Attend the State Transportation Presentation

From Tara Germond, Southwest Region Planning Commission & MRTMA

Where:  Keene Recreation Center

When:  Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 7:00 pm

What:  Hear a presentation on the State’s plan for investing in transportation infrastructure and operations over the next Ten Years and offer your feedback and ask questions.  Ten Year Plan Information

Why:  MRTMA stakeholders may be interested in attending these events as it involves how funding is spent on all modes of transportation in the State.  Here’s a glimpse of SWRPC’s analysis on how the plan will affect our highways and bridges as well as bike, ped and transit modes:

•  Federal funding for highway and bridge infrastructure is not planned to be matched with new state cash, but instead with Turnpike toll credits previously invested in the state’s Turnpike.  The result is that our state will not be leveraging $30 million per biennium.

• The State plans to transfer 50% of federal funding from popular bike and ped programs such as the Transportation Enhancement program towards highway and bridge needs.

• Recently, New Hampshire has transferred $1.6 million ($800,00 per year) of “flexible” highway funding towards providing transit services.  The plan discontinues this funding transfer so that funding can meet shortfalls in other parts of the transportation budget.  The Monadnock Region has received a portion of this funding and using the funding to provide 5,700 more additional trips for people that need a ride in our Region per year.

• The construction of an important multi-use bridge proposed in Keene, “South Bridge”, has been deferred from 2013 to 2021