The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is working on plans to make upgrades to busy Route 1 (Lafayette Road) in Portsmouth. (Photo by Deb Cram/Seacoastonline)
A number of residents showed up at a recent City Council meeting to share their concerns about the New Hampshire Department of Transportation’s Route 1 corridor improvement project.
Lafayette Road resident Lauren Geoffrion said her fellow Lafayette Road (Route 1) residents “will all be deeply impacted” by the proposed project.
“Most of us abutters are just learning about the Lafayette Road expansion and how it will impact our homes and community,” she told city councilors during a recent workshop meeting. “Although the plan may look good on paper, especially for those that have nothing to lose, it has dire consequences for those of us who have homes that act as a buffer for our neighborhood.”
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is working on plans to make upgrades to busy Route 1 (Lafayette Road) in Portsmouth. She is particularly concerned about the potential for land being taken to make room for a multi-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Geoffrion said the “current plan satisfies a desire without a true need. It is huge, excessive, it takes 16 to 21.5 feet …of frontage from us. We can make improvements to help traffic safety, we can create a sidewalk, but will a large multi-use path really be utilized to its full potential?”
DOT staff and consultants who attended the meeting explained there are several alternatives for changing the Route 1 roadway as part of the project. They include incorporating pedestrian and bike access along the heavily traveled roadway.
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