Merrimack Valley TMA
Merrimack Valley TMA
March/April 2014  



"The U.S. could save 33 million gallons of gas each day if the average commuting vehicle carried one additional person."*     

In This Issue
Bike to Work - MCBC 20th Anniversary

 

The MVTMA is pleased to be partnering with MassCommute once again for this year's Bike Week to promote the 20th anniversary of the MassCommute Bicycle Challenge (MCBC).  

 

The week's events begin on

Monday, May 12th

with a breakfast at Putnam Investments from 7:00-9:00am (see full listing of events below).

 

Make sure to keep in touch with all the latest information about the MCBC by following us on Twitter @MerrimackVlyTMA and liking us on Facebook!

 

April 14th
and continues through the end of Bike Week on

May 18th. The first 50 people to register get a free t-shirt!

 

To learn more about how you can "burn and earn" during Bike Week, attend our registration event on
April 15th, 12:00- 1:00pm at Philips (3000 Minuteman Road, North Cafeteria, Andover). Featured speaker at this year's registration event is Officer Chuck Edgerly from the Andover Police Department who will provide information on safe biking and improvements to bike infrastructure in Andover. To register for this event please contact
Courtney Goldberg by
April 10th.

Upcoming Events

April 10th - 9:15-10:30am
Roundtable Meeting at Putnam Investments (7 Shattuck Road, Andover)
  
April 15th - 12:00 - 1:00pm Registration Event - Philips  (3000 Minuteman Road, North Cafeteria, Andover)

May 12th - 7:00 - 9:00am
Bike Breakfast - Putnam Investments (7 Shattuck Road, Andover)

May 13th - 7:00 - 9:00am Bike Breakfast - VICOR (25 Frontage Road, Andover)

May 13th - 7:30am - 6:00pm Parklet in Andover - featuring bike breakfast, yoga, music, face painting, a landscaping demo and great giveaways from our sponsors! Be sure to stop by on foot or by bike!

May 14th - 6:30 - 9:30am
Bike Breakfast - Philips (1776 Drive Entrance, Andover)

May 16th - 7:00 - 9:00am
Bike Breakfast - VICOR (400 Federal Street, Andover)
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Greetings from Andrea Leary, Executive Director
Greetings!

We are off to a fantastic start to 2014 at the Merrimack Valley TMA. I am pleased with our commuters' participation in our Green to Work and NuRide incentive programs (we have 52 and 180 commuters enrolled in each program respectively). Last month, we held our winter promotion "New Year, New Commute" to encourage vanpool formation. We are staying on top of projects going on in Andover, including new retail developments on River Road and also in the Ballardvale section of Andover (including Target!).  

We are excited that employees and residents in West Andover will have additional amenities available in our area in the near future. We hope that you will join us for the MVTMA Spring Roundtable on April 10th hosted by TMA member Putnam Investments to learn more about the plans for these retail establishments.

We are also gearing up (pun intended!) for Bike Week, which will take place May 10th-18th. We will be holding registration events next month at various locations throughout the Merrimack Valley so please be sure to check our website for the latest information. Bike week promises to be action packed and we're looking to have some incredible sponsors this year. I know I'm not alone in anticipation of warmer weather!

 

As always, if there's anything we can do to make your commute easier, please  let us know.

 

Happy Commuting!

Andrea

 

Retail Amenities are coming to the River Road Area of Andover!

The Town of Andover is alive with development activity, thanks to the passage of new zoning regulations at last spring's Andover Town Meeting that will allow for retail development along the north side of River Road. Two new developments are currently in the planning stages. One project is directly on River Road and will have more than 38,000 Square feet of space for restaurants and retail establishments. The second development slated for the area will be at Minuteman Park. Current plans for this development call for a mix of small retail establishments and restaurants.

The MVTMA will post regular updates to our website about the construction of both of these retail establishments. We would also like to express our appreciation to the Andover Economic Development Council (EDC) for their hard work getting the ID2 Zoning Amendment passed. Without the EDC's diligent work, we wouldn't be anticipating the retail developments that are sure to bring additional economic vitality and convenient shopping options to West Andover. 

MVTMA Winter Promotion - New Year, New Commute

Janet Cerniglia with her new Kindle Fire

The New Year, New Commute winter vanpool promotion ended on February 14th and we are thrilled to announce that our participation was excellent! We had 263 employees from Merrimack Valley TMA member businesses take the survey.

Congratulations to Janet Cerniglia of Schneider Electric! Janet was randomly selected among the list of survey participants and she is now the lucky owner of an Amazon Kindle Fire.

 The MVTMA staff will be analyzing the survey data and contacting individuals shortly about attending vanpool formation meetings that will be held this May. For those indicating a different alternative, Al Marrone, our Outreach Manager will be following up with you directly about your preferred option.

To find out more about how ride share options (vanpooling and carpooling) are good for you and for the environment, please visit our blog.

Traffic Safety Reminder from MassDOT

In March of 2009, the "Move Over" law went into effect in Massachusetts -- requiring all drivers approaching a stationary emergency or maintenance vehicle with flashing lights to move to the next adjacent lane if it is safe to do so or, at the very least, reduce their speed. The law is intended to help protect police, firefighters, paramedics, tow truck drivers, and all roadside emergency and maintenance workers - many of whom are injured or killed while providing emergency roadside help.

MassDOT asks that all drivers across Massachusetts take a moment to slow down and move over - if they see an officer, emergency responder or maintenance vehicle stopped on the side of the road - but only if it is safe to do so.

Violating the Move Over Law could result in a fine of up to $100.
*Source: http://www.rideshare.com/For_Commuters/Environmental_Benefits/



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