On September 7, 2017 an NGO (special interest group) by the name of Smart Growth America announced that it is going to ‘help’ the Departments of Transportation of six chosen states.
New Hampshire is among the chosen.
Whoopee!
They state their “Accelerating Practical Solutions Program” will work with six competitively selected states to help them make investments in transportation that put people first and don’t break the bank:
Delaware
Iowa
Louisiana
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Virginia
New Hampshire is quoted:
“The workshop will be especially timely as the New Hampshire Department of Transportation develops new pedestrian and bicycle design criteria that considers safety and access for all modes of travel. The department extends a warm welcome to the Governors’ Institute on Community Design.”
Please note that in the section that describes this program, it states:
“Americans’ transportation habits continue to move away from the exclusively car-centric travel of the interstate era and toward the multi-modal options needed to serve an increasingly urban nation.”
Really? Who said we are moving away from cars in NH, especially in rural areas? Certainly the EPA, these unofficial special interest groups, and these unofficial ad hoc governors groups would love to see us out of our cars altogether. But let’s not assume we all agree with that premise… Notice also the phrase “increasingly urban nation”. These folks and their co-conspirators would love to “urbanize” everyone, and even in NH’s rural and semi-rural settings, the influence for this push is most evident in the master plans of each town.
From their website they tell us that “This program is made possible by the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, a program run in partnership between Smart Growth America and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”.
This is yet another “ad hoc” governors’ institute with an official-sounding name, such as the one that helped push Common Core upon us. You know, the “we’re-not-an-official-government-agency-but-we’re-named-to-sound-like-one” kind of group that makes recommendations that are often taken as gospel? The group is more like a club for elected officials but it is not an official government entity.
So here you have an NGO, working with an unofficial ad hoc group, along with the federal EPA (illegal agency among many). Where do the taxpayers have their say?
Who applies for this nonsense in NH? Do they know that this is Agenda21/2030 in action? When are we going to stop taking orders from special interest groups and unofficial clubs?
I think I see a taxpayer boondoggle in the form of a commuter rail system in NH’s future. Heaven help us.
Read More… Six states selected to receive free technical assistance