A walk audit was conducted in Brockton on August 16th in collaboration with the Wildlands Trust Green Team, a youth service-learning program that employs 15 teens from the Brockton area to work on projects at D.W. Field Park. WalkMassachusetts facilitators worked with the Green Team to conduct a walk audit of D.W. Field Park, gathering insights and identifying challenges that impact walkability and pedestrian safety. The audit began on Oak Street in Brockton and continued into the park on shared-use roadways and short pedestrian trails. This report aims to provide recommendations and insights to municipal decision-makers and stakeholders connected to D.W. Field Park to make necessary built environment changes that will improve mobility for all park users, particularly pedestrians.
On Thursday July 20th, WalkMassachusetts joined WalkBike Springfield, Wayfinders, Mass in Motion Springfield, and local residents to complete a Walk Audit of Roosevelt Avenue. After a round of introductions, the group left from Springfield High School of Science & Technology (SciTech), and continued down Roosevelt before turning back at the Wilbraham Rd intersection.
This walk audit was part of a bigger WalkBike Springfield effort. With support from America Walks and the Safe Roads Alliance, the group is gathering input regarding how people use Roosevelt Avenue, how safe they feel, and what changes they would like to see on the 3.3 mile stretch of Roosevelt in Springfield from Island Pond Road to East Street. This corridor reaches the East Forest Park, Upper Hill, Bay/McKnight and East Springfield neighborhoods. More info can be found here.
This stretch of Roosevelt Ave had previously been highlighted by residents as an area of concern, given the many dangers faced by pedestrians, particularly those at SciTech. People driving frequently hurtle down the road at speeds well over 40 mph; there is one sidewalk along the street, and no crosswalk directly connects the school with the sidewalk on Roosevelt.
Walk Audit participants identified a clear need to implement more traffic calming measures and expand the crosswalk and sidewalk network. Better maintenance of existing pedestrian infrastructure was also discussed, with overgrown vegetation both blocking walkways and obscuring driver views.
All the written notes, observations, and conversations between WalkMassachusetts and other participants will be instrumental in generating a final report of the audit. The information will allow us to highlight pressing issues in pedestrian safety, supporting advocacy efforts to create a safer Springfield for all.
WalkMassachusetts expresses its gratitude to our collaborating partner organizations, local community members, and MAPC, the funding source for this project. The collective effort demonstrated during the Walk Audit is a significant step towards fostering a more pedestrian-friendly Springfield.
The Hilltowns CDC, together with Healthy Hampshire and WalkBoston, are leading a 5-year grant project to promote Age-Friendly Walkability in the Hilltowns Town Centers. Together with community residents and leaders, the team will be conducting a series of walk audits in partnering Hilltowns. The goal of these walk audits is to identify infrastructure improvements and policy changes to make town-center walking safer and more enjoyable for people of all ages in the Hilltowns. The Town of Plainfield is one of the partnering communities in this grant project.
The Hilltowns CDC, together with Healthy Hampshire and WalkBoston, are leading a 5-year grant project to promote Age-Friendly Walkability in the Hilltowns Town Centers. Together with community residents and leaders, the team will be conducting a series of walk audits in partnering Hilltowns. The goal of these walk audits is to identify infrastructure improvements and policy changes to make town-center walking safer and more enjoyable for people of all ages in the Hilltowns. The Town of Westhampton is one of the partnering communities in this grant project.
On July 20th, WalkBoston led a walk audit in Worcester for a group of travel trainers from Worcester, New Bedford, Lawrence and Boston, along with staff from the EOHHS Human Service Transportation Center and the Easterseals National Center for Mobility Management. Travel trainers assist people with a variety of disabilities with navigating transit systems and identifying safe routes to employment, education, shopping and civic activities. WalkBoston first met with the travel trainers several months ago for a virtual Ped 101 training session that introduced them to the key elements of a safe and comfortable walking environment. The Worcester walk audit was specifically designed to help the travel trainers learn how to work with their transportation and human services agencies to improve the built environment in the communities they serve to make it safer and easier for their clients to walk to and from transit.
Among the points of lively discussion were:
Inexpensive and “easy” fixes such as minor sidewalk repair and trimming of vegetation that blocks sidewalks;
Operational changes such as finding safer locations for bus stops and improving snow shoveling of sidewalks, transit stops, and parking lots;
Moderate cost capital projects like installation of new crosswalks with ADA compliant curb ramps and detectable warning panels;
More complex projects – like road diets – to slow traffic and create safe crossings on busy roads.
The travel trainers lent their expertise in transit operations, discussed the safety (and lack thereof) of walking in parking lots, and shared challenges of finding walking routes that are safe for their wide variety of clients with different accessibility needs, such as routes that are safe for people with vision loss, using wheelchairs, and with cognitive disabilities. WalkBoston is looking forward to continuing our work with the travel training community, and bringing their deep compassion for the lived experience of their clients into our advocacy. Our work with the travel trainers is supported by an Age-Friendly Walking grant funded by Point32Health.