In Lowell, WalkBoston, a Coalition for a Better Acre, and Acre neighborhood residents measured crosswalks, chalked out potential bump outs, and clocked traffic speeds as part of the Streets for People training program funded by the Cummings Foundation. These data will inform our recommendations to improve pedestrian safety and the quality of the walking environment in the Acre neighborhood.
Last summer, WalkBoston was fortunate enough to receive a $100,000 grant from the Cummings Foundation to fund our work to train and empower residents to be change agents for safe streets. Earlier this month, we kicked things off with a Ped101 Training Session and neighborhood walk audit in Lowell with the Coalition for A Better Acre. We’re excited to engage with people that want to make their communities more walkable!
The Cummings Foundation’s $100K for 100 program supports nonprofits that are not only based in but also primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties – the area where the Foundation owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Want to know more about the people behind the Foundation? We’d encourage you to check out Bill Cummings’ newly published autobiography, “Starting Small and Making It Big,” in which he shares his story and the dedication to giving back to the communities and institutions so vital to his success.
On November 21, 2017, WalkBoston conducted a walk audit at Memorial Elementary School and in the surrounding neighborhood to assess the safety and quality of the walking environment for children walking to school. Westfield State University and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) also completed a walk audit and a Safe Routes to School analysis in the Spring of 2017. The purpose of the WalkBoston audit was to bring town staff together with the school administration to experience the walking conditions in the neighborhood and discuss opportunities to work together to improve pedestrian safety. After a short presentation by WalkBoston staff that described elements of a safe, enjoyable walking environment, participants walked around the Memorial Elementary School neighborhood to observe traffic patterns, evaluate sidewalk and road crossing conditions, and discuss any other environmental factors that might detract from the walking experience.
Read the full report here.
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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The City of New Bedford was awarded a Safe Routes to Parks (SRTP) technical assistance grant from the National Parks and Recreation Association. The goal of the SRTP program is to increase safe access to parks and improve health outcomes in underserved areas. Using Ashley Park in New Bedford’s South End Neighborhood as a pilot park, WalkBoston worked with New Bedford City staff to develop a process of assessing the walking routes to the park. Lessons learned from this walk audit and pilot project will inform future park evaluations in New Bedford.
Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-AshleyParkWalkAudit-NewBedford