Mass in Motion – Page 3 – WalkMassachusetts

Walnut Street is transformed for a day in Springfield

By WalkBoston | May 14, 2019

WalkBoston participated in Springfield’s second Complete Streets Demonstration Day on Saturday, May 11 held in Barrows Park along Walnut Street. Hosted by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, WalkBoston and our partners (WalkBike Springfield and Wayfinders) provided visitors with information on the benefits of complete streets and walkable communities. MassBike provided free bike tune-ups and ValleyBike Share provided opportunities to test out the electric-assist ValleyBikes.

PVPC staff and volunteers were out early on Saturday morning taping down bike lanes, painting crosswalks, and using plants and cones to designate curb bump-outs – all strategies to calm vehicular traffic and make a complete street. They painted a crosswalk at the intersection of Walnut and Oak Street to provide a protected crossing for residents of the nearby senior housing complex to reach Barrows Park. Organizers hope that the demonstrated positive impacts of redesigning Walnut Street as a complete street will encourage the City to prioritize this corridor for needed safety improvements.

Herald News: “Fall River wins Golden Shoe award for improving walkability”

By WalkMassachusetts | April 4, 2019

Herald News: “Fall River wins Golden Shoe award for improving walkability”

Fall River is now running the walking game.

On March 18, WalkBoston held its 29th annual meeting in Boston to present Fall River with an award for its progress in the city’s walkability.

This is the first time Fall River has won the Golden Shoe Award from WalkBoston. The honor recognizes the city’s improvements in walkability, including a change in the city’s policy.

“It says that there’s real dedication. … People really love their city and they’re willing to put work into the city,” said Coordinator of Mass in Motion Fall River and award-winner Julianne Kelly. She said the award is a great recognition of the partnership between city employees and volunteers, and inspires them to keep making a difference.

WalkBoston is a nonprofit organization that works as consultants for communities around the state to improve the city’s walkability and create a healthier and cleaner environment. It also recognized Springfield with an award this year.

Posted April 3, 2019

Medford – Salem Street Walk Audit

By WalkBoston | January 4, 2019

WalkBoston led a walk audit of Salem Street in December 2018 attended by Mayor Stephanie Burke and representatives of multiple city departments, WalkMedford and local residents. Our recommendations are based on the day’s conversation and observations. It is important to note that Salem Street can be significantly improved with relatively low cost, incremental improvements until such time that it is scheduled for major reconstruction.

View the walk audit report

Melrose High School/Middle School Campus Bicycle and Pedestrian Accessibility Project: Final Report

By WalkMassachusetts | January 1, 2018

WalkBoston and WatsonActive observed Middle School/High School arrival on April 25 and 27, 2017. Dismissal was not observed, as the traffic and safety issues identified by the key informants were focused on arrival. Additional infrastructure observations were also made.

The City Engineer requested a preliminary report recommending a project for possible inclusion in the City’s Complete Streets Prioritization Plan. WalkBoston and WatsonActive delivered a report of infrastructure recommendations for Melrose Street on April 28, 2017.

With the assistance of the MassDOT Safe Routes to School Program, online travel surveys were administered for both the High School and Middle School. These surveys collected information about how far away from school students live and their travel modes in the morning and afternoon. An additional parking survey was administered only to High School students who drive themselves to school. The High School travel and parking surveys were administered to students during class on June 6, 2017.

The Middle School travel survey was made available to Middle School parents from May 24 to June 12, 2017. Due to low initial participation, the Middle School travel survey was re-administered from June 14-30, 2017.

High School student focus groups were conducted on June 13, 2017 at Melrose High School.

Read the full report here:

WalkBoston-MelroseCampusBikePedProject-Final Report

Town of Lenox on the move

By WalkMassachusetts | November 3, 2017

Lenox, in the Berkshires, has just over 5,000 residents.
It is largely rural with a small downtown, parks, public
art, great restaurants, Tanglewood, and The Mount/Edith
Wharton’s Home. In Lenox, you get the small-town vibe
but big-city culture.

Residents want to stay in Lenox as they age. Millennials
across the country are opting to live in traditionally
dense, accessible neighborhoods. So in the past year, Lenox has embraced walkability and adopted
a Complete Streets policy. The process started by
conducting two walk audits with WalkBoston and
working with local partners to install “pop-up” Complete
Street interventions. Working with Age Friendly
Berkshires, the town installed two temporary curb
extensions on Main Street and ordered “WalkYourCity”
signs directing residents and visitors to destinations
such as Tanglewood, Shakespeare and Co., restaurants, and playgrounds.

Getting decision makers and stakeholders into the neighborhood has been a
big “win.” Seeing is believing. The “pop-up” curb extensions were a low-cost
and very effective tool to demonstrate how to slow down car traffic and give
walkers better visibility and more ability to be seen.

During one walk audit, a Board of Selectmen member joined us. Noting an
inaccessible curb ramp, the group stopped to take a look. The Selectmen
asked the Department of Public Works Superintendent and Town Planner to
fix the ramp before the current repaving project ended. It got fixed that week.

Partnerships, walk audits, temporary, low-cost installations all make what
often seem like lofty or challenging goals and solutions, seem doable. You
leverage resources and expertise, and get feedback immediately.

We plan to submit our curb extension project as part of our Complete Streets
Tier III funding request. This project makes the street safer for all users and we
know we have support after testing and educating people about the benefits.

This effort has been positive due to the many partnerships including
WalkBoston, Mass in Motion, Be Well Berkshires, MassDOT Complete Streets
Program, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Age Friendly Berkshires,
the Department of Public Works, and members of the Board of Selectmen.

Gwen Miller is the Land Use Director and Town Planner for Lenox, MA.
This article was featured in WalkBoston’s October 2017 newsletter.

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