in the NH DOT Bike-Ped Office at JMoore2@dot.state.nh.us. (Please use email to contact the Bike-Ped Office, not the phone.)

The new maps are smaller but more comprehensive than prior versions. When folded they are just 4.5" x 6" so they fit nicely into bike bags or jersey pockets. The printing is very sharp and easy to read on the 18" x 24" layout. Included is an elevation profile, ratings for the suggested on-road routes, improved and unimproved rail trails, features including airports, covered bridges, commuter rail stations, rest areas, state parks, park & ride locations, sample recreational ride loops, and even the water taxi on Lake Winnipesaukee. Rules of the road concerning bicyclists are stated, complete with the RSA numbers. Governor John Lynch provided the welcome message. The seven maps are based on the seven tourist regions of NH: Merrimack Valley, Seacoast, Monadnock, Lakes, Dartmouth / Lake Sunapee, White Mountains, and the Great North Woods. Distinctive cover photos help identify the maps. The life-cycle of these maps is estimated to be five years. The NH DOT Bike-Ped Office hopes the bicycling community finds the maps to be helpful, especially since state-wide inputs from many bicyclists were incorporated into the final design.

Recent News

Did you miss reading about what the BWA-NH has been doing in past years? If so, check out our Recent News page.

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