The Town of Williamsburg has engaged planning, transportation, and healthy community design experts in efforts to assess the vitality and safety of Burgy’s town center. Burgy’s town center is loosely de ned as the Route 9 corridor between Buttonshop Road and South Street. This walk audit is part of the town’s effort to address healthy aging through healthy community design.
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WalkBoston-BurgyVillageWalkAudit-Williamsburg
Between April, 2013 – June, 2016 WalkBoston conducted 6 walk audits of elementary and community schools in Springfield, Massachusetts to assess the safety and walkability of the areas surrounding the schools. Read those walk audits here:
WalkBoston-BolandElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield
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WalkBoston-EliasBrookingsElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield
WalkBoston-GermanGerenaCommunitySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield
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WalkBoston-MiltonBradleyElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield
Dennis is one of 18 communities participating in the MassDOT multi-disciplined program to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety in Massachusetts. One of the components of the MassDOT program is to conduct walk and bike assessments that identify infrastructure challenges to biking and walking, and recommend short- and long-term improvements. These assessments are also a means of building local knowledge of the importance of well-designed bicycle and pedestrian facilities. WalkBoston and MassBike conducted assessments along Route 6A between Old Bass River Road and Nobscusset Road, and at three Cape Cod Rail Trail road crossings near the South Gages/Great Western Road intersection.
Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-Bicycle&PedestrianInfrastructureAssessment-Dennis
Mr. Richard J. Masse, P.E.
Acting District Highway Director
811 North King St. Northampton, MA 01016
October 15, 2015
Dear Mr. Masse,
I am writing to express my support for Belchertown’s Project Need Form for the reconstruction of Maple Street and State Street. I am the Program Director at WalkBoston, a state-wide non-profit working to create more pedestrian-friendly communities across Massachusetts. We provide technical assistance to municipalities in partnership with MassDOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Awareness and Enforcement program, as well as the Department of Public Health’s Mass in Motion program to promote physical activity and healthy living. We are proud to work closely with our partner and Mass in Motion grantee Healthy Hampshire to support efforts to make Belchertown more walkable.
On May 1, 2015, in partnership with Healthy Hampshire, WalkBoston conducted a walk audit of the Route 202 corridor along Maple Street and State Street to assess existing pedestrian conditions and identify potential infrastructure improvements. Eighteen Belchertown residents, as well as municipal staff from the Planning Department and Conservation Commission, attended the walk audit. The audit found a number of barriers to walking along the Route 202 corridor, including a lack of continuous sidewalks on both sides of the road, a lack of pedestrian safety facilities such as signage, pedestrian lights, raised crosswalks and detectable warning strips, and overly long crosswalks.
The pending redevelopment of the Belchertown state school on Route 202 presents a powerful opportunity to incorporate more pedestrian-friendly designs and infrastructure into this important corridor. Traffic calming techniques, continuous sidewalks and/or off-road paved paths, beautification of public spaces, and better connectivity to local trail networks will all improve the walking environment in Belchertown. Implementing these measures will enhance Belchertown residents’ access to their homes, businesses, schools and social services, as well as future economic opportunities from the state school redevelopment.
Thank you for your timely consideration of these issues. WalkBoston looks forward to working with you to advance active transportation and safe walking in Belchertown.
Sincerely,
Stacey Beuttell
Program Director, WalkBoston
Taunton, founded in 1639, has a dense development pattern with narrow streets, and therefore is quite walkable. Many of the two lane streets have mature trees and flowerbeds, and several assessment attendees, including the WalkBoston team, commented on how attractive and clean the streets were, with the exception of portions of Adams Street. Hospital employees said that they were able to take a one-mile walk on their break without having to cross Broadway, a more heavily traveled street. Attendees also noted that cars were traveling at moderate speeds.
Read the full report:
WalkBoston-WalkAssessement-Taunton