Town of North Hampton, NH - Project Advisory Committee Representative

The Town of North Hampton is seeking a representative to the Project

Advisory Committee for the upcoming NH East Coast Greenway implementation study.

This planning process, which will kick off in March and run for approximately

6-8 months, will involve the Seacoast towns of Seabrook, Hampton Falls, Hampton,

North Hampton, Rye, Greenland, New Castle, and Portsmouth; and a range of other

The East Coast Greenway, often referred to as an 'urban Appalachian Trail', is

envisioned to be an all-season, multi-use trail extending 2,950 miles through 25

cities along the East Coast from Calais, ME to Key West, FL (www.greenway.org).

Today the trail is approximately 21% complete as off-road path, and is open to

walkers, cyclists, skaters, and other non-motorized uses. The balance of the

trail follows on-road routing until off-road trails can be identified and built.

The goal of this planning project is to select the route of the East Coast

Greenway in New Hampshire. While an informal planning effort in 2001 identified

a potential route along the NH seacoast, this current project will include more

extensive community involvement, which hopefully will lay the groundwork for

trail implementation in coming years.

This project will be a joint effort of the Rockingham Planning Commission,

Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes (SABR), the Eastern Trail Management District

(ETMD), the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program, the East Coast

Greenway Alliance; and a Project Advisory Committee composed of representatives

from coastal corridor communities, the NH Departments of Transportation (DOT)

and Resources and Economic Development (DRED), and other stakeholder

organizations. The project is being supported by a planning grant from NHDOT,

matched with resources from SABR and the ETMD; as well as a technical assistance

grant from the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program.

One of the first priorities is to develop a vision for the East Coast Greenway

along the NH Seacoast. As such, the establishment of a Project Advisory

Committee will represent the communities and trail users. This Committee

will help decide where the route alignment should be. The committee will meet 4-6 times over the next 6-8 months to propose route options, plan public forums, review public input,

and work to lay the foundation for a well-planned trail.

For additional information about this opportunity, please contact Scott Bogle with the RPC at 778-0885 or sbogle@rpc-nh.org.

The North Hampton Board of Selectmen encourages volunteer participation in this endeavor and requests any interested resident to contact them by e-mail at: http://www.northhampton-nh.gov/Public_Documents/NorthHamptonNH_BComm/Selectmen; or by mail at: 233 Atlantic Avenue, North Hampton 03862.