What is a Walkable
Community Workshop?

"Walkable Communities" are towns or neighborhoods both rural and urban that have extensive sidewalk networks, safe crossing location and destinations that are within walking or bicycling distances. In other words, walkable communities are places where most local trips are made without a car. Instead, trips are made by foot, bicycle or other non-motorized methods.

By conducting workshops and in assisting our members in creating walkable communities, NYMTC is working towards achieving two goals as set forth in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). First, the workshops and pedestrian audits enable the public to identify pedestrian and bicycle safety issues. During the workshops, participants are provided with an opportunity to suggest solutions to these safety issues. With help from the public in identifying dangerous situations, our members can improve facilities to reduce the number of pedestrian and bicycle-related fatalities throughout the region.

Second, as identified in the RTP, alternative, non-motorized modes of transportation, such as walking and bicycling, when promoted as viable means of transportation, can also help contribute to the region's quality of life by reducing automobile congestion and thus decreasing travel time and improving air quality. The workshops place greater emphasis on the use of alternative travel options.

Walkable Community Workshops (also called pedestrian road shows) are presented around the country to help people make their communities better places to live. The sessions are usually four hours long and have helped groups of elected officials, local government staff, and citizens analyze their situation and identify needed improvements.

The workshops generate awareness about pedestrian safety, walkability, and bikeability issues. The goal of the workshops is to channel that awareness into a commitment to create a realistic plan of action. There are three basic components of the workshop: a presentation, a discussion of opportunities and obstacles, and identification of local issues and proposed solutions. Following each workshop, a "pedestrian audit" or walking field trip is conducted to show how the solutions can be applied. Participants make up a cross-section of their communities, including local government representatives, local businesses, nonprofit organizations with interests in the pedestrian and bicycling communities, and local residents.

NYMTC staff began a new regional program in October 2001 by developing and sponsoring workshops throughout the metropolitan area in Glen Cove (Nassau County), Ossining (Westchester County), Spring Valley (Rockland County), Port Jefferson (Suffolk County), and Hunts Point Market (Bronx).

During the summer of 2002, the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) sponsored Walkable Community Workshops on Long Island. The workshops, facilitated by Peter Lagerway, were held in Riverhead, Syosett, Farmingdale, Freeport and Lynbrook.

The 2002 Walkable Community Workshops, sponsored by NYMTC, were held during the first week of November in New City (Rockland County), Brooklyn Bridge Park (Kings County), Brewster Village (Putnam County), and Greenburgh (Westchester County).