Tag: walk audit

Downtown Cultural District Walk Assessment Springfield

Springfield Massachusetts is a city of approximately 153,000 people located about 90 miles west of Boston. The third largest city in the Commonwealth, Springfield is the cultural and commercial center of the Pioneer Valley.

This walk assessment occurred in the Metro Center neighborhood of Springfield, which has been called the business, government, and cultural center of the city. Bounded by Route 291 to the north, Union and Howard Streets to the south, Federal Street to the east and the Connecticut River to the west, Metro Center is home to historic residential streets, high-rise apartment and office buildings, and a downtown retail district. The neighborhood contains several cultural institutions, including the Springfield Armory, Symphony Hall, and the Quadrangle, which houses several world-class museums and the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-DowntownCulturalDistrictWalkAssessment-Springfield

Taunton Walk Assessment

Taunton, founded in 1639, has a dense development pattern with narrow streets, and therefore is quite walkable. Many of the two lane streets have mature trees and flowerbeds, and several assessment attendees, including the WalkBoston team, commented on how attractive and clean the streets were, with the exception of portions of Adams Street. Hospital employees said that they were able to take a one-mile walk on their break without having to cross Broadway, a more heavily traveled street. Attendees also noted that cars were traveling at moderate speeds.

Read the full report:
WalkBoston-WalkAssessement-Taunton

Salem State University Walk Audit

On May 6, 2015, WalkBoston participated in a walk audit on the Salem State University (SSU) campus around the O’Keefe Center and the edges of North Campus. John Pelletier, Mass in Motion Coordinator for the City of Salem, led the audit and the participants included SSU staff, neighborhood advocates, city staff and city council members. The goal of the audit was to discuss the safety and quality of the pedestrian environment along the walk route and recommend improvements that would enhance the pedestrian experience.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-SalemStateUniversityWalkAudit-Salem

Codman Academy Walk Audit

In 2014, a student was struck and seriously injured on Epping Street, a one block, one lane roadway bordering the Codman Academy. The 9th grade student got off an MBTA bus and started walking across Epping Street and was hit by a car. The student was hospitalized.

Epping Street is a one-way street used by drivers to avoid traffic signals at Norfolk and Talbot. This usage represents safety hazards for the students and faculty at Codman Academy. This report looks at the safety benefits of closing Epping Street.

Information for this report was collected and analyzed by 10th grade students at Codman Academy as part of their physics and math classes in the fall and winter of 2014-2015. They were assisted in this effort by staff from WalkBoston, a non-profit walking advocacy organization.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-CodmanAcademyReport-Dorchester

Walk and Bike Assessment Pittsfield

WalkBoston and the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) working with Toole Design Group (TDG) led a walk and bike assessment in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on Thursday , December 4 , 2014. The assessment is part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Awareness and Enforcement Program, funded by the Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), in association with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The MassDOT program is a collaboration among Federal, State, regional, and local agencies, along with advocacy groups, WalkBoston and MassBike, to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety in identified high – crash areas.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-WalkandBikeAssessment-Pittsfield