Age-Friendly Shared Streets for COVID Response and Recovery

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, towns and cities have successfully been repurposing street space to make room for safer mobility with the help of state and private funding streams. WalkBoston partnered with the Solomon Foundation team on outreach for their Streets for Recovery funding opportunity to encourage shared streets strategies that would serve older adults. We reached out to our Housing Authority and Council on Aging partners across the state to think through strategies to help older adults keep walking during the pandemic. As a part of this outreach, the Solomon Foundation and WalkBoston worked with the Billerica Housing Authority to brainstorm healthy pathway strategies to better connect the town’s older adult housing complex to the nearby library and the Council on Aging. Solomon has committed funding towards placemaking elements of the Billerica healthy pathways project that will include raised bed gardens, seating, and wayfinding signage to encourage walking. This project has started a broader town conversation on long-term, accessible connections between these key destinations to encourage active mobility and healthy aging. WalkBoston is looking forward to seeing the Billerica Pollinator Pioneers out walking and gardening this summer.