Group walk in Woodfords Corner highlights the good, bad and ugly for pedestrians

On July 10th, Friends of Woodfords Corner's "Active Transportation Committee", (ATC), held its first "walking audit", an opportunity for area residents and business owners to assess the safety and accessibility of the streets of Woodfords Corner. Our "Sidewalk Survey: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly" involved a mile long group walk around the Corner, starting and ending at the new Odd Fellows Plaza. Our route included using a variety of our new and old street lights, crossings of Forest Ave, sidewalks of all types and ages, and a range of pedestrian experiences--some that felt safe and comfortable and others that were unacceptably dangerous. Throughout the walk, our 23 participants, divided into small groups, were asked to weigh in on their perceived level of safety and to brainstorm both the sources of safety issues and possible solutions.

The goal of that and future Sidewalk Surveys is to engage our community members in transportation issues and opportunities; educate them on ways to improve safety and access for pedestrians and other active transportation users; and, to identify priorities of our community and create a list of improvements that we can use to partner with the City and the MaineDOT. The ATC is currently collating all the information we collected and will share them in the near future. We plan to hold a second Sidewalk Survey in September, which will focus on a different part of the corner. We hope you will join us for that event. For more information, please contact Nancy Grant, ATC Chair, at nancylewisgrant@gmail.com.