The Planning Commission is currently involved in three projects examining expansions of transit and paratransit in our Region. The Route 10 Job Access Study, included recommendations to activate a Guaranteed Ride Home Program and to hire a Mobility Manager to work with employers, employees and others to increase ridesharing in the Region. A local transportation provider, Contoocook Valley Transportation Company, will begin implementing these programs throughout the Monadnock Region in the late summer. The Route 119 Transit Expansion Feasibility Study, market and needs analysis is showing promise for transit service in the area. Nelson Nygaard and Associates, a transit consultant working for the Commission on this Study, is putting together some service scenarios for the Brattleboro BeeLine to expand service from Brattleboro to Hinsdale and possibly Winchester. Finally, the Planning Commission was recently awarded a Federal Transit Administration grant to examine the feasibility of expanding public transit and paratransit services on the Route 12 Corridor north of Keene. The Commission is partnering with four agencies that provide transit and paratransit services in the area, including American Red Cross - NH West Chapter, Community Transportation Services, Connecticut River Transit and Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services to examine Route 12 and its connections to Keene, Westmoreland, Walpole and Charlestown in NH as well as Westminster, Rockingham and Springfield in Vermont. For more information, please contact J. B. Mack of Commission staff.

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 NH Water Resource Primer Public Information Session

On April 6, 2009 the Planning Commission through its Natural Resources Advisory Committee co-sponsored a public information session on the Water Resource Primer that was recently released by the NH Department of Environmental Services. The primer is part of the process to develop a state water resources plan and contains important facts and statistics on maintaining the quality of our water resources. The primer provides information on issues including growth and development, climate change, funding and maintenance of infrastructure, stream flows, groundwater monitoring, invasive species, and mapping of flood-prone areas. For additional information, please contact Lisa Murphy or Eric Smith of Commission staff.

On June 4, 2009 the Planning Commission in conjunction with its Natural Resources Advisory Committee will host a public discussion with representatives from the State's Groundwater Study Commission at the Keene Public Library beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Groundwater Study Commission was formed by the NH State Legislature to investigate the method in which groundwater withdrawals are managed in New Hampshire, and the role of municipalities in the regulation of these withdrawals. Information gathered at the public discussion will assist the Groundwater Study Commission in providing their recommendation to the Legislature. For additional information, please contact Lisa Murphy of Commission staff.