2021-01-20

Active transportation report supports changes

by KEITH CORCORAN

  • <p>A screengrab of a page contained in Bridgewater&#8217;s newest active transportation report.</p>
  • <p>A screengrab of a page contained in Bridgewater&#8217;s newest active transportation report.</p>

Civic politicians in Bridgewater approved a new, updated guide to improving non-motorized travel via town trails, sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

The 77-page report, prepared by a Dartmouth-based architecture and planning firm, includes mapping to show where active transportation infrastructure (AT) should be prioritized as the town works to make walking, running and cycling more convenient, inclusive, enjoyable and safer.

Town council recently endorsed the document, which cost $36,225 for ZZap Consulting to complete. However, it doesn't mean elected officials are committed to designs or all projects proposed in the report but rather its intent and immediate action items. Spending on specific items would be considered by elected officials through the ordinary budget process, town planner Mackenzie Childs indicated in the report to council.

Prioritizing installation of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings along bus routes, bicycle parking and pedestrian wayfinding concepts are among items on the agenda in the year ahead. The overall report guides the next 10 years.

"I think the public perception of active transportation has changed, and they're seeing it as more important," David Mitchell, the town's mayor, commented during the council meeting when the report was green-lit.

The old AT plan dates back to 2008. Many policy proposals in that document were completed and some infrastructure projects became irrelevant, Childs said in her report.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the value of Bridgewater's current AT system, Mitchell indicated. There is growing acceptance to prioritize trails, sidewalks, and the like, in the same vein as roads, because so many depend on those modes of navigating town, the mayor suggested.

"When the premier said 'stay the blazes home and don't leave your community,' we had parking problems with people coming from outside Bridgewater to inside Bridgewater just so they could use our sidewalks and trails," said Mitchell.

Implementation timelines may not coincide specifically with the proposed months and years identified in the report, Childs's report explained.

"Some of these actions will only occur once, some will occur annually, some will span over longer periods of time, and some will occur at specific times of the year to coincide with budget planning," it suggested, adding that some of the actions cannot be effectively completed until other actions are completed.

Front-burner actions for Bridgewater include revising design and construction standards pertaining to new streets, and creating design criteria to maximize active transportation within existing town roads.

"These two action items are critical for improving AT infrastructure throughout town, as the revision and the establishment of the documents will help provide guidance on what best practice exists and how it can be incorporated in Bridgewater," Childs said in her report. "Currently, infrastructure projects are not always designed or planned with an AT lens at the outset."

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