Active Transportation Committee
The Friends of Woodfords Corner Active Transportation Committee (ATC) is dedicated to improving the experience and safety of those who walk, bike, and ride METRO.
If you’re a community member interested in working with us to help make Woodfords Corner safer and more inviting, contact Nancy Grant, the Committee Chair, at nancylewisgrant@gmail.com.
Committee Goals
(developed in 2019, revisited in 2020)
Improve pedestrian accessibility and safety in Woodfords Corner.
Increase the number of people walking, biking, and using METRO in the Corner.
Educate and engage the public, including Woodfords Corner community members, businesses and residents, on transportation issues, challenges and solutions.
Develop systems for collecting and measuring data on transportation in Woodfords Corner.
Current Projects/Goals
Temporary, “pop up” infrastructure on Deering Ave to test traffic-calming measures with low-cost demonstration projects.
Working with the City to improve crosswalk safety at Forest Avenue and Lincoln Street and Forest Avenue and Coyle Street.
Working with the City to make the traffic signals in Woodfords Corner more responsive to and oriented toward pedestrians.
Working with the City to install human-scale lighting in Woodfords Corner.
Installation of a Forest Avenue crosswalk at Baxter Woods.
Past Projects
During the summer of 2019, the ATC organized two walking audits of Woodfords Corner. We invited the public to walk with us on key streets that exemplified good, bad and ugly conditions for pedestrians. We encouraged our participants to share their experiences on the streets of Woodfords Corner and to suggest solutions to some of the biggest hazards. As a result of these walks, we identified both safety hazards and priorities for addressing them.
What we learned on Sidewalk Survey #1
What we learned on Sidewalk Survey #2
In 2020 and early 2021, the Active Transportation Committeee organized walking tours of Woodfords Corner with Mayor Snyder, our District 4 Councilor, Andrew Zarro, the three At-Large Councilors: Fournier, Ali and Mavodones and the councilors of neighboring districts, Tae Chong and Mark Dion. The walks were an excellent opportunity for committee members to identify transportation issues, concerns and priorities and for Councilors to suggest strategies and programs to address them.
The ATC launched a Walking School Bus program in Woodfords Corner in the spring of 2019. A Walking School Bus offers school children a way to get to school by walking together in a supervised group. Student participants are chaperoned by a parent “Driver,” who guides the group along a set route, picking up children along the way, much like a regular school bus. Here’s how this program helps:
Walking to school enables children to incorporate regular physical activity before they arrive to school, which research has shown can increase a student’s focus.
When families decide to lace up their sneakers to get to school, they help reduce the amount of carbon and air pollutants emitted by automobiles
Children and parents develop a sense of community when walking with friends and neighbors along the way
FWC continued to operate the Walking School Bus in the 2019-2020 school year but the pandemic shut it down. If you are interested in helping to bring it back, please contact Vonnett Seeger at vonagra@hotmail.com.
