With an almost endless supply of people coming into the state and only a finite amount of roads for them to travel on, New Hampshire is going to have come up with new ways to get residents from point A to point B while balancing the state’s rural heritage.

A new report, compiled by state agencies, regional planning commissions and community organizations, lays out a vision for transportation in the Granite State circa 2030, a vision that is more holistic than current efforts.

While the state Department of Transportation maintains a 10-year plan for upcoming transportation projects and roadway improvements, the report issued by the New Hampshire Transportation Business Plan Community Advisory Committee (CAC) takes a broader view, according to Lew Feldstein, president of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and chair of the CAC.

“From the beginning, we’ve been focusing very heavily on the connection between land use and transportation planning,” Feldstein says. “If you don’t pay attention to the connection between both of them, then you won’t get either one of them right.”

Land use and planning are generally left up to individual municipalities, but they are vital parts of the state’s transportation infrastructure, according to the report.

More careful community planning will eliminate sprawl, which in turn will reduce the amount of traffic and air pollution in the state. The report also encourages more input from the public and from the nine regional planning commissions in the state.

The CAC was formed by the state Department of Transportation and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation in 2004 and includes members of the state’s nine regional planning commissions, community organizations and other groups.

Considerations that inform land use decisions—from protecting underground aquifers to preserving scenic views—all lead back into transportation, according to Feldstein.

For example, development trends have pushed things like new schools and libraries out of downtown areas and into the outskirts of communities. Feldstein notes that state requirements for the amount of classroom and recreation space per pupil, the number of parking spaces and other guidelines often force schools out of the center of town, where space is limited, to places where there is more open space, but less pedestrian access. And unless the state changes its regulations, Feldstein said that trend is not likely to reverse itself.

“It does make it easier for individual cars to drive to (locations), but it makes it less likely people will walk from one place to another … and it creates more overall car trips,” he said.

To encourage better planning, the CAC recommends the state provide additional funds for regional planning commissions, which already play a “fairly significant role” in transportation development in the state, said Rockingham Planning Commission director Cliff Sinnott.

Under the CAC’s recommendations, planning commissions would provide more technical assistance to communities in planning how to keep new growth in line with transportation needs.

“The idea is to help the towns more toward more of a sustainable … smart-growth pattern. You promote things like town center development, or village development, where people can walk more to get to their destinations,” said Sinnott.

Building up town centers could also present other opportunities, such as laying the groundwork for a rail system.

“The key to rail in part is land use decisions that will create dense enough population centers that will support the rail,” Feldstein said. “Otherwise, you’d have nobody to ride it.”

Funding remains an issue, however. According to the CAC report, the DOT received about $539 million in funding in 2005. About $366 million of that goes toward maintaining the state highway system’s existing level of service. However, over the next 25 years, that number is expected to increase to about $450 million a year, while federal and state transportation revenues are expected to either stay the same or decrease. The CAC report calls for an increase in public-private partnerships for roadway projects, more tax-increment financing (TIF) districts, and better use of federal funds to help offset these costs.

The new plan also differs from previous plans in that it includes input from environmental groups, disability services organizations and other organizations not traditionally associated with transportation planning. According to the report, New Hampshire has the seventh oldest average age in the country. About 12 percent of the state’s population is over 65, and as the number of senior citizens increases, Feldstein said, their transportation needs will increase.

“As people get older, they’re less and less likely to drive, and so you’ve got to make some provision to get people to the doctors, to go shopping, to community events and to religious activities,” he said.
Others, such as those with disabilities and parents with school-aged children, have also been left out of the transportation loop.

“One of the major barriers to getting kids to participate in after school activities is the absence of transportation,” said Feldstein. “The transportation system ought to think about that and pay attention to how to get kids to (after school) programs.”

Public opinion already seems to be going in that direction. In November 2005, the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability released the results of a statewide survey on residents’ transportation concerns. The survey found that residents support the idea of an increased public transportation service. Of the 749 people surveyed, 57 percent said they would support adding a $5 to the annual car registration fee in order to develop an “affordable and accessible” transportation system.

Since the report was released, the CAC has hosted three public meetings in Hanover, Bethlehem and Nashua. A meeting is scheduled at the Newington Town Hall on Tuesday, April 4. Public response has been favorable, according to Feldstein.

“There’s strong support for the state taking on the broader needs of transportation,” he said. He added that the public seems to agree that the existing system isn’t serving people nearly as well as it should be.