The Monadnock Regional Coordinating Council for Community Transportation (MRCC) invites you to two Community Transportation Forums — one on April 17 in Peterborough and the other on April 18 in Keene.

Join this opportunity for a community conversation around:

How do people get around in rural NH?
If you don’t drive or have access to transportation- then what?
How does your town help residents who don’t drive?
What does the transportation future look like?

Also, learn about our 2018 Coordinated Plan for Community Transportation.

All are invited and encouraged to attend.

Community Members, Municipal Leadership, Elected Town Officials, Chambers of Commerce, Community Groups, State Senators, Representatives, Executive Councilors, Community Volunteers

You’re invited!  The Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation Annual Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 11th from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at the HCS Conference Room located at 312 Marlboro Street in Keene, NH.  This event is an opportunity to:

• Celebrate recent accomplishments in the region,
• Learn about the MAST’s focus for the upcoming year, and
• Connect with organizations and individuals working to implement sustainable transportation solutions in the Monadnock Region.

The program will begin with networking and light refreshments.  To register, click here.

This year, the event will feature two guest speakers:

• Phil Goff is a Senior Planning Associate with Alta Planning + Design.  He brings 18 years of urban design and pedestrian and bicycle facility planning experience to his work. Since 2009, he has managed Alta’s Cambridge office and has overseen planning and design projects throughout the Northeast. These projects include managing pedestrian and bicycle master planning projects in communities large and small, greenway corridor studies,  complete streets plans, streetscape design projects, and bike share system master plans.  His sincere passion for making cities and towns more lively, walkable, bike-friendly, and sustainable places represents a common theme in his work.

• Tiffany Mannion is the Bicycle Mayor of Keene, New Hampshire and the first Bicycle Mayor in the United States. She is a LAB Certified Cycling Instructor and a passionate two-wheeled commuter and explorer. In the world of cycling and social media, she is perhaps better known as bellecycle. She has ridden over 5600 miles since 2016 in eight different countries. Her two-year term as Bicycle Mayor will focus on three community-wide goals established with the support of MAST: Education, Connection, and Creation.  She has been featured in Rails to Trails Magazine and was an Ibex Advocate in the spring of 2017.  Follow Tiffany online at bicyclemayorofkeene.com.

You will also learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities and ways to get involved.  Stay tuned for more details!

Registration

The MAST annual meeting is free to attend, however registration is required.  To register, click here.

Free bike racks available for businesses and organizations in Jaffrey, Walpole, Winchester and Harrisville

By Liz Kelly, Southwest Region Planning Commission

In an effort to encourage more bicycling in the region, the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) and the Southwest Region Planning Commission (SWRPC) are seeking businesses and organizations in Jaffrey, Walpole, Winchester, and Harrisville to participate in Rack it Up!, a community-based bike rack initiative that aims to increase both the number and visibility of bike racks in the Monadnock Region.  The goal is to encourage bicycling as a healthy, fun and convenient transportation option for residents throughout the region.

Over the past three years, the Rack it Up! Program has provided 438 secure bicycle parking spaces at various locations in Keene, Swanzey, Hinsdale and Troy, including Yolo Frozen Yogurt, the Monadnock Humane Society, Brewbakers’ Café, the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, Ashuelot River Park, and the Samuel E. Paul Community Center.

Supported by the CDC’s Partnerships to Improve Community Health initiative, and administered by Cheshire Medical Center – Dartmouth Hitchcock to Healthy Monadnock partners, MAST and SWRPC are working to increase access to physical activity opportunities such as walking and bicycling.

Bicycling is an affordable and increasingly popular mode of transportation that has significant community health and environmental benefits.  Bike racks benefit businesses and organizations by increasing parking capacity, promoting physical activity and healthy habits, and providing more transportation options for customers and employees.

According to Mary Ann Kristiansen, Executive Director of the Keene-based Hannah Grimes Center and a 2015 Rack it Up! program participant, the bike racks “help promote an active culture, which is important in attracting entrepreneurs and younger people.  It helps promote a positive image of our community- that it’s a place to live, work, and play.”  To apply, go to www.mastnh.org/rackitup, or contact Liz Kelly at (603) 357-0557 or lkelly@swrpc.org for more information.

About Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST):
MAST is a volunteer coalition of organizations and individuals working to implement sustainable transportation solutions in the Monadnock Region.  MAST recognizes the broad impacts that our transportation system has on us as individuals and as communities- everything from access to employment and services to cost of living to our health and beyond.  MAST’s mission is to “promote all modes of transportation that enhance the environmental, economic and physical health and well-being of citizens in the Monadnock Region.”  To learn more about MAST, visit www.mastnh.org.

About Healthy Monadnock
Healthy Monadnock 2020 is a community engagement initiative designed to foster and sustain a positive culture of health throughout Cheshire County and the Monadnock Region. Founded and developed by the Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene in 2007, Healthy Monadnock’s action plans are being guided in the community by the Council for a Healthier Community, a group of 30+ individuals representing organizations, institutions, and businesses.  Community partners and Champions are working together to improve the quality of life and prevent the leading causes of death for everyone by implementing strategies to: increase healthy eating and active living, increase income and jobs, improve mental wellbeing, increase emergency preparedness, reduce substance misuse including tobacco, increase educational attainment, and increase access to and quality of healthcare.  To learn more about Healthy Monadnock, visit www.healthymonadnock.org.

Save

Originally Published in the Monadnock Shopper News

This month, Monadnock Buy Local gathered a list of businesses, organizations and initiatives strengthening Sustainable Transportation efforts in our region.  One initiative that came up again and again was the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation, a.k.a. MAST.

MAST is a volunteer-driven alliance working to bring a better transportation future to our region.  MAST’s vision includes each of us spending more time interacting with others and less time alone in a vehicle.  MAST works to buoy transportation options that enhance the environmental and economic health of our region and the physical health and wellbeing of community members.  Simply put, MAST wants to offer you healthier options for getting around.

“The group recognizes the broad impact that our transportation system has on us as individuals and as communities — everything from employment, to our cost of living and our health,” said Henry Underwood of Southwest Region Planning Commission and MAST Steering Committee Coordinator.

MAST is looking for volunteers passionate about transforming transportation in the Monadnock Region.  Here’s a review of three initiatives MAST plans to tackle in 2017 and an invitation for you to get involved.

Go For the Gold: Bicycle Friendly Community

The City of Keene is one of four “Bicycle Friendly Communities” in New Hampshire.  A Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) welcomes and encourages bicycling with infrastructure (paths and bike lanes), educational programs (Safe Routes to School) and policies (Complete Streets). While MAST is proud that our city achieved a Bronze BFC status in 2015, we’ve set our sites on reaching a higher status in 2017 — let’s go for the Silver… or better yet, the GOLD!

“The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) program is a tool for communities to make bicycling a real transportation and recreation option for all people,” shared Henry.

MAST volunteers plan to assist city staff with Keene’s BFC application by gathering data and garnering support for programs or practices that help boost our city to a higher status.  Discover more at bikeleague.org/community.

Carsharing

MAST recently published a report that collected background information, case studies and next steps for developing a carsharing program in Keene.  Carsharing allows an individual to rent a car for short periods of time — by the minute or hour, instead of by the day.

Imagine you plan to bike to work, but suddenly remember you have a midday meeting across town.   Normally, you’d skip the bike ride and take the car — but with a carsharing program in Keene, you can ride your bike to work and reserve a car through the carshare program to get to your meeting.  Ride your bike to that central location, where the carshare is parked, and off you go.

Since the cost of carsharing is much lower than private car ownership, carsharing can bring more mobility to those who need a vehicle for only occasional trips.  If we built up our carsharing fleet with hybrid or electric cars, we’d also lower our community’s vehicle emissions — a goal in the City of Keene’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

“Carsharing is a transportation option that offers the benefits of having a car without the cost or hassle of private ownership,” added Henry.  “In 2017, MAST will work with community partners to determine the feasibility of carsharing in Keene and the Monadnock Region.”

Learn more at carsharing.org.

Bike to Work Day in May

MAST and the City of Keene plan to host a Bike to Work Day event in May.  Last year, bicyclists, walkers and transit riders stopped by Railroad Square in Downtown Keene to listen to a proclamation by Keene Mayor Kendall Lane, participate in a Complete Streets Workshop and enjoy a free commuter breakfast, as well as a variety of giveaways.  This year, we’re looking for volunteer energy to expand and energize this event.

Bike to Work Day is part of a national month-long celebration sponsored by The League of American Bicyclists to promote bicycle commuting.

“From fashion shows to group rides, local groups find unique ways to celebrate their diverse bike cultures and community pride,” states The League of American Bicyclists website.  “Whether you bike to work or school; ride to save money or time; pump those pedals to preserve your health or the environment; or simply enjoy exploring your community, National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride.”

Get rolling at bikeleague.org/bikemonth.

Monadnock Buy Local supports the work of MAST and believes its work is integral to building a stronger Local Living Economy — one that is more local, green and fair. We serve on MAST’s Steering Committee and invite more individuals, businesses and organizations to climb aboard.  Contact Henry Underwood at hunderwood@swrpc.org or visit the MAST website at www.MASTNH.org.