 |
SWRPC |
June 2008 |
| Commission Highlights |
Vol. 14 - No. 6 |
2008 Annual Commission Meeting
The Planning Commission held its 2008 Annual Commission Meeting on June 24, 2008 at Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield, NH. Over 60 attendees representing twenty communities participated in activities which included advisory committee reports, a summary status report of the Planning Commission's FY08 Work Program, approval of the Planning Commission's FY09 Work Program Budget, and the election of the Board of Directors and Officers for the upcoming year. The guest speaker for the evening was Donald Shumway, President of the Crotched Mountain Foundation who spoke of several interesting projects that they have been focused on.
New Transportation Projects
The Planning Commission is pleased to announce that it recently received three federal grants through the NH Department of Transportation. One grant will be to perform Road Safety Audits for three locations in the Southwest Region with a history of safety issues that were omitted from the State's Ten Year Transportation Improvement Plan. The areas that will receive audits include the Route 10 Manning Hill area in Winchester, the intersection of Routes 12 and 119 in Fitzwilliam and the intersection of Routes 101 and 123 in Peterborough. The audits will be designed to find low cost alternatives to improve safety at each of the locations. Another grant will fund a transit feasibility study to extend existing transit service from Brattleboro, VT into New Hampshire along Route 119 in Hinsdale and possibly beyond to Winchester. The third grant will fund an effort to update a Coordinated Community Transportation Plan for the Region as well as help the Eastern Monadnock Region form a Regional Coordinating Council to guide shared ride transportation options in the Region. For more information, please contact J. B. Mack of Commission Staff.
Greenhouse Gas Emission Data
Ten communities in the Southwest Region have completed or are close to completing Phase I of their municipal inventories for energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as part of the Cool Monadnock initiative. Alongside the municipal inventorying, an analysis of regional energy use is being performed. Findings shared at the June 26th EPA Forum and Community Panel reveal that transportation accounts for 40% of the GHG emissions in the Southwest Region. This can be attributed to the fact that this is a largely rural area that depends on the automobile to access the full range of necessary daily services. Our buildings account for a total of 57% of emissions, with 32% generated by residential buildings and 25% generated by commercial/industrial buildings. Dealing with waste and refuse accounts for 3% of GHG emissions. For more information about the municipal or regional inventories, please contact Tim Garceau of Commission staff.
Brownfield Nominations Sought
The Planning Commission's Brownfields Program is currently seeking nominations for potential Brownfields sites. Brownfields are defined as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous waste substance, pollutant, or contaminant." Fear of contamination due to a previous use often leads to properties being underutilized and an increase in the use of "greenfields," previously unused properties, leading to further environmental degradation. A keystone of the Brownfields Program is removing the uncertainty of liability for prospective buyers who did not pollute the property, to allow them to move forward with clean-up and redevelopment. For more information or to discuss a potential property nomination, please contact J. B. Mack of Commission staff.
2008 Traffic Research Season
The Traffic Research season is in full swing once again. With 150+ traffic counts to be performed during 2008, the fieldwork team began in Keene since many locations were not countable during 2007 due to road closures and detour traffic. Roadway inventory, which involves using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to map Class V roads, has already taken place in Fitzwilliam and Jaffrey and will be coming to Harrisville, Alstead and Sullivan in the near future. Be on the lookout for the SWRPC traffic research van out on the road in your town. Slow down to help us to stay safe and say hello to devoted interns Rick Brackett and Neel Patel. For more information regarding the Traffic Research Program, please contact Tim Garceau of Commission staff.
Town of Winchester Charrette
Planning Commission staff attended a Plan NH charrette for the Town of Winchester which took place on June 20-21, 2008. The event involving residents and business owners, focused on generating ideas to create a conceptual plan for downtown revitalization and the adaptive re-use of the former AC Lawrence Tannery property. The final plan will be used as a template for attracting businesses to Winchester. Congratulations to the Town for being selected as a Plan NH recipient. For more information, please contact Lisa Murphy of Commission staff.
|
|
Southwest Region Planning Commission
20 Central Square, 2nd Floor, Keene, NH 03431
Ph: (603) 357-0557, Fax: (603) 357-7440
General E-mail: admin@swrpc.org
|
Check out the