2017 Complete Streets Demonstrations
Throughout the spring and summer of 2017, the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) and Southwest Region Planning Commission (SWRPC) are working with four communities to coordinate Complete Streets demonstration events that will last anywhere from 1 to 5 days. These events are an opportunity to show the benefits of Complete Streets, engage the public in the planning process and gather feedback, and support the development of local Complete Streets policies.
- Jaffrey Traffic Calming Demonstration May/June 2017: This demonstration took place from Tuesday, May 30th through Friday, June 2nd on School Street in Jaffrey near Jaffrey Grade School. The demonstration featured two crosswalks in front of the school, shoulder lines to visually narrow the roadway, and a median to slow traffic in front of the school. To learn more, click here. To see pictures, click here.
- Walpole Complete Streets Demonstration June 2017: The Walpole demonstration will feature sharrows on Main Street, a bike lane near the Walpole Elementary and Middle Schools, a painted walkway near Mascoma Savings Bank in Walpole Village, and an enhanced traffic island at the intersection of Main Street and Westminster Street. The demonstration will be set up for Walpole Old Home Days, June 23rd-26th. To learn more, click here.
- Harrisville Complete Streets Demonstration July 2017: The Harrisville Complete Streets demonstration will take place on Saturday, July 8th during the Old Home Days weekend. The demonstration will feature two crosswalks on Main Street in the village center. For more information, click here.
- Winchester Complete Streets Demonstration July 2017: The Winchester Complete Streets demonstration will take place on Saturday, July 22nd (rain date July 29th) from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. during the outdoor farmer’s market on Main Street. The event will include curb extensions at two crosswalks near the outdoor farmer’s market and a parklet to help calm traffic, improve visibility of pedestrians waiting to cross the street, and add greenspace and seating to the streetscape. More details to follow. For more information, contact us.
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Past Complete Streets Demonstrations
Throughout 2015 and 2016, Southwest Region Planning Commission (SWRPC) and the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) worked with several communities, including Swanzey, Keene, Hinsdale, and Troy to develop local Complete Street policies. In order to support the development of these policies and creatively engage members of the public in the planning process, SWRPC, MAST, the local municipalities, and over thirty community groups and partners worked together to coordinate four “Complete Street Demonstration” events. Funded by a population health initiative called “Partnerships to Improve Community Health” (PICH), these events were an opportunity to actively demonstrate how space within the public right-of-way can be reallocated to promote safety for all users while enhancing sense of place.
Keene Complete Streets Demonstration Event
A temporary bike lane and crosswalk on Marlboro Street show residents how the roadway can better accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians and increase overall safety.
The Keene Complete Streets demonstration event took place on Saturday, September 19, 2015 on Marlboro Street. The event featured narrowed travel lanes, protected bike lanes and a pedestrian island, improved landscaping and green buffers, new pedestrian crossings, and other traffic calming measures. In addition, creative elements such as public art, benches made of recycled bicycle parts, mini golf courses, and more were incorporated to help stimulate discussion about how to reactivate this section of town. Activities included bicycle tours of downtown Keene, a bike art and kinetic sculpture exhibition, free yoga, free bicycle tune-ups, a special City Express bus route, live music, and food trucks. Volunteers and staff solicited input throughout the event from the public, which will be used to inform future capital improvement projects along the Marlboro Street corridor.
Click here for more information on the Keene demonstration.
Swanzey Complete Streets Demonstration Event
SWRPC’s Transportation Planner JB Mack adds temporary shared lane markings to the roadway.
The Swanzey Complete Streets demonstration event took place on Saturday, August 29, 2015 in front of Whitcomb Hall on Main Street in West Swanzey. The event, which coincided with the Whitcomb Hall Committee’s Annual Chicken BBQ, showcased street design elements such as narrowed travel lanes, curb extensions at pedestrian crosswalks, artistic crosswalks, street trees, pedestrian-scale lighting, shared lane markings (i.e. “sharrows”), improved landscaping and green buffers, and other traffic calming measures. The Town collected feedback throughout the event. This feedback was taken into consideration during the re-design of Main Street, which was completed in the fall of 2016.
Click here for more information on the Swanzey demonstration.
Hinsdale Complete Streets Demonstration Event
A parklet increases enhances the sense of place on a Main Street and helps slow traffic.
On Sunday, July 10, 2016 a section of Main Street in Hinsdale was transformed to showcase ideas for making the Town Center a more walkable, bikeable, and vibrant place. The demonstration was an opportunity for the town to test out various streetscape elements, including a traffic pinch point, curb extensions, parklets, enhanced landscaping, shared lane markings (i.e. “sharrows”), a protected bicycle lane, and marked pedestrian crossings. This event helped spark conversations in town about how to slow traffic and reactivate the Town Center, ultimately resulting in the formation of a town beautification committee.
Click here for more information on the Hinsdale demonstration
Troy Complete Streets Demonstration Event
A temporary crosswalk is installed to show Troy residents how pedestrian crossing safety can be improved.
On Saturday, September 10, 2016 the Town of Troy and Southwest Region Planning Commission made temporary changes to the streetscape near the Troy Town Common to showcase examples of pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly street design. These changes included two temporary crosswalks and a bicycle lane. Comment boxes were used to collect feedback from the public throughout the demonstration. Although this demonstration was not organized as an event, the Town was able to collect useful feedback that was shared with Town officials.
Click here for more information on the Troy demonstration.