Originally posted by Healthy Monadnock
In Swanzey, NH (population: 7,300) town officials recently adopted a Complete Streets policy — a guide for its town planners, public works department and developers to follow when planning street renovations, changes and improvements.
Read post: Swanzey to Make Roadways Safe for Walking and Biking
The Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) is looking for volunteers to help with its Rethink Marlboro Street event in Keene on September 19th. Learn more about Complete Street Demo Days in our region.
Volunteer jobs include:
If you’d like to sign up for a volunteer shift, please email Mari at mbrunner@swrpc.org.
Keene city staff presented a draft Complete Streets Policy to the Municipal Services, Facilities and Infrastructure Committee on July 22, 2015. Once adopted, hopefully this fall, the policy will help our city approach any transportation work as an, “opportunity to create safer, more accessible streets for all users.”
The Keene Complete Streets Planning & Design Guidelines document provides implementation details. City streets are divided into 6 different types with design recommendations for each type.
Learn more about Complete Streets and stay updated on adoption progress in Keene: Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation.
According to the City of Keene’s 2006 – 2008 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, our community is not on target to meet its greenhouse gas emission goal of reducing emissions to 10% below 1995 levels by 2015. This goal measures if we were moving Keene further towards or away from becoming a Climate Resilient Community.
Since the inventory report indicates we are stepping away from resiliency, it’s imperative for us to take a closer look at this report.
The two sectors contributing the most emissions in our community are Transportation and Commercial/Industrial. Given the reality of living where we do, how can we work together to reduce energy use and the carbon emissions released by these two sectors?
The Cities for Climate Protection Committee is focusing on these two top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and the related targets identified in the City of Keene’s Climate Adaptation Plan.
Currently, the committee is working with the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation on the feasibility of Car Sharing in our region and with Monadnock Buy Local to identify policies that support our local businesses and their efforts to become more environmentally sustainable.
Consider your place of work and how you get there… how can you support alternative transportation and local living economy efforts at your place of employment?
From the City of Keene
Elementary schools in Keene will join schools from around the country to celebrate National Bike and Walk to School Day this spring:
Students will be riding or walking to school along with parents, teachers and community leaders. Mayor Kendall Lane will be walking with Jonathan Daniel’s School this Thursday from the First Baptist Church of Keene after accompanying Franklin and Symonds schools at past events.
Bike & Walk to School Days encourage a nationwide celebration of biking and walking students in the month of May and builds on the popularity and success of Walk to School Days, which are celebrated across the country – and the world – each October.
Bike & Walk to School Day events raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for bicycling and walking and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, reducing traffic congestion and concern for the environment. The events build connections between families, schools and the broader community.
The event is being organized by each school individually. Keene has been active in the Federal Safe Routes to School program since 2007 involving thousands of children and parents in exploring increased walking and biking to school opportunities.
For additional local information, please contact each school with the information shown above.
For additional information, please visit these websites:
– Walk and Bike to School Day
– National Center for Safe Routes to School
Originally posted in the Monadnock Shopper News
Last fall, we highlighted how bicycling means business by boosting revenues at bike-accessible businesses. Now there’s a free opportunity for qualified businesses and organizations in Keene and Swanzey to make bicycling mean business for them, through a community-based bicycle rack initiative called “Rack It Up!”
Not only does bicycling bring extra business to businesses, biking contributes more to our local economy than driving — on average, only sixteen percent of our car expenses stay in our local economy.
Interested businesses located in bicycle-friendly areas — with existing bicycle traffic or destinations for people traveling by bike — will receive free or subsidized bicycle racks. Participants are also encouraged to offer incentives and amenities that support bicyclists, such as covered bike parking, Bicycle Benefits and other meaningful perks for employees and customers traveling by bike. Learn more about Bicycle Benefits, a…
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From City of Keene’s Climate Adaptation Plan
GOAL: Create alternative route options for movement of goods and people.
Targets
GOAL: Design and reconstruct roadways to handle changes in temperature and precipitation as a result of a change in climate.
Targets
GOAL: Provide sustainable transportation mode choices (locally and regionally).
Targets
From Keene Kiwanis
Warmer weather is coming soon and that means kids will be spending more time outside doing their favorite things like bike riding. The Kiwanis Club of Keene is a community service club that does everything it can to make life fun for kids in our community and we are especially focused on keeping kids safe and healthy. On Saturday, May 2 we will be hosting our annual Kool Wheels Family Fun and Safety Day at the Keene Parks and Recreation Center on Washington Street from 10 am to 12 pm. There is no charge for this community event.
Kool Wheels is our Kiwanis club’s annual effort to make biking safe for kids. Kids 4-12 years old will be able to choose a free bicycle helmet from a colorful selection of bike helmets while supplies last. Helmets will be properly fitted to each child. To help us make sure that bikes are safe, the Monadnock Cycling club will be there once again to provide a quick tune up for every kids bike brought to the event. The youth clubs that Kiwanis supports at Keene and Monadnock high schools will set up a bike safety riding range where good bike safety skills will be emphasized. Each child will receive a Certificate of Achievement when they complete the course. And best of all, at noon, a drawing will be held and a brand new bicycle will be given to the family that has the winning door prize ticket.
Many other organizations have volunteered their time to speak with the children and pass out safety tips and literature including the Keene Police Department and the Keene Fire Department. Attendees are invited to bring a teddy bear or doll that might have a “broken arm or paw”, and the orthopedic staff of Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene will apply a colorful cast to the damaged limb. Parents of younger children may choose to have a staff member of the CMC/DHK Children’s Learning Center do a safety check of the child’s car seat. Keene State College Dietetic Interns will be hosting the preparation and serving of healthy snacks and will provide dietary information about healthy eating.
To round out the enjoyable day, face painting and arts and crafts tables will be available and Ribby from the Swamp Bats will be on hand to talk with the children. Download a flyer for the day or for more information, contact co-chairs: Joan Hoose or Kelly Manning.
Mark your calendars! Saturday, May 2nd from 10-12 am at the Keene Rec Center. See you there.
The City of Keene is continuing their Safe Routes to School partnership with Keene schools this spring. The engineering firm DuBois & King will be examining the possibilities at the Maple Acres neighborhood for creating safer routes for children’s walking and biking. These children attend both the Jonathan M. Daniels Elementary as well as the Keene Middle School. The goal for this pilot project is to reduce driving speeds and improve safety. A Public Informational Meeting will be held at 6 PM on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at the Jonathan Daniels Elementary School Multipurpose Room. Lucy Gibson, Senior Transportation Planner, of DuBois & King will explain the scope of the project and their initial research. She will also show the types of possible treatments and ask for ideas.
The work is focused on Dale Drive and Pako Avenue. Some of the possible improvements are crosswalks, advance stop lines, on-street, painted bicycle/walker symbols, flexible and reflective lane separation pylons and thermoplastic bike /walk lanes, among other ideas. There will be three public meetings: this first Informational Session, a Public Presentation of Design Alternatives in May, and a Public Presentation of the Final Design in June. The final choices are anticipated to be constructed in the fall of 2016. Read more details
By using a combination of City Express and our bicycles we’ve been able to completely do away with our motor vehicle. It presents some challenges, but it also for us is a big accomplishment in reducing our carbon footprint. We rely very much on Andy’s Cycle to meet our bicycle maintenance and improvement needs and they always treat us well. I’m especially grateful, too, for the bike racks on the City Express buses, which make it easier for us to combine public transportation and biking as a primary means of transportation.
Others mentioned:
Monadnock Complete Economy Project 