Page 7 - WILMAPCO Transporter - Fall 2021
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Townsend Council and Community Members Become Planners in Walkable Community Workshop
O n a warm afternoon this past July, a group of community members, took a walk near Townsend’s municipal park to uncover ways to make the town a more walkable community. This group was participating in a Walkable
Community Workshop (WCW).
WCWs are interactive events that bring
and planners to focus attention on how to make walking or biking around a
community safer, more accessible, and more comfortable. They usually begin with a presentation that reviews topics such as sidewalk design, tools communities need to create a safer environment. This helps spark ideas during the walking audit portion, which gives participants a chance to survey the area and identify challenges and opportunities. After the walk, a mapping exercise helps the group to share ideas for improving walkability.
Through WCWs, community members become planners, as they are experts in their own communities and can come up with the best possible ideas for improvement.
Several recommendations were made to make Townsend a more walkable community. They included:
• paths and nature trails between neighborhoods and to open spaces,
mini roundabouts,
• improvedcrossings,and • pedestrian-scalelighting.
These and other ideas will be detailed in the Townsend WCW report, which is available on our website.
For more information on WCWs, past WCW reports, and how your community could participate in this program, visit www.wilmapco.org/walkable.
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