About half a dozen Manchester residents stood before the city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen recently to deliver a message city officials have been slow to act on: the sidewalks are failing, and everyday life in New Hampshire’s largest city is suffering because of it. NHPR reported that residents showed up not to complain about politics or taxes, but about something as basic as being able to walk safely from one end of a block to the other.

The testimony touched on cracked and heaved pavement, missing curb cuts, overgrown vegetation blocking pedestrian paths, and stretches of road where no sidewalk exists at all. For residents with disabilities, parents pushing strollers, and older adults navigating the city on foot, these are not minor inconveniences. They are daily obstacles that determine whether independent mobility is possible or whether getting around requires a car.

Manchester is a city of over 115,000 people, the largest in New Hampshire and one of the larger cities in northern New England. It is also a city that, by most measures, was built for cars. Its wide arterial roads and sprawling commercial corridors were designed with driving in mind, and the pedestrian infrastructure that exists in many neighborhoods reflects decades of deferred investment. The residents who showed up at the aldermanic meeting are asking the city to start catching up.

What Residents Told the Board

The speakers who addressed the Board of Mayor and Aldermen called for better maintenance on city sidewalks, more consistent enforcement of property-owner obligations to clear and repair their section of walkway, and a broader commitment to making the city navigable for people who are not behind the wheel. Several residents framed the issue in terms of equity: the people most likely to walk are those who cannot afford to drive, and those populations tend to live in neighborhoods that already have the worst infrastructure.

Accessibility was a recurring theme. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, public sidewalks must meet certain standards, including curb ramps at intersections, surface conditions that allow wheelchair navigation, and continuity so that someone using a mobility device is not suddenly forced into the street because the path simply ends. Manchester, like many older New England cities, has stretches that do not meet those standards, and residents said the pace of remediation is too slow.

The city does have programs in place to address some of these issues. Manchester’s 50/50 Curb and Sidewalk Program provides financial assistance to property owners for curb and sidewalk improvements, with reimbursements up to $25,000 per parcel. The program helps with work that has not yet been funded through other municipal channels, splitting the cost between the city and the property owner. But residents who spoke at the aldermanic meeting suggested the program, while useful, is not moving fast enough and does not address situations where property owners are unwilling to participate.

A City in the Middle of a Larger Conversation

The sidewalk testimony comes as Manchester is making other significant changes to how it thinks about its built environment. In December 2025, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a sweeping new zoning ordinance, the first major update to the city’s land use rules since 2001. That overhaul, which took effect in March 2026, was shaped in part by extensive public input about what residents want from their neighborhoods.

The feedback from those community sessions aligned closely with what the aldermanic speakers said: people want walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use development that puts daily errands within walking distance, safe pedestrian crossings, and traffic-calming measures that make streets feel less like speedways. The new zoning code includes provisions intended to encourage pedestrian-scale development, and planners say it should produce more walkable block patterns as new construction and redevelopment proceed in the years ahead.

But zoning reform takes time to produce changes on the ground, and residents are dealing with what exists today. The gap between the city’s stated intentions and the daily reality on its sidewalks is what brought people to the aldermanic chambers.

The Hanover Street redesign, approved by a narrow 8-to-6 vote in March 2026, offers a preview of what more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure could look like. That project covers the theatre block stretch of Hanover Street from Chestnut to Elm, transforming a three-lane road into a single travel lane with expanded sidewalks, bump-outs, and designated loading zones. Federal funding covers roughly 80 percent of the cost. The project drew both praise and criticism, with some business owners worried about parking and traffic flow and others arguing it reflects years of community input and will strengthen downtown vitality. The debate illustrates how contentious infrastructure shifts can be, even when the goal is safer streets.

Why Walkability Matters Beyond Convenience

Walkability is increasingly understood as a health, economic, and environmental issue, not just a quality-of-life preference. Neighborhoods where people can safely walk to shops, transit stops, schools, and parks tend to have lower rates of obesity, better air quality, and more vibrant local economies. They also tend to have lower transportation costs for residents, which matters significantly in a city where many households are working class or lower-income.

For older residents and people with disabilities, walkable infrastructure is particularly critical. The ability to move through one’s neighborhood independently is directly tied to mental health outcomes and quality of life. When sidewalks are impassable or nonexistent, those populations are effectively confined in ways that younger, more mobile residents are not.

Manchester has made real progress in some areas. The 2026 zoning overhaul, the Hanover Street project, and the 50/50 sidewalk program all represent genuine commitments to improving the pedestrian environment. But as the residents who testified made clear, those efforts have not yet added up to a city where walking feels safe, dignified, and practical across all neighborhoods.

The aldermanic board members who heard the testimony did not immediately announce new spending or policy changes in response. But the public record of these concerns is a useful tool: it documents what residents expect and gives future advocates a baseline against which to measure progress or its absence.

Manchester’s Infrastructure Gap in Context

Manchester is not unique in struggling with aging pedestrian infrastructure. Across New England, cities built in the streetcar era and then redesigned for automobile traffic in the mid-twentieth century are now grappling with the cost of reversing those decisions. The challenge is enormous: many miles of sidewalk, hundreds of intersections lacking accessible curb ramps, and decades of deferred maintenance all adding up to a bill that no single budget cycle can pay.

State and federal funding can help. The federal infrastructure law passed in 2021 included significant new funding for transportation alternatives, including pedestrian improvements, and New Hampshire communities have competed for those dollars. But federal grants require matching funds, project planning, and administrative capacity that not every municipality can easily muster.

For Manchester, the path forward likely involves a combination of more aggressive use of programs like the 50/50 initiative, continued pursuit of federal grants, integration of pedestrian improvements into road resurfacing projects, and sustained aldermanic attention to the issue. The residents who showed up at city hall are, in effect, asking their elected officials to treat sidewalks as essential infrastructure rather than a luxury, not because walking is trendy, but because the people who depend on it the most have been waiting long enough.

New Hampshire’s constitution explicitly recognizes the government’s obligation to provide for the safety and welfare of residents. For the residents who testified in Manchester, accessible, walkable streets are not a nice-to-have. They are part of what it means to live in a city that works for everyone.

New Hampshire has been grappling with similar infrastructure conversations in other cities. The state’s recent expansion of school choice funding and legislative battles over education policy show that public attention in Concord has often drifted to culture war debates while basic municipal needs go unaddressed. Meanwhile, cities like Manchester are left to fight for resources to fix what is quite literally underfoot.

For more on how New Hampshire communities are pushing for public investment, see our earlier coverage of federal brownfields funding coming to the Granite State and the ongoing Eversource transmission dispute.

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What is Manchester NH's 50/50 Curb and Sidewalk Program?

Manchester’s 50/50 Curb and Sidewalk Program is a city initiative that helps property owners pay for curb and sidewalk improvements that have not yet been funded through traditional municipal programs. The city and the property owner each cover half the cost, with a city reimbursement cap of $25,000 per parcel. The program addresses situations where sidewalk conditions are the responsibility of the adjacent property owner but the owner needs financial assistance to make improvements.

What changes did Manchester's new zoning ordinance make to support walkability?

Manchester’s new zoning ordinance, approved in December 2025 and effective March 2026, was the city’s first comprehensive land use update since 2001. It includes provisions to encourage pedestrian-scale development, mixed-use neighborhoods where daily errands can be done on foot, limited neighborhood businesses near residential areas, and infrastructure elements like safe sidewalks and traffic-calming features. The update was shaped by extensive public input gathered over more than 60 community work sessions averaging over 90 residents each.

What happened with the Hanover Street redesign in Manchester?

The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 8-to-6 in March 2026 to approve a redesign of the theatre block stretch of Hanover Street, between Chestnut and Elm streets. The project converts a three-lane road into a single travel lane with expanded sidewalks, bump-outs, and designated loading zones. Federal funding covers roughly 80 percent of the project cost. The vote was divided, with some stakeholders supporting the pedestrian improvements and others concerned about parking loss and changes to traffic flow.

What ADA requirements apply to city sidewalks?

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, public sidewalks must meet accessibility standards including curb ramps at intersections, surface conditions that allow wheelchair navigation, and path continuity so users are not forced into the street. Cities are responsible for ensuring their sidewalk infrastructure meets these standards, though compliance varies widely across older municipalities. Failures to meet ADA requirements can expose cities to legal liability and, more importantly, effectively prevent residents with mobility impairments from using public spaces independently.

Who sits on the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen?

The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen is the city’s legislative governing body, consisting of the mayor and fourteen aldermen. Twelve aldermen represent individual wards across the city, while two are elected at-large. The board handles city ordinances, budget appropriations, major contracts, and other municipal policy decisions. Public residents can testify at board meetings, making them a key venue for community members to place infrastructure concerns on the official record.

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