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New Hampshire

The Rural Context For Transportation Consultations

New Hampshire is the 7th smallest state in the U.S. in land area, 10th smallest in population, and 20th most densely populated. However, approximately 70 percent of New Hampshire's population and jobs, and 97 percent of the land, is non-urban. About 90 percent of its roads are rural. Federally owned lands amount to 13 percent of the state's land area.

New Hampshire is a slowly growing state, as measured by population, with a significantly growing rate of employment. The portion of the state's jobs that are in the uniquely rural agriculture and mining sectors is small (2 and less than one percent, respectively). Most jobs in New Hampshire's rural areas are in sectors also common in urban areas: construction, transportation & utilities (14 percent); manufacturing (22 percent); business & trade (28 percent); and services & government (35 percent).

Demographically, New Hampshire's non-urban population is predominately white (99 percent). Compared to the other states, the proportion of New Hampshire's non-urban adult population that did not graduate from high school is relatively low (5th lowest); the proportion who did graduate from college is 18th highest among the states. The 6 percent of New Hampshire's non-urban people who are poor is 4th lowest compared to the other states. About 39 percent of the state's non-urban population is in non-working age groups (27 percent 18 years or younger, and 11 percent 65 years or older).

Governmentally, New Hampshire has 10 counties, a fairly manageable number compared to many other states. The state also has 13 municipalities and 221 towns or townships for a total of 234 sub-county divisions. This is the 16th lowest number of sub-county governments among the states. New Hampshire does not have any federally recognized Indian tribes.

In addition, the 1997 U.S. Census of Governments has identified 8 independent, special-purpose governments in New Hampshire that have transportation responsibilities. This number is lower than in many other states. These special-purpose governments include 6 for highways and 2 for transit. New Hampshire also has 7 other public transit providers serving rural areas and an additional 23 organizations that provide specialized transit services to elderly and disabled populations in those same areas.

New Hampshire has 9 regional councils that cover approximately 100 percent of the state, and 4 MPOs. These regional units help to coordinate the other local governments and play a direct role in rural transportation programs as described below.

Of New Hampshire's 14,913 miles of roads, approximately 27 percent are state-controlled, while less than one percent are federal. Of the total miles of non-federal rural roads, 30 percent are state, none are county, 54 percent are township, and 16 percent are municipal and other.

Processes For Consultation And Cooperation With Local Officials In Non-Metropolitan Areas

Regional planning commissions play an active role in rural and metropolitan transportation planning. Since 1985, rural regional planning commissions (RPCs), similar to MPOs, have been responsible for many aspects of planning, including providing public/local input. There are nine RPCs in the state, four MPOs and five rural RPCs. Though not required by law, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) provides funding to each rural RPC for planning (RPCs must provide a 10 percent match), and NHDOT has staff available to support and coordinate with RPCs on a variety of planning activities. NHDOT develops a 20-year long-range plan; the STIP is the first three years of a ten-year program that is updated every 2 years.

The Long Range Statewide Transportation Plan (LRSTP) addresses transportation demand and usage for each mode of transportation. The LRSTP is developed cooperatively with the RPCs and MPOs. NHDOT, in cooperation with RPCs, holds public meetings to solicit input to a draft long-range plan. Once drafted, the NHDOT will notify the public of a 30-day comment period and also conduct another series of public meetings, again in cooperation with the RPCs and MPOs, to obtain comments. NHDOT then adopts the plan and forwards it to FHWA and FTA for acceptance. The plan is periodically updated.

Each RPC also develops ten-year recommendations for their regions, prioritizing all transportation improvement projects for ten years. RPCs follow local procedures for public input during this process. NHDOT will use these recommendations in preparing the statewide ten-year program, although not all recommendations will necessarily be included. During the development process, the ten-year program continually goes through financial constraint analysis as well as assessments to assure it conforms to Federal requirements. Local officials, and others, have the opportunity for input concerning the draft ten-year program at a series of statewide hearings held by the Governor's Advisory Commission on Inter-modal Transportation (GACIT). Finally, input can also be given at legislative hearings on the ten-year program before it is passed through the legislature. Once the ten-year program is enacted by the legislature, the 3-year STIP is submitted to RPCs (and MPOs) for review of changes made at the conclusion of the legislative process and forwarded to FHWA and FTA.

The key method by which local elected officials participate in rural transportation planning is through development of the RPC transportation plan and project priorities. Involvement by local officials is voluntary; no law or regulation requires that they be members of the planning commissions. NHDOT also maintains an open door policy and encourages the public to contact state staff concerning transportation issues.

New Hampshire relies primarily on federal funding for rural transportation.

New Hampshire uses these practices:

State Processes for Compiling Transportation Needs: The RPCs develop prioritized lists.
State Hearings: The Governor's Advisory Commission holds 15 hearings around the state on the draft ten-year program. Local officials and citizens are welcome to attend. In addition, the Legislature also takes input.
Roles of RPO's: The RPCs serve this function.
State Policy-Making and Advisory Bodies: The Governor's Advisory Commission, Governor and Legislature.
Other Practices: NHDOT maintains an open door policy; the public, including local officials, may present information to the state legislature before plan is passed.

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