The city of Concord’s public information officer, Stefanie Breton, sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The newsletter contained too much information for us to fit into this spot, so we’re just printing some highlights here. For the full newsletter, go to concordnh.gov and click the “Newsletter” button on the home page.
Winter operations, parking reminders
The snow has arrived and the City of Concord has already issued two winter parking bans this season. Sign up for winter parking ban email notifications at concordnh.gov/notifyme. Sign up for both Winter Storm Event Parking Bans and Winter Maintenance Parking Bans to get alerted for both citywide and downtown bans. Winter parking bans require all vehicles to be removed from indicated streets between midnight and 7 a.m. for continued snow removal operations. Free parking is available in the city garages on weekends, holidays and Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. for permit/lease spaces (marked with signage) and until 9 a.m. for metered spaces.
Concord General Services works as quickly and efficiently as possible to plow the 220 miles of streets and 90 miles of sidewalks throughout the city on a priority-level basis.
Plows require a lot of space on the road, which can make plowing difficult if cars are parked on the street, especially on narrow streets. Cars parked in tight areas or on narrow streets can actually block plows from fitting through the street.
Postcards were mailed out to more than 2,000 residents located in narrow street areas to increase awareness to move vehicles during parking bans and to sign up for email alerts on the city website. We appreciate the community’s cooperation to park off-street to allow crews to plow efficiently and restore safe road conditions. Visit concordnh.gov/winteroperations for more information about Concord snow removal.
Drop-in basketball throughout Dec.
Better your game this winter in the brand-new Concord Parks and Recreation gym at the City Wide Community Center. We encourage you and your friends to join us Fridays in December for drop-in basketball. Players can shoot around, or those who are interested in developing their skills can practice drills that focus on scoring and improved ball handling with the resident basketball guru, Trey. Parents can drop their kids off or make themselves comfortable in our community lounge area.
Drop-in basketball is offered for free on Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m. for students in grades six through eight.
Leaf-collection reminder
Bulk leaf collection has been suspended since Nov. 14 due to the early arrival of winter weather.
Bulk leaf collection is a weather-dependent program that faces the risk every year of not reaching all residents before the onset of winter weather. Crews have had to shift focus to winter operations, but they were able to complete collection for many areas as indicated on the Fall Leaf Collection Map.
The city’s new fall bagged leaf collection is a guaranteed collection alternative to bulk collection. Bagged collection started Nov. 19 and is the recommended option for residents looking to dispose of any remaining leaves. This week is the last week for bagged leaf collection, but residents must have had leaves at the curb by 7 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, to be assured of not missing collection. Bagged leaves could be collected at any time during the week. Leaves must be in biodegradable yard waste bags or rigid containers labeled “leaves” for collection.
Parks and Rec project updates
Lighting upgrades in White Park and Merrill Park: R&T Electric have finished removing the old lights from the basketball, ice rink and tennis courts at these areas and have installed new, energy-efficient lights. They have also installed separate lights for the basketball court and the ice rink. The lights are not on an old-style timer; they have buttons to push which will activate the lights for an hour. The lights are available until 11 p.m. There is a light over the button so patrons can find it easily. This new timer, combined with the new energy-efficient LED lights, should provide the city with considerable savings and improved playability for our patrons.
Rollins Park: As part of the re-foresting capital improvement project in Rollins Park, funds were made available for the installation of a picnic/rain shelter. The shelter is now complete, except for final seeding and grading. Also, a separate CIP was funded for the renovation of the stone wall along Broadway. The contractor is finishing up Phase II of a three-phase project. This phase was quite complicated, with the contractor dismantling 40 feet of the wall and re-building it, installing under drainage, re-pointing the wall and installing a kerf to the underside of the granite cap. This helps prevent water from infiltrating the wall and causing damage from freeze/thaw cycles.
Rolfe Park: The contractor has completed the removal and grading of the old basketball court. A base coat and top coat of asphalt has been added, new fence has been installed, new basketball stations and backboards have been installed. The colorization and striping of the court will occur in the spring when the weather reaches optimum temperatures. In late spring the contractor is scheduled to crack seal, colorize and re-stripe the older tennis courts at Memorial Field and the basketball courts at the West Street, Thompson and Fletcher-Murphy play lots.
Keach Park: Last but not least, the new Keach Park Path, which will measure approximately 2,500 linear feet, has been started. If the weather cooperates, the contractor will continue the work; if not, the path will be completed in the spring.
Liberty Utilities work this week
Liberty Utilities will be working at the following locations this week:
Borough Road from Lilac Street to Fowler Street.
Minot Street from School Street to Thayer Pond Road.
Pine Street from Pleasant Street to Centre Street.
Pleasant Street from North Spring Street to Liberty Street.
School Street from Kensington Road to Westbourne Road.
South State Street from Laurel Street to Downing Street.
There may be delays, one-lane traffic and encumbrances of parking spaces. Work will generally take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday) and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Saturday).
Other construction work this week
Granite Center LLC will begin construction of an accessible sidewalk ramp in front of 1 Eagle Square. Construction will require the use of adjacent parking spaces and a pedestrian detour around the work zone. Access will be provided for the buildings tenants and their customers. The work is anticipated to be completed in early December.
