Nashua Committee of Infrastructure Meeting - September 24, 2025
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Nashua Committee of Infrastructure Meeting - September 24, 2025
The Committee of Infrastructure met on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Aldermanic Chamber. The meeting included public hearings on street discontinuances for Major Drive and Spaulding Street, a detailed presentation on the Nashua Transit System (NTS), and consideration of several traffic ordinances. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 PM.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Street Discontinuance Public Hearings: Elizabeth Hardigan, attorney representing the Nashua Housing and Redevelopment Authority and Tremont Development, testified in favor of discontinuing Major Drive and a portion of Spaulding Street to facilitate a planned housing redevelopment project (Main and Homes). She stated the project has full Planning Board approval and is one of the last conditions before financing. The city owns the surrounding property, and one abutter (73 Burke Street) has consented.
- Yvette (56 Burke Street) expressed concern about the impact on her property. She was assured that the discontinuance only affects the roads themselves, not her property, and that the abutter has agreed. The resident also noted that construction will occur but will not change her access.
- No opposition testimony was offered for either discontinuance.
Discussion Items
- Nashua Transit System (NTS) Presentation: Community Development Director Matt Sullivan and Transit Administrator Camille Correa presented a comprehensive overview of NTS operations, challenges, and future plans. Key points included:
- NTS provides fixed-route and demand-response services, with 390,000 boardings in FY2025 (375,000 fixed-route, 15,000 demand-response).
- Ridership trends: Growth from 2010-2016, decline after service cuts, steep drop during COVID-19 pandemic, then recovery to 390,000 boardings in FY2025.
- On-time performance: 90%+ for fixed-route, 95%+ for ADA paratransit for 2020-2024.
- Fleet diversity: 22 revenue vehicles using CNG, hybrid, and unleaded fuels; three older diesel buses being replaced. The city maintains fuel diversity to ensure reliability.
- NTS assisted in emergency reunification on Saturday, September 20, 2025, moving approximately 150 people from Spitbrook Road to the Sheraton hotel within two hours.
- Funding: 52% federal grants (5307, 5310), local allocation doubled to $800,000 in FY2025 due to expiring COVID-19 relief funds. Fare revenue is $1.25 per ride (unchanged since 2012).
- Upcoming technology: Real-time bus tracking via Transit App and Swiftly, demand-response app via Spare, and bus stop improvements (modifications to 20+ stops for safety and efficiency).
- Challenges: Increasing operational costs, federal funding uncertainty, potential state budget cuts, and the need for sustainable funding. Three potential solutions discussed: a local transportation option fee (up to $5 per vehicle registration), fare increases (survey planned), and increased local allocation as a last resort.
- A comprehensive plan update (2025-2035) will be presented for adoption later in the session.
- Alderman Clee raised concerns about a dangerous bus stop on Chandler Street; NTS agreed to re-engage with residents to explore options.
- Ordinances (presented by Alderman Senate):
- O-25-065: No parking on a section of the west side of Marshall Street to improve visibility and safety. Approved.
- O-25-066: Stop signs on Harbor Avenue at Bower Street to address a dangerous intersection with frequent accidents. Approved.
- O-25-067: Replace a yield sign with a stop sign on Crown Street at Arlington Street to improve safety, especially with new housing development nearby. Approved.
- O-25-068: Stop signs on Underhill Street at Newbury Street to make the intersection consistent with others in the neighborhood. Approved.
- Street Discontinuance Votes: Following the public hearings, the committee voted to grant the street discontinuances for Major Drive and Spaulding Street (both portions). The motion carried unanimously.
- Resolution R25-203: Authorizing sale of tax-deeded property at 227 Pine Street to former owner. Approved.
Key Outcomes
- Street Discontinuances (Major Drive and Spaulding Street): The committee voted to recommend discontinuance of both streets (motion carried unanimously). This is a condition of approval for the Main and Homes housing redevelopment project.
- Resolution R25-203: Recommended final passage for sale of tax-deeded property at 227 Pine Street.
- Ordinances O-25-065, O-25-066, O-25-067, O-25-068: All recommended for final passage unanimously.
- Future Actions: NTS will present a fare increase proposal and comprehensive plan for adoption later in the session. The committee will hold public hearings on any fare changes. The city will also participate in the Governor's Advisory Committee on Intermodal Transportation (GASET) hearings on October 7, 2025, to advocate for Nashua's projects in the ten-year plan.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good evening. A meeting of the committee of infrastructure is being held Wednesday, September 24th, 2025 at 7 p.m. in the automatic chamber and duly noted in two places, including the city's website in accordance with the requirements of RSA 91-A, semicolon two, Roman numeral two. Will the clerk please call the role? Absolutely. Alderman Thibodeau? Here. Alderman Sullivan. Alderman Clee is here. Alderman Dowd. Present. And uh Chairman Alderman at large, Mike O'Brien. Present, thank you. You have four in attendance and one absence. Okay. Also online in attendance for the record is uh Alderman Senate. And I think we also might have a later, perhaps coming. Uh Tim Cummings uh administrative services, but also in attendance, we have uh Ms. Camille Carrea of the Transit Administrator, Mr. Matt Sullivan, Community Development Director, and we may anticipate uh Miss Dawn Enright, CFO in attending. Um we also have a list of some others, Mr. Sam Durfee, planning department manager, Miss Liz Hanum, Economic Development Director, and Jill Stanfield, uh the parking manager. These people may also be in attendance to some degree. If anybody is online uh that wants to communicate, can you uh give us uh a show because we're gonna be bringing up maps, and when we bring up the maps, sometimes we can't see your hand go up and everything. So uh with that being done, I think we've done all our business. Oh, also Alderman John Sullivan is an excused absence. He's away on a business trip and uh unable to uh make it to the meeting. Um we're gonna preempt a little bit of the uh schedule just uh briefly because it is related, and we're gonna uh do the public hearing first. Yeah, we're gonna bring up the discussion. Um is it the no? We're gonna do the public hearing first. No, no, no. We did we have the attorney in residence, so we kind of agreed. But we have to have the public here and then make the drive. We can move to schedule. Uh so yes, Mr. Sullivan. Okay. Mr. Chair, the the public hearing can take place as scheduled. Okay, that's right. All right. What what I believe the request is is to then move uh the petition under section eight of the agenda for major drive in Spaulding Street. Right after directly after the okay, yep. All right then. Um I was kind of hoping with the counselor here could probably pre-explain why we're doing the hearing on the petitions, you know, but we could put the uh horse before the carrot. So this is the same thing, same goal. So we're gonna have the petition of street contingence of major drive. It's up here on the map. It's uh uh so uh associated with uh housing development that the city does own.
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