The Plaistow Area Transit Advisory Committee was formed as grass roots organization in 1990 with charter members from Plaistow and all surrounding towns as well as representatives from Rockingham Planning Commission, NH State transportation officials, and local transit companies. A 3-phase goal was established to 1- create a Park and Ride lot at Westville Rd and Route 125, 2- establish Plaistow to Boston express commuter bus service and 3- extend the MBTA service from Haverhill to Plaistow. The 1st 2 goals were obtained in the mid 1990s and the 3rd goal is
still on hold. A Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant was obtained by PATAC to help fund the MBTA station. This grant of federal money was later modified such that it could be used to fund a Plaistow train station for either an MBTA stop or an AMTRAK Downeaster stop.
Downeaster Update: The double track upgrades were completed in 2007 with and the 5th train went into service on August 17, 2007. The Downeaster train continues to be number 1 or 2 in the nation for on-time arrivals (> 95%). It also has the top rating from passengers regarding on-train services and in 2006 had the highest percentage of increased rider ship of all AMTRAK trains in the nation.
Maine continues to support and plan for an extension of the train service from Portland to Freeport and Brunswick. This may be provided by AMTRAK or another private railroad. Long range plans are also underway to extend the train service to Lewiston, Augusta, Bangor and beyond to ultimately link up with Canadian train service in New Brunswick and Quebec.
NH Rail Update: In 2007 the NH legislature created the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority whose mission is to oversee passenger rail service in New Hampshire. It is a legal entity and consists of 35 directors representing cities and towns with active Amtrak service (Dover, Durham, Exeter, and Claremont), proposed commuter service to Boston (Nashua, Merrimack, Manchester, Manchester Airport, and Concord) as well as representatives from the regional planning commissions providing service to the above cities/towns. I am the representative from the Rockingham Planning Commission on this authority. The first priority is to establish commuter service from Manchester and Nashua to Boston via the Lowell, MA MBTA commuter line. Interestingly enough, the consultant charged with looking at alternate transportation modes (bus, rail) before the I-93
expansion can begin has just recommended the best route from Manchester to Boston would be through, Derry, Windham, and Salem south to Boston via the Lawrence, MA MBTA commuter line. Stay tuned!
Route 125 Update: In 2007 we finally saw work being done on Route 125 including signalization at an alignment with Hazeltine St, the State Line shopping plaza, and Route 125. Route 125 will be widened in the area from Wentworth Ave south to the Great Elm and Market Basket/Kohls shopping centers. A dedicated left-turn lane will also be constructed at the entrance to the Market Basket/Kohls shopping center. The intersection of Old County Rd and Route 125 is also scheduled to be widened and signalized. Although this work was not completed before the end of the calendar year, it should be completed on or before June 30, 2008 – the end of the DOT’s fiscal year.
Fiscal constraints in the DOT’s funding mechanism will cause the remainder of the proposed improvements scheduled to be done in the next 2 or 3 years will be again postponed by several years.
The work to be done at the Main St and Cushing St intersection is still “on the books” and there are still periodic meetings with Haverhill and Plaistow officials as well as both the MA and NH DOTs to discuss the project. No date has been established for this work to be completed.
Respectfully submitted,
Timothy Moore
Chairman
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