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Partnership Checklist – Creating Walkable Communities (in .pdf format)

 Collaboration can result in more walkable communities. Identify potential partners by using this intentionally overbroad checklist (we use this list to identify invitees to a Walking Workshop). Invite them to a meeting, set three goals (one short term, one long term and one mid-range). Provide progress reports to the people who can’t attend meetings. Create your collaboration by answering these questions: 

#1 “Who is most likely to be interested/invested in making our community more walkable?”

 #2 “Who can help identify solutions and who is needed to bring about any recommended changes in engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and/or the environment in our community?”

City/Village/Town/County staff

□ Engineer
□ Public Works Director
□ Planner
□ Police or Sheriff’s Department (line and/or supervisory staff with responsibility for education about and enforcement of pedestrian safety laws)
□ Parks Director
□ Recreation Director
□ Health Department/Public Health Educator (county or city)
□ Transit agency, including shared ride taxi program
□ Fire/EMS organization
□ Municipal staff from another jurisdiction if the area requires/would benefit from intergovernmental cooperation

  

Health and safety groups

□ Safety coalitions or groups, such as Safe Communities Coalition, SafeKids, MADD, AAA
□ Health groups, such as American Lung Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society
□ Medical community, such as hospital, doctor, clinic director
□ Insurance agency
□ Fitness organizations, such as the YMCA, health club, Volkssport group

Elected and appointed officials

□ Chief elected official and the elected representative from the neighborhood
□ Elected officials from another jurisdiction if the area requires/would benefit from intergovernmental cooperation
□ Public Works Commission member
□ Historic Preservation Commission member
□ Police & Fire Commission member
□ Municipal Court Judge
□ State or federal elected officials, if appropriate

  

Civic and citizen organizations and leaders

□ Youth groups
□ Community service organizations, such as Rotary, Lion’s Club, Kiwanis, Woman’s Club, Junior Woman’s Club, Garden Club, Jaycees, etc., especially those that sponsor bicycle rodeos or school crossing guard programs
□ Senior citizen organization or agency
□ Citizen activists interested in the issue/neighborhood
□ Neighborhood groups or associations
□ Advocacy groups who promote walking or multi-modal transportation planning, such as Wisconsin Walks, League of Women Voters, Transit NOW, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin

School staff and groups

□ School superintendent
□ School principal
□ PTA/PTO leaders
□ School Board members
□ Students
□ School crossing guards
□ Physical education teachers
□ Driver’s education teachers

  

Business organizations and leaders

□ Business owners
□ Merchants group
□ Chamber of Commerce staff and/or board member
□ Economic development staff and/or board member
□ Builders and developers
□ Main Street coordinator

Other potential collaborators

□ National Park Service, Rivers & Trails Program staff
□ Historic preservationists (government body or nonprofit organization)
□ People who use wheelchairs
□ People who are blind or visually impaired
□ Religious leaders, including parish nurses
□ Colleges and universities
□ Metropolitan Planning Organization staff
□ Regional Planning Commission staff
□ DOT staff (district office, state and district bike/ped coordinators)
□ DOT safety staff (WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety-BOTS)
□ DMV staff (Department of Motor Vehicles)
□ FHWA staff (Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation)
□ News media

    

REMEMBER: Lots of people are interested in walkable communities. Just ask your friends and co-workers to describe what it’s like to walk in their neighborhood. They may share tales of near misses or speeding, reckless drivers. Perhaps they’ll be allies in your effort to change local planning, policy, practice, and environmental conditions. Realize that there are 3 stages of change: ridicule, violent opposition, and ACCEPTANCE.

 We encourage you to:

  1. Invite your elected official to take a walk with you in your neighborhood, to school or downtown.
  2. Download and use a walkability checklist (www.walkinginfo.org) or a bikeability checklist (www.bicyclinginfo.org). These checklists help you create a written record of possible improvements.
  3. Slow down. Give children the freedom you enjoyed as a child!
  4. Look for and expect walkers and yield to pedestrians.
  5. Get involved in your community's comprehensive planning process. Health is the foundation of each of the nine planning elements. Transportation, land use and planning are all public health issues.

Groups dedicated to making Wisconsin more bicycle and pedestrian friendly:

Wisconsin Walks offers ideas and help to create walkable places that are delightful, safe and accessible for everyone (www.wisconsinwalks.org).

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is the “go to” organization for building bicycle friendly communities (www.bfw.org).

1000 Friends of Wisconsin helps citizens engage in their local comprehensive planning process (www.1000friendsofwisconsin.com). By making walking and bicycling part of everyday planning practices and priorities, we can achieve healthier, more livable communities today and for future generations. 

AARP Wisconsin offers ideas about encouraging older adults to become more physically active (www.aarp.org/states/wi/).

Please help us add to our partnership checklist if you see a missing link or potential partner. Contact: Wisconsin Walks, 262-375-6180, info@wisconsinwalks.org. Document last updated 9/26/04).

 

 

 

 

This site was last updated 11/12/04                 Home Up