Dartmouth Commuting Meeting, June 25, 2008

Everything is in place for the first Dartmouth Commuting meeting tomorrow morning at 7:30am in Alumni Hall. 

More than 150 people have registered to attend (the event is now officially "sold-out"), and we have a great line-up of organizations in the Upper Valley who are focused on commuting and transportation, including

• Upper Valley Transportation Management Association
• Omer & Bob's
• Zip Car
• Advanced Transit
• Hanover Co-op
• Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission
• Upper Valley RideShare
• Ottauquechee Two Rivers
• RSG
• Stagecoach Transportation
• Connecticut River Transport

Provost Barry Scherr will kick-off the event, and Bill Barr from Dartmouth's Parking Office will describe all of the commuting alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles available to Dartmouth employees.  We will see a quick video (look for it on this blog soon), hear the commuting stories of four Dartmouth employees, and then begin break-out discussions on ten different topics.

Those topics include

• Slugging   
• Van Pools   
• Biking & Walking   
• Car Pools   
• Local Transportation (Advanced Transit)
• Family & Kids   
• Car-Sharing (Zip Car)   
• Flexible Work Options   
• Regional Transportation (Stagecoach & CT River Transportation)   
• Innovative Commuting (Scooters, Segways, etc)

Check back with this blog to get reports from the meeting, and to continue the conversation about how to make it easier for Dartmouth employees to beat the high-cost of commuting with a single-occupancy vehicle.

Comments

[Heidi Anderson]

Any possibilities of having a bus service run up I-89 from Exit 10 to 18 in the mornings and evenings? I would be happy to buy a monthly pass.

Any possibility of having a shuttle drive from Centerra to campus for meetings during the day on campus? Hourly stops would be fantastic.

Any chance of a getting a VOX car for Centerra so those who car pool can get to campus or do errands during the day.

[KAC]

Interesting meeting this morning. (Dartmouth Commmuting Meeting, June 25, 2008).

The free breakfast brought out a good crowd and some even stayed to participate in the discussions. Unfortunately, there were several employees in my work area and I expect in others that would have benefited but were denied access to the event as it sold out.

Responding to Heidi's question. I asked Bill Barr from FO&M and Gabe Z from Vital Communities the same question that Heidi posted. Their reply was very disappointing. The spin was interesting, but my opinion is that neither of them were very interested in looking for New Hampshire solutions.

I attended the van pool discussion group. The facilitator focused on the Vermont VTrans van program and when I asked about New Hampshire opportunities, she told me there were none and to not ask again, as I was the third person in the group to ask about New Hampshire.

The second discussion group I attended was the regional transportation group. The group organization had fallen apart by this point and the facilitator was engaged in a private conversation. The agency representatives in this group were Vermont based.

My question, is there any opportunity for bus or van pooling for Dartmouth Employees on the I-89 southern corridor?

[ann harvey]

I have some comments and questions-all of which relate to travel across the bridge from Vermont. I was not able to stay for table discussions-had to get back and work on end of fiscal year close. Howver, here goes:

1-Since there are NO public or commuter parking lots in Norwich, is there anyone from the College and/or Hanover who would be willing to work on a collaborative effort (maybe with the State of Vermont) to create such a commuter lot off Exit 13 and alleviate the rush hour traffic problems in that area. Seems an ideal spot since it is a junction of a number of roads from all directions.

2-Since Dartmouth ownes the property across the bridge in Lewiston, and if Dartmouth wants to cut down on traffic to the college and make commuting easier; why doesn't the college create a small commuter parking lot there and employees could walk across the bridge to Hanover? It would be great for folks coming south on Rt. 5 from points north. I know several people who would use it and walk the last 1/3 mile to campus and get some more excercise.

3-I live 4 miles up Union Village Road from Norwich and our property abuts a large tract of land belonging to Dartmouth. Yes, much of it is pretty; however Dartmouth no longer uses it and if you are interested in having less commuting into Hanover and the college, why do you not use a small corner (of the not so attractive part) for a small commuter/carpool lot for a number of people who travel that corridor?

4-Along the same line as question 3, Since there is a huge amount of commuter traffic traveling from Strafford, Thetford, Union Village and Rt 132 down Union Village Road through Norwich to Dartmouth and the Hitch. It is a main corridor, so an added twice daily route to Union Village by Advance Transit, Stagecoach, or some van pool would help a great deal.

Waiting for your reply............Ann