By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

The journey toward a livable, walkable community takes place one meeting at a time.

That was the philosophy behind the inaugural meeting of the New Boston Connects Action Team on Wednesday, April 19.

Working under the umbrella of the Livable, Walkable Communities project, New Boston Connects aims to open the town to forms of outdoor activities including walking and bicycling.

Also, group members say they hope to ease traffic problems in town and ultimately make the area more pedestrian-friendly.

These long-term goals are often best approached incrementally, said Sandi Van Scoyoc, chairman of the town’s Foot Traffic and Road Safety Committee and organizer of the Action Team meeting.

“We have long-term goals, but some of those things take place in the coming years,” Van Scoyoc said. “A lot of people in the community wanted to get started on things right now.”

New Boston’s efforts to enhance its local pedestrian and bicycle opportunities can also work well with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation’s Context Sensitive Solutions program, Van Scoyoc said.

The small group of residents who gathered at the Dignard Family Community Room at the New Boston Community Church looked at a range of topics including foot and bicycle paths, noise control and traffic calming, parking and sidewalks.

The entire group offered roundtable discussion on each topic during the hour-and-a-half long meeting. Van Scoyoc wrote down each group members’ suggestions as possible action items for the future.

On the subject of foot and bike paths, suggestions included designating foot paths that could take pedestrians around town without being on paved roads too long; supporting town efforts to demarcate existing trails; and look into trail head maps.

During that discussion, conservation commission Chairman Betsy Dodge said the commission had plans to put together a comprehensive map of foot trails throughout town.

When group members spoke of noise control and traffic calming, several members of the group suggested ways to keep motorists from speeding through the section of Route 13 in the center of town.

Some group members suggested partnering with other communities to get a speed control sign to let motorists know how fast they’re going through the area. Community knowledge of enhanced speeding enforcement could be a deterrent unto itself, resident Randy Parker said.

“If you control the speeding, some people are going to stay away from New Boston just to avoid getting a ticket,” Parker said.

Suggestions on the topic of sidewalks included researching the possibility of plowing the sidewalks in the winter and widening the existing sidewalks.

Such efforts would require community-wide support, Van Scoyoc said.

“The community’s going to have to make a lot of these decisions, not just the people in this room. A lot of things are articles that would have to be put on the warrant,” she said.

The next New Boston Connects Action Team meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 10, at town hall, at 7:30 p.m., where team members will meet with Police Chief Christopher Krajenka to discuss traffic and safety concerns.