Bikes Belong Coalition Grant to Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes

Cyclists commute from City Center to Pease International Tradeport Made Easier

Rich Olken, Executive Director of Bikes Belong Coalition, announced today that Bikes Belong Coalition approved a grant of $8,000 to Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for its project to create a bicycle route to link downtown Portsmouth with the newly constructed Rockingham Bicycle Bridge. The Bikes Belong Coalition grant will match City of Portsmouth funding to make 20% of the project's cost. The other 80% of the $85,000 construction cost will be federal highway TEA-21 funds. Planning for the route is currently in progress and several public hearings are planned.

Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes has an impressive record in creating bicycling facilities. In 1999 its Rockingham Bicycle Bridge project was completed for a total cost of $845,266. The Bikes Belong Coalition grant will help complete the key link between Portsmouth and the rapidly expanding Pease International Tradeport, site of most of the expected job growth in the Great Bay/Seacoast region, according to SABR President Cameron Wake.

Wake says a better than tenfold increase in ridership is anticipated with the development of a regional bicycle transportation network, of which the Link and Rockingham Bicycle Bridge are key components. Portsmouth Mayor Evelyn Sirrell noted the influence of bicycle advocates on making these projects successful. If all these people didnÕt get involved we wouldn't have a Rockingham Bike Bridge, she said at the bridgeÕs ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Bikes Belong Coalition grant, in addition to supporting the Downtown/Bicycle Bridge link, will encourage Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes many other projects in making a regional network of bicycle routes in the Seacoast/Great Bay region. Other segments include the Wagon Track Trail to connect Durham with Dover Point, Expansion and widening of shoulders on Routes 108, 1A, and 27; and in-town bicycle improvements in Portsmouth and Durham.

More information on Seacoast Bicycle Routes is available on the web at www.seacoastbikes.com or at PO Box 412, Durham, NH 03824

Bikes Belong Coalition is an organization established and supported by the leaders of the bicycle industry. Its mission is putting more people on bikes more often through the implementation of TEA-21. For more information about Bikes Belong Coalition, its mission, and how to be a part of it, call Rich Olken at 617-734-2800 or email Bikes Belong Coalition at mail@bikesbelong.org Bikes Belong Coalition's Guide to Bicycle Advocacy and its Grant Application information are on the web at bikesbelong.org.

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P.O. Box 412 Durham, NH 03824

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