sidewalks – Page 8 – WalkMassachusetts

Salem Downtown Walk Assessment

By WalkMassachusetts | September 23, 2014

The walk assessment focused on Salem’s downtown district just west of the pedestrian mall and Peabody Essex Museum. The route began at the City Hall Annex; traveled north to Bridge Street and the Salem MBTA commuter rail station; turned west on Bridge Street; cut through a worn pathway along the North Street (Rt 114) ramps up to the Federal/North Street intersection; followed North Street to the Summer/Chestnut/Norman Street intersection; and returned to Washington Street at the intersection with New Derby Street.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-DowntownWalkAssessment-Salem

Comments on Green Line Extension (GLX) Project Equivalent Facilitation Request

By WalkMassachusetts | July 21, 2014

July 21, 2014
Mary R. Ainsley, Senior Director of Design & Construction for GLX
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
100 Summer Street, Suite 250,
Boston, MA 02110

RE: Green Line Extension (GLX) Project Equivalent Facilitation Request

Dear Ms Ainsley:

First, I would like to thank you for the very clear and succinct presentation of the access issues at the meeting held on July 10, 2014. I found the information to be useful and easy to follow and appreciate the care with which the issues were shared with the community.

WalkBoston has several comments on the Equivalent Facilitation Request (EFR), and hopes they are useful to the design process as it continues.

1. We are pleased that no bricks or pavers will be used for walking surfaces, and understand that the sketches shown gave an erroneous impression.

2. As presented in the EFR, the width of the existing sidewalks on several of the bridges will not change even though they barely meet legal access requirements and are narrow for their present pedestrian volumes. Once the new Green Line is in place, these sidewalks will
be the primary access routes for many additional transit users.

We are very concerned that their combination of steep grades, narrow width, proximate traffic and imperfect snow clearance (this is New England) will result in unsafe and possibly inaccessible conditions during some portion of the year. We urge the MBTA to explore the
possibility of widening the sidewalks – perhaps by narrowing the adjacent roadway shoulders or travel lanes, or by removing one lane of travel. The photos in the report (one is reproduced below) show the problem quite clearly.

3. Cross slopes that exceed ADA standards are described in several locations, and the project team has addressed the issue reasonably well in most places. However, at both the Gilman and College Ave. Stations there are crosswalks with cross slopes in excess of 8%. We believe that this is not an appropriate condition for access to transit stations, and worry that both able-bodied and patrons with disabilities will be put at risk crossing streets with such steep cross slopes, especially during snowy, icy or wet conditions.

Again, we applaud the MBTA’s clear delineation of the issues, and hope that the concerns raised by WalkBoston and others can be addressed.

Sincerely,
Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Cc Laura P. Brelsford, MBTA Assistant General Manager for System-Wide Accessibility
Hayes Morrison, Somerville Transportation Department

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Walk Audit Weymouth

By WalkMassachusetts | July 9, 2014

Weymouth has many of the attributes of a walkable community including a street system that has interconnected blocks of moderate size, a mix of land uses within reasonable proximity of many residents, a number of commercial areas that include a variety of civic uses, a mix of housing types including multi- family buildings and a wide mix of single family housing types, parks that are interspersed into many neighborhoods and a varied topography and landscape including both ponds and sea shore. In addition, Weymouth has a mix of transit services including both commuter rail and bus. This too provides an important backbone for a walkable place.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-WalkAudit-Weymouth

Niagara Senior Center Walk Audit Fall River

By WalkMassachusetts | July 9, 2014

The Niagara Senior Center is located on Tucker Street, in Fall River’s Niagara/Maplewood neighborhood. Under the auspices of the Fall River Division of Health and Human Services Mass in Motion program, led by Julie Kelly, and the Massachusetts Council on Aging Healthy Aging Program, WalkBoston led a walk audit training on July 9, 2014 with approximately 20 participants. Most of the participants were seniors living in Fall River who have expressed interest in helping make the City an easier, safer and more pleasant place to walk.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-WalkAudit-FallRiver

Winthrop Harborwalk Comment Letter

By WalkMassachusetts | May 27, 2014

May 27, 2014

Richard K. Sullivan, Jr.
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Attn: Nicholas Zavolas
100 Cambridge St., Suite 900
Boston MA 02114

RE: Comments on the Environmental Notification Form for the Winthrop Harborwalk, Winthrop, MA
MEPA# 15202

Dear Secretary Sullivan:

WalkBoston works across Massachusetts advocating for improved and safe pedestrian facilities. We are very enthusiastic about local efforts that enhance the pedestrian environment, and where possible help residents and municipalities implement new walking facilities.

With delight, WalkBoston reviewed the ENF for the Winthrop Harborwalk, which has been designed to connect many of the water-related land uses in the former main harbor area of the town. It proposes recreating some of the original waterfront by reconstructing of a portion of the railroad trestle that once curved through Winthrop Harbor.

It’s very exciting to see a relatively small town take on a major pedestrian improvement that is focused on the waterfront. The Harborwalk will link the many nearby small businesses and local sidewalks to a new facility designed to offer residents a new way of looking at their harbor and at their town. The basic elements of the project include a new walkway designed to encourage walking along the current harborfront in areas that are primarily devoted to car parking and it opens up close views of several boatyards and marinas that are very close to the walkway.

We offer these comments:

Design the trail for extension to other areas

The proposed facility includes a 25-foot wide path – wider than most 10’-12’ wide joint use trails in Massachusetts. The right-of-way for the trail does not take away from existing parking or sidewalks, but instead adds space for walking through a proposed reuse of a former rail trestle in the harbor. Within this generous space, plans recognize the varying needs of the potential users of the path – for example, sitting spaces, strolling routes, and shade for sunny days. Many trails and viewing platforms are not as extensive or inclusive as this one. It suggests that there will be many users of this attractive facility, which is unique for the town and easily accessible to most residents. Given this likely success, it may be useful to think about extension of the trail to other areas along the waterfront, either where there are existing sidewalks that could perhaps be widened to allow more space or other alternative locations for walking and sitting at the harbor’s edge.

Design the trail to include runners
Joint use rail trails are a success in Massachusetts. Concurrent with the growth in use, new paths need to be carefully designed to serve a wide variety of users. In plans for the future (whether within this right-of-way or in trail extensions), it would be well to consider the needs of runners, who are frequent users of the trails. Runners often prefer a softer surface than that favored by cyclists and walkers; stone dust has frequently been used because it is more resilient and provides a more comfortable running surface.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important project.

Sincerely,

Robert Sloane
Senior Planner

Cc James McKenna, Town Manager