Tag: WalkBike Worcester

Join WalkMass and WalkBike Worcester at Union Station for a walk on May 23 at 5:30pm!

Join WalkMass and WalkBike Worcester at Union Station for a walk on May 23 at 5:30pm!

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We look forward to seeing you on May 23rd at 5:30pm for our latest walk!

What: WalkMass – 2024 Bob Sloane Walk (Worcester)
When: May 23, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Where: starting at Union Station (2 Washington Sq, Worcester, MA 01604)
Price: Free, but donations are welcome to support our work.
RSVP here: https://www.givesignup.org/TicketEvent/BobSloaneWalk2024

Each spring, we lead a free walk with a ~1-1.5 mile route that includes ~2-4 stops along the way where we hear from a guest speaker. We start or end near public transit, and usually end at a place where people can mingle/have a drink if they’d like to continue conversations. This year’s Spring kickoff walk will be in Worcester in conjunction with WalkBike Worcester and start at Union Station (2 Washington Sq, Worcester, MA 01604).

Route description (updated 5/22):

  • This year’s route will start at Union Station with a welcome from Brendan Kearney (WalkMassachusetts) and Karin Valentine Goins (WalkBike Worcester). We’ll also hear from Soloe Dennis (Worcester Department of Public Health), recent department winner of a Golden Shoe Award. 
  • We will head towards Worcester City Hall where we’ll hear from Steve Rolle (Department of Transportation & Mobility) who will speak here about Main Street project and Complete Streets policy. Of note: the Worcester Mobility Action Plan Draft just went out for public comment/review.
  • We’ll stop by Worcester Public Library, the site of a new Miyawaki Forest (on what was previously 8 parking spots) where we’ll hear from staff from the Department of Sustainability & Resilience. 
  • We’ll continue to Green Street and past the site of Worcester Public Market to hear about the reconstruction of the notorious Kelley Square intersection from Tom Emerick (MassDOT) and Erin Thompson (VHB).
  • We’ll end at a restaurant nearby (El Patron, 192 Harding St, Worcester, MA 01604) where you can grab a drink or a bite to eat at their outdoor space and continue to chat with fellow attendees. We’ll head indoors to Wachusett Brew Yard is there is inclement weather. 
  • The walk route is fully accessible, and we will have a small portable PA system to try and ensure that each speaker can be heard by the entire group. We have tried to identify speaker spots near plazas or wide sidewalks where we can gather closer to the speaker.
  • View a PNG image of this route.

Getting there via the MBTA Commuter Rail: As of 4/17/2024, the 4pm train from South Station arrives to Worcester ~5:25pm. If someone comes on the next train, they can meet us on the route that we’ll share in advance on this page. Trains headed back to Boston at 7:55pm & 8:55pm would allow you to take part in the walk and have a drink or food at the end of the walk. We encourage you to use public transportation, walk, or bike to the start so that it is easy for you to head out afterwards. There are also parking lots available in/around the area of our route. 

This walk is in honor of Bob Sloane. Bob was a co-founder of WalkBoston (now WalkMassachusetts) and passed away in May 2021. He was a true pioneer in walking advocacy and a pillar of our organization, and we honor his legacy by hosting a walk each year in his name. Updates will be available on this blog post & sent to all registered attendees before the event.

We hope to see you on 5/23 at 5:30pm; sign up today!

PS: While we will be using a slightly different route, you might enjoy looking back at a write up after a walk we organized in 2015:

Worcester: Strengthened relationships to ensure Main St. project works for walkers Hillary Borcherding
Forty people joined WalkBoston, WalkBike Worcester, and co-hosts in a walk from Union Station to the Blackstone Tap. Steve Rolle of the City of Worcester kicked off the event by discussing Union Station’s transformation into a multimodal facility. At McGrath Boulevard, Heather Gould of Economic Development spoke about streetscape improvements and the Blackstone Valley’s Bikeway. Allen Fletcher from the Canal District Alliance spoke of his personal walking route and the joy of getting to know his neighborhood on foot. Finally, the City’s Phil Neddrie described Union Hill improvements and the public-private partnerships revitalizing the neighborhood. Beyond a great event, this was an opportunity to deepen the relationship between advocates and the City. People shared their hunger for a vibrant, walkable North Main Street, which is currently under design for construction. For the past two years, WalkBike Worcester has advocated for fewer vehicle lanes, more room for walking, bike lanes, and safer ways for pedestrians to cross. Thanks to this work, the Worcester walk and the MassDOT Road Safety Audit, MassDOT now recommends a narrower three-vehicle lane option [vs. the current four/two each way]. Indications look favorable that the City will follow this recommendation. 

Disability- and Age-Friendly Walk Audit in Worcester

Disability- and Age-Friendly Walk Audit in Worcester

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On Tuesday July 18th, 2023, WalkMassachusetts conducted a walk audit with the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC), WalkBike Worcester, and partners from Worcester’s Division of Public Health working under the REACH grant. The walk audit, focused on disability and age-friendly accessibility, took place around the Webster Square Towers in Worcester. This walk audit location and focus in particular was chosen based on crowd feedback during the Walk Audit Academy’s public sharing session in January when participants in the program talked about their walk audits. A large number of older adults with limited mobility live in the Worcester Housing Authority’s Webster Square Towers.

WalkMassachusetts had the pleasure of hearing the insights of a State Representative, a City Counselor, a public school teacher, and multiple local residents, including some using mobility devices. Staff from the Transportation & Mobility Department also joined; they’ve recently launched the Worcester Mobility Action Plan, which is open for comments through August 14th.

Much of the walk audit focused on intersections between Main Street, Mill Street, and Cambridge Street. Participants noted the difficulty of safely crossing these intersections due to short pedestrian signal times, high vehicle speeds, and long crosswalk lengths. As a visually impaired person, Liz noted the difficulty of crossing with minimal auditory signaling and inconstant tactile paving.

The walk audit also looked into sidewalk infrastructure, overgrown greenery, walking conditions, and amenities.

At the end of the Webster Square Towers walk audit, the group gathered together to share their observations. These comments as well as participants’ written notes will inform a report by WalkMassachusetts, outlining key pedestrian safety issues and recommendations. WalkMassachusetts is grateful for the local engagement at this walk audit and will use community feedback to advocate for more walkable areas in Worcester.

Streetsblog MASS: “A Walk Audit of Worcester”

Streetsblog MASS: “A Walk Audit of Worcester”

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Streetsblog MASS: “A Walk Audit in Worcester”

These photographs were all taken last December, for a virtual “walk audit” for the Indian Lake neighborhood that was hosted by WalkBoston, a statewide pedestrian advocacy organization, and WalkBike Worcester, a local advocacy group.

WalkBoston hosts walk audits all over the Commonwealth. Typically, they bring groups of people together to identify hazards and obstacles to foot traffic in a specific street of neighborhood. Since the pandemic began, WalkBoston has been conducting audits virtually, by sending advocates out to evaluate areas individually, collecting their findings via online forms, and discussing the results in group Zoom meetings.

“Even if what you’re seeing is depressing, the process is a tool to bring people together and build capacity and community assets to produce positive outcomes over the long run,” said LeighAnne Taylor, WalkBoston’s Program Manager and organizer of the Indian Lake event, in a phone conversation with Streetsblog after the walk audit. “Taking an inventory of all the issues is tedious, but it gives people an opportunity to make things happen when grants become available.”

Posted May 5, 2021

 

New Virtual Walk Audits: Worcester and Framingham

New Virtual Walk Audits: Worcester and Framingham

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BY LEIGHANNE TAYLOR / WALKBOSTON PROGRAM MANAGER

Walk audits—one of WalkBoston’s most effective tools to change the built environment and build a constituency of walking advocates—face an obvious hurdle during the pandemic: we can’t meet in person. With more people walking than ever before, we could not hit pause and wait until it is safe to gather again. We adapted our walk audit process to be virtual to continue improving walking conditions. We have conducted four virtual walk audits since the pandemic began: in Salem, Springfield, Fitchburg, and Worcester—we wrapped up the latter two in January and discuss them below.

Fitchburg’s Intermodal Center Virtual Walk Audit is the second walk audit in a statewide project examining the connections between social infrastructure and walkability within transportation-oriented development (TOD) areas. Neighborhood data and resident perspectives will be captured in virtual conversations and self-led walk audits in five Gateway Cities in Massachusetts. This project is co-hosted by WalkBoston and MassINC, with support from the Solomon Foundation.

The Worcester Virtual Walk Audit was conducted by WalkBoston, WalkBike Worcester, and the Worcester Department of Public Health Mass in Motion Program. Residents requested the virtual audit, which is serving as a pilot program for Worcester’s upcoming Complete Streets Prioritization process.

How We Made Our Walk Audits Virtual

  • Session 1: Participants convene on Zoom for a Ped101 workshop to share their walking concerns, learn about walkability basics, and review the self-led walk audit process.
  • Self-led walk audit: Participants have two weeks to walk the specified route, and document photos and written observations about the walking environment.
  • Session 2: Post-walk, participants reconvene on Zoom to discuss and set plans for next steps.

We use Google Sites to share recordings of our Zoom meetings so those unable to attend the first session can watch and provide feedback on their neighborhood’s walkability. The recommendations made during the second session are summarized into a PowerPoint report and memo for participants to use and turn into actions.

Virtual walk audits have served as a valuable tool for conducting our community-partnered work in a socially- distanced world. While we look forward to resuming our in-person walk audits, we plan to leverage these digital engagement strategies in the future to hear from those unable to attend in-person. If you’re having success with virtual community engagement, we’d love to trade notes —get in touch!

This article was featured in WalkBoston’s January/February 2021 newsletter.
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Worcester Indian Lake Virtual Walk Audit

Worcester Indian Lake Virtual Walk Audit

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On December 1 and December 15, 2020, WalkBoston conducted a virtual walk audit for the Indian Lake Neighborhood of Worcester, MA. WalkBoston, WalkBike Worcester, and Worcester Mass in Motion co-hosted this walk audit process, which was requested by residents who are interested in activating the open spaces of their neighborhood and making it more walkable. The walk audit process was covered in a Streetsblog Mass article on May 7, 2021.

Read the full report here.