Tag: walk audit

Town of Lenox on the move

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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Ashley Park Walk Audit

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

Springfield – Liberty Heights Walk Assessment

On September 26, 2017, WalkBoston conducted a walk assessment in the Liberty Heights neighborhood of Springfield, with support from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) Pedestrian Safety Planning Initiative for High-Fatality Communities. The goal of the walk assessment was to recommend improvements to the local built environment that improve pedestrian safety.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-LibertyHeightsWalkAssessmentEOPSS-Springfield

Lowell – High Street Walk Assessment

On Tuesday, September 19, 2017, WalkBoston conducted a walk audit on High Street with support from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) Pedestrian Safety Planning Initiative for High-Fatality Communities. The goal of the walk assessment was to recommend improvements to the local built environment that improve pedestrian safety. The City Engineer, as well as staff from the Police Department, Planning Department, Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee/Mass in Motion, and Economic Development Department attended the audit. A list of attendees is included in Appendix A.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-HighStreetAssessementEOPSS-Lowell

Ellis School Walk Audit

The Ellis School is concerned about the safety of children walking to school. Students at the Ellis are encouraged to walk to school through Walking School Buses and events such as Walk-to-School Day. However, WalkBoston observed that cross- ing the streets, especially Walnut Avenue, where drivers regularly go 35 mph and over, is unsafe for children. This Walk Audit recommends street changes to slow traffic.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-WalkAudit-EllisSchoolWalkingSafetyReportFinal-Roxbury