The Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) and the Southwest Region Planning Commission (SWRPC) are seeking businesses and organizations in Troy and Hinsdale to participate in Rack it Up!, a community based bike rack initiative that works to increase bicycle infrastructure and bike parking space availability in the Monadnock Region.

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Over the past two years, the Rack it Up! Program has provided 230 secure bicycle parking spaces in Keene and Swanzey at locations such as Monadnock Food Co-op, Savings Bank of Walpole, Stratton Free Library, and Brewbakers Café.  Due to the program’s success, NH Magazine featured Rack it Up! in its “Best of New Hampshire” 2015 awards. 

Keith Thibault, Chief Development Officer for Southwestern Community Services, and a 2014 program participant, says Rack it Up! helped to address bicycle parking needs for employees. “Before [our employees] had to chain their bikes to a tree or a fence.  Now they know they have a secure and convenient place where they can place their bikes.”

Bicycling is an affordable, and increasingly popular mode of transportation that has significant community health and environmental benefits.  Expanding parking options to include cyclists also accommodates a wider range of users and supports healthy lifestyles.  To apply, go to www.mastnh.org/rackitup, or contact Liz Kelly for more information.

About Rack it Up:
The Rack it Up! initiative is a program of the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) that provides free or subsidized bicycle racks to businesses, non-profits, and community institutions in Cheshire County.  Started in 2014 with a grant from the NH Charitable Foundation, the program is currently funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention through the Partnership to Improve Community Health.  To date, the program has provided 230 secure bicycle parking spaces in Keene and Swanzey.  To learn more, go to www.mastnh.org/rackitup.

About the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation:
The Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) is a coalition of organizational and individual members working to implement sustainable transportation solutions in the Monadnock Region. MAST recognizes the broad impacts that our transportation system has on us as individuals and as communities; everything from our jobs to our cost of living to our health.  To learn more about MAST, visit www.mastnh.org.