The Vital Communities Transportation Program works with employers, municipalities, school districts, regional planners, and transit providers to improve transportation options. We work toward a safe, reliable, and multimodal transportation system in the Upper Valley that serves all, is affordable to use and operate, increases community resilience, and minimizes climate impact.
Vital Communities offers on-demand consultation to towns, schools, and workplaces on reducing single-occupancy driving in their communities. Contact Jacopo at jacopo@vitalcommunities.org to hear more on how we can support you.
We all benefit from the public transit that serves the Upper Valley. MicroMOO vehicle. Courtesy of MOOver. The Upper Valley is served by four transit companies offering local rides, most for FREE! They are Advance Transit, Tri-Valley Transit, MOOver, and Southwestern Community Services. Together, they reduce traffic and parking congestion and air pollution and enable…
Transit Equity Day is observed annually on February 4 to commemorate the life and legacy of Rosa Parks on her birthday. Rosa Parks became a key figure in the Civil Rights era when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery (Alabama) public transit bus and was arrested in 1955. Her resistance set in motion…
The Upper Valley’s First Cranksgiving truly cranked! Held Saturday, November 22, at the Upper Valley Haven in Wilder, VT, the event dispatched 22 riders on bikes and e-bikes to local stores to purchase food and other items and bike their loads back to the Haven — for a total of 383 pounds! Participants rode their…
Ideas and inspiration were bubbling for improving how we get around in Vermont when the Vermont Transportation Efficiency Network (VTEN) met with Transportation for Vermonters (T4VT) in Barre on September 26. VTEN is a group of advocates, planners, and providers working together to reduce negative impacts and improve efficiency in Vermont’s transportation sector. Formed…
Identified community-endorsed transportation goals for Upper Valley regions A two-year project designed to help our region transition to greener transportation has been terminated midway to the rescinding of more than $150,000 in federal funding. Called “Community Transportation Transitions,” this bi-state project was jointly managed by Vital Communities and the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee…
Vital Communities’ staff, volunteers, and organization partners gathered to celebrate a successful year of 2024 e-bike programming including the first year of Kilton E-Bikes, our fifth year with the (traveling) UV E-Bike Lending Library and our third year of e-bike subsidies and partner subsidies. We enjoyed live music, yummy food, and a beautiful bike book…
Many generations, types of bikes, and beings — bears, turtles, reptiles, fireflies, Austrian yodelers, and a bike lane — were represented Saturday, November 2, for the first annual Halloweekend Community (E-) Bike Ride that took off from West Lebanon’s Kilton Public Library. About 25 folks chased the chill with hot cider, coffee, and snacks like…
E-bikes are showing up in some Upper Valley communities where transportation solutions are most needed, thanks to the E-Bikes Everywhere! projects managed by Vital Communities transportation staff, and supported by volunteers. Dismas’s fleet of regular bikes gets heavy daily use. In recent weeks, the program added a third e-bike – this one equipped with studded…
During August, Vital Communities transportation staff, along with our partners in the Community Transportation Transitions project, Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, and our friends in the New Hampshire Mobility Management Network, held three listening sessions in Sullivan County to hear from residents about their transportation experiences. Comments ranged from the transportation challenges in…
This article was originally published in the Valley News, April 15, 2024 By Rebecca Bailey, Vital Communities A “time-space machine” — that’s how Sharon’s Ryan Haac playfully refers to his car. Particularly when he takes the interstate, the experience is one of disconnecting from one place and, in an astonishingly short time, popping out in another,…
“Uber with a van”: Could microtransit help more Upper Valley residents get around? Transportation is one of the challenges many Upper Valley residents face. Thankfully, we have free or low-cost public transportation options provided by several public transit providers. Recently, the Municipal Leaders Group, comprising town and city managers and select board members from the…
To reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, our communities need to transition to “clean transportation” — including electric vehicles, public transit, carpooling, and walking or biking. Significant state and federal resources are being dedicated to this effort. How can we use those resources so everyone is part of this transition —…
This October, Vital Communities is joining organizations across the country in celebrating “Walktober” – a time to celebrate how great it is to be able to get places on foot. Walkable neighborhoods, traffic calming, and smart growth that puts residents near businesses and services are just some of the ways we Americans can reclaim our…
Learning about Walkable Communities and How to Create Them In a rural, car-oriented community, what can you do when you are unable to drive? Twenty seniors examined that question as part of “Making Connections: Mobility and Freedom As We Age,” a four-part workshop in September offered at Bugbee Senior Center in White River Junction. Designed for…
This October, Vital Communities is joining organizations across the country in celebrating “Walktober” – a time to celebrate how great it is to be able to get places on foot. Walkable neighborhoods, traffic calming, and smart growth that puts residents near businesses and services are just some of the ways we Americans can reclaim our…
Could an e-bike help you be less dependent on automobiles? Could the Upper Valley E-Bike Lending Library help you make a choice? Since the Library began in 2020, more than 65% of e-bike borrowers who responded to surveys said they have already bought an e-bike or are planning on buying one. One is this Sutton, NH, couple, who chose a cargo e-bike that lets…
