1 minute read
WASHINGTON STREET CORRIDOR
by REA site
PROJECT: PROMOTE WALKABILITY AND PARKING EDUCATION
Goal
Advertisement
Starting this year, prepare the cultural and social grounds for walking and cycling through education, so that when the city develops the Washington Street project using complete streets design, the people would be ready to support it.
Description
Enhancing walking and cycling should not focus solely on improving infrastructure, but also tackle social and cultural factors that inhibit alternative transportation, according to PedBikeInfo, a research group. Therefore, both walk-ability and parking education are key and preliminary steps to future infrastructure or streetscaping projects.
Action Steps
The following are small and relatively inexpensive recommendations to build a walking and cycling mentality around Frankfort.
1. Partner with key stakeholders and create a walking or cycling coalition.
2. Create a year-round education program that includes the following: a. Make walking and bicycling part of the people’s daily lives by having a yearly or monthly Walk/Bike to work/school Day, carfree day with organized play streets in downtown, participating in national walking initiatives (National Walking Day, etc.), organizing Workplace Walking Programs, fostering walking and bicycling groups, etc. b. Strengthen these initiatives by offering incentives such as winning coupons to local restaurants, shops and businesses; or offering walking gadgets such as pedometers, Fitbit, Heart monitors, speed monitors, wristband activity monitors, etc. c. Educate people about the economic and other benefits by sharing success stories from Bloomington, Lafayette and d. Make walking and cycling fun by holding special events (walk for a cause, art walks), installing interactive public art or playful urban interactions on the streets.
Lebanon Indiana.
3. Create a holistic marketing and awareness campaign including: a. Walking and bicycling maps with local attractions and practical amenities such as restrooms and adding walking routes to the Trails.com website. b. Parking maps for parking around and in downtown with details such as directions, , hours, etc. c. Getting Frankfort’s name out there by registering on websites such as walkscore.com. With all the previous steps, Frankfort’s walkscore will definitely increase – an improvement that people, in the region as well as the nation, need to know about. The walkscore in itself becomes an additional incentive for making Frankfort a walkable place).
4. Consider changing parking regulations by introducing metered parking, making off-street parking a cheaper option, and restricting on-street parking for people with disabilities.
Additional Resources
The following document provides a list of additional websites with very helpful resources that support the previous steps: https:// www.inphilanthropy.org/sites/default/files/resources/Walkable%20 Communities.pdf.
