Map of the Route

National Scenic Byways Program links:

www.byways.org - for travelers
www.bywaysonline.org - for the byway community
www.bywaysresourcecenter.org - training, publications, and resources for local byway groups

February 11, 2010 Byway Committee Meeting Documents:

December 10, 2009 Byway Committee Meeting Documents:

November 5, 2009 Byway Committee Meeting Documents:

September 22, 2009 Byway Committee Meeting Documents:

July 2009 Currier and Ives Byway Newsletter

Summer 2009 Data Collection:

April 28, 2009 Informational and Kick-off Meeting Documents:

CNHRPC is working with the towns of Salisbury, Webster, Hopkinton, and Henniker to develop a corridor management plan for the Currier and Ives Trail. The Currier and Ives Trail is a state designated scenic byway that passes through these four communities in central New Hampshire.  It was originally identified by the state Office of Travel and Tourism in1976 as part of a marketing program to celebrate the Bicentennial with “Yankee Trails” for tourism and promotion purposes. No inventory or documentation was completed at the time and it is unclear exactly why it was designated, but the state recognized what was, and what remains, a very lovely ride. What is presently the Currier and Ives scenic byway was rolled into the state’s Scenic Byways Program in 1994 when the state established a network of State Byways.

Because the inventory and documentation that are now required for designation was never undertaken and because there is little awareness of the existence of the scenic byway within the towns it travels through, the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission to which all four towns belong, has sought and received a “seed grant” for assistance in beginning the process of developing and implementing the byway’s corridor management plan.

Under the National Scenic Byways Discretionary Grants program, a corridor management plan is described as “a written document that specifies the actions, procedures, controls, operational practices, and strategies to maintain the archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic qualities that support the byway’s designation.” The plan must be developed with community involvement, provide for the conservation and enhancement of the byway’s intrinsic qualities as well as the promotion of tourism and other economic development, and provide an effective management strategy to balance these concerns while providing for the users’ enjoyment of the byway. CNHRPC will be using the Context Sensitive Solution approach as a tool to accomplish the specified tasks.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines CSS as “a collaborative, interdisciplinary, approach that involves all stakeholders in developing a transportation facility that complements its physical setting and preserves scenic, aesthetic, and historic and environmental resources while maintaining safety and mobility.” CSS does not begin with a design or “solution”, but with a process to clearly and inclusively define the problem being solved. This process-driven methodology that begins with local goal setting and problem definition is well-suited to a project like this one that needs to educate and promote as well plan. It also ensures that local needs and desires are the basis for the management plan.