O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
This is in response to the recent Soapbox, Manchester’s roads, sidewalks, and schools are telling you something about the tax cap, by Peter Richard.
If businesses are able to deduct from their federal income taxes donations to schools, high school sports teams, Manchester Transit Authority, etc., city government needs to let people know.
Data from findings page 14) in Manchester’s 2025 AGE-FRIENDLY ACTION PLAN, highlights specific individual transportation challenges, particularly in Central Manchester, where fewer seniors own vehicles and more seniors have experienced hip fractures, reducing mobility.
Below, from page 14 of the Age- Friendly Action Plan/Manchester
I was writing about senior citizens, others and buses in the 1990s. Will it be another 30 years before our leaders realize how important buses are to economic development? Last time I checked – a building is not able to get people to and from jobs.
I would like Manchester School Board and Board of Mayor and Aldermen to meet at least every two months for public forums where people of Manchester are able to ask them questions that they have to answer. They work for the people of Manchester.
People should be able to get their answers to questions before Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting start and after the meeting has lasted for a period of time. Same for school board meetings.
I hope businesses will be more involved with the funding of high school sports teams so more money will be available for school supplies for students, math education, Civics and the U.S. Constitution, foreign languages, cooperative education.
I hope businesses will help create cooperative education programs similar to Northeastern University in junior high schools, high schools, and colleges.
I hope our governments and businesses will realize that they should be helping fund free lifetime education and free lifetime job training with public colleges. The more money people make the more taxes they pay and the more things they are likely to buy.
I would like a state law ratified that says at least 70 percent of state rooms and meals tax and at least 70 percent of state business profits tax goes to local governments. If members of State legislature cared about limited government, they would not be telling local governments how to spend their money.
I would like a percentage of the state rooms and meals tax and a percentage of the state business profits tax used to help fund NH Fish and Game Department. Some of this money could be used to fund tours of State Parks. I took a tour of Greenfield State Park when I was a teenager provided by NH Fish and Game Department. Tours of state parks, hotels, etc. may increase tourism to NH, increasing revenues from state rooms and meals tax and state business profits tax.
I would like a percentage of state rooms and meals tax and state business profits tax used to help fund state police officers and local police officers so they are able to help reduce deaths and injuries caused by people who drive significantly over the speed limit.
I would like a percentage of sales from State Liquor Stores used to fund state police, local police, treatment for alcohol addiction, and treatment for drug addiction. Alcohol is the gateway drug to other drugs.
If businesses may deduct donations to schools from their federal income taxes, schools and city government should let businesses know this.
If businesses may deduct donations to high school sports teams from their federal income taxes, schools and city government should let businesses know this.
The computer hardware and software industry exist because of federal government research spending over decades.
The internet exists because of the federal government.
Many prescription drugs exist because of federal government research spending.
The greatest economic multiplier inside of USA is buses. The economic multiplier may be more than 1,000 times the money spent on buses. Go to Boston and look up.
Look at Manchester’s buildings that look like they are made from toy blocks.
Share this letter with Manchester School District and ask when are they going to have competent leaders who realize how important Manchester Transit Authority buses are to their students when they are going to school and after they graduate.
If Manchester had been led by competent leaders – school district, Mayors, Aldermen – Manchester could easily fund $500 million a year for education while lowering property taxes by more than 50 percent while significantly improving city services. The sooner Manchester gets competent leaders who INVEST in buses the sooner we will be able to fix our schools, fix our roads, fix our sidewalks, better educate our children, help our senior citizens, etc.
I think it was Jeff Rapsis who discussed this in Manchester Express more than 15 years ago. Manchester gave up on tens of millions of federal matching funds over the years.
How bad do you have to be dealing with grade school math not to understand that the taller your buildings are and the more buildings that have apartments that rent for over $100,000 the higher your business tax base.
Manchester could have huge apartment towers that have more low income apartments and more middle income income apartments than luxury apartments. The more luxury apartments that get occupied the easier it is to fund schools.
Competent leaders realize that huge parking garages may be built far away from downtown connected to downtown via buses and shuttle. The shuttles would have to operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We need buses that operate 7 days a week that start very early in the morning and last to late at night. Huge parking garages may be built outside of Manchester that connect to apartment towers and homes in Manchester. Lot of articles on the net dealing with public transit and affordable housing.
The main reasons people are homeless are
- Lack of affordable housing
- Bankruptcy caused by medical expenses
- Domestic violence
- Trauma
- Domestic violence is the main reason children are homeless.
A teacher who used to work in Nashua told me about homeless children living out of cars.
I would like public bathrooms at Veterans Park again. They were closed when Ted Gatsas was Mayor because of fight clubs, drug dealing, prostitution, etc. I thought we paid taxes for police officers.
Manchester could build a huge tower near Livingston Park.
Manchester could build huge towers on property that used to be owned by UNH.
A huge tower could be built where youth center is with great views of the city.
Homes may be built without garages and driveways when a city has high quality bus service and shuttles.
Homes may be built over garages.
Single-family homeowners may be allowed to build multi-family apartments on their properties. The better bus service and shuttle service are the easier it is to do.
I would support tourist speed passenger rail and cargo rail between Boston and Canada with stops in NH. Most of the economic development benefits would be above Concord. If Manchester gets a passenger rail stop in the future, it will need better bus service and shuttles to move them. We do not have the ability to move a huge influx of people with Lyft, Uber, cabs.
I have contributed $3,100 to this fundraiser. I may donate more.
I hope many more people will donate to the fundraiser.
1,800 people donating $100 each = $18,000
7,200 people donating $25 each = $18,000
From Center City to Livingston Pool
According to Ward 5 Alderman Jason Bonilla, who helped organize the fundraiser, “Ever since Hunt Pool was filled in 2025, many residents have reached out to me asking what can be done for families in Center City (Ward 5) to maintain access to a free, safe, and family-oriented pool. While I continue working with Parks & Rec and our Mayor on a long-term plan to replace Hunt Pool, a temporary solution came to mind that could help address the gap in the meantime.
“This idea is to create a temporary bus route that would transport families from Ward 5 to Livingston Pool in Ward 1. Currently, MTA provides no service along the Maple or Beech Street corridors, nor along Hooksett Road or near Northside Plaza. This route would expand transit access to a significant number of residents. It would also connect directly with Routes 1, 2, 9, and 10, and indirectly with Routes 8 and 12 via a transfer to Route 10 at the Mall of NH. This means residents across much of Manchester’s East Side would have transit-connected access to Livingston Park throughout the pilot period.
The proposed pilot route—Route 42—would provide service between Price Rite on Valley Street and Hannaford at Northside Plaza. Price Rite offers connectivity to Route 10, while Northside Plaza is currently unserved by public transit.”
MTA has secured $22,800 in FTA funding, which will cover 50% of the operating costs. To access these funds, we must raise a matching $22,800 locally. Nick Carnes and I, along with other community leaders in the city, have committed to fundraising this amount—and we would love your support in making this idea a reality.”
Three rides with Lyft in a day likely to cost me $75 or more. All day bus pass is $5.
Use Lyft for 10 days at $75 a day = $750.
Use Lyft for 90 days at $75 a day = $6,750
Apple and its employees may want to contribute to this fundraiser.
If more people are able to use the bus to take classes at the Apple store, it may increase its sales and profits.
If more students at night and on the weekends are able to take classes at the Apple store because of better bus service, this may help Apple sell more phones, tablets, computers, etc.
The first computer I used was an Apple donated to Charlotte Avenue Grade School in memory of my friend who was killed by a drunk driver. I am 56 years old.
Route 42 should be paid for by taxpayers.
There was bus service at Hannaford at North Side Plaza for many years before the residents of Ward 1 got betrayed by city government.
I have been using MTA buses since 1989. I have often defended bus service in the Union Leader.
Route 5 is a shuttle for SNHU students and people living on River Road.
Disabled veterans and other people who live near me are denied access to StepSaver which is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act within three-fourths of a mile of fixed bus route by the design of the route.
Easy fix – on 45-minute routes of route 5 use Union Street to go to SNHU and then River Road after leaving
I would like a new bus route that goes Union Street to Union and Campbell, down Campbell to Hannaford, after leaving Hannaford go to Union and Campbell then SNHU and then River Road. People who live at SNHU and on River Road would again be able to get groceries from Hannaford. MTA used to have Hannaford at North Side Plaza and SNHU on the same route.
I would like a bus route that goes River Road to SNHU, then Union to Union and Campbell, down Campbell to Hannaford, and then go to Livingston Park before going downtown.
I took bus trips with Ted Gatsas when he first ran for Mayor. We talked about SNHU Arena and people not being able to vote on the baseball stadium.
Congress should fix the StepSaver law so cities may provide StepSaver no matter how far a person lives from a fixed bus route and when a city does not have fixed bus route service.
I would like a donation box on city government website so people may donate to city schools. city libraries, school libraries, free tutoring, free teaching assistants, city departments, Manchester Transit Authority.
We spend a great deal educating kids in Manchester but do not care if they are able to get to and from jobs in Manchester after graduating from high school or college. Buses within cities and between cities are the greatest economic multiplier inside of the USA. Schools are second. The more money people have to spend on cars the less money they have for food, housing, college, eating out, retirement. The worse bus service is the harder it is for people to get quality health care. Lyft, Uber, cab rides cost a lot.
Manchester has tiny buildings because it has not spent enough on MTA over the years. Increased funding for Manchester Transit Authority would allow Manchester to have tall buildings like Boston downtown with large parking garages far away from them connected by buses and shuttles. If you want Manchester to be able to spend more money on schools, the business property tax base of Manchester needs to increase and the easiest way to increase it is with more spending on buses. The more money that Manchester spends on buses the more money that the federal government will spend on buses.
The need for buses and StepSaver will increase as our population ages.
Kennety Stremsky lives in Manchester.