Appendix 12A
What is a "Walkable" Community Info Sheet
Are Wheeling’s walkways clear and in good condition?
Are there continuous walkways on most of Wheeling’s streets?
Can your children walk to school and play safely?
These questions are being asked by more and more people every day.
As a step toward improving conditions in Wheeling for pedestrians,
WHEELING WALKS and Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation
is sponsoring the
Walkable Communities Workshop
The Walkable Communities Workshop designed to mobilize the resources necessary to make the Wheeling area a safe and attractive place to walk. You are invited because you are one of the vital resources that is needed to make this effort a success.
During the workshop, you will learn more about what can be done to help Wheeling become more pedestrian-friendly, and develop an action plan for making the Wheeling area more walkable.
WHEN: Tuesday, March 19, 2002
WHERE: Wheeling Artesan Center, 3rd floor Reception area
TIME: 2:00 - 6:00 pm -- Dinner 6:00-7:00 pm;
Catered by the River City Ale Works
Your Input is Needed -- Please Join Us
RVSP:
Name
Address
Phone numbe
Appendix 12B
Sample Donation Request Letter
December 3, 2002
Hole’N Run
XX Washington Ave.
Wheeling, WV 26003
Dear Sir or Madam:
Following up on the very successful WHEELING WALKS walking campaign in Wheeling last April, we are continuing our efforts to promote walking in Wheeling and hope that you will assist us in our efforts. On March 19, 2002, we will be hosting a very important event for the community.
This Walkable Community Workshop is designed to mobilize the resources necessary to make the Wheeling area a safe and attractive place to walk. Individuals considered to be vital resources needed to make this effort a success are being invited.
It is our desire to give a “door” prize for this event and we hope that you will offer to donate a pair of walking shoes. We would like to use these shoes as an incentive to participate. We will proudly display Hole’N Run as a sponsor in all media material whenever possible.
Thank you for you consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Deborah XXXXXXX
Project Facilitator
Appendix 12C
WALKABLE WHEELING WORKSHOP Materials
--One-page Informational Flyer on Workshop
--Trifold flyer on Workshop w/ agenda
--Detailed Agenda
--Notes on Workshop with recommendations
--Post-Workshop Press Release
One-page Informational Flyer
on Walkable Community Workshop
Walkable Community Workshop
Presented by: Ronald W. Eck, PE, Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering
West Virginia University- PO Box 6103, Morgantown, WV 26506-6103
Tel.: 304-293-3031 x 2627 Fax: 304-293-7109 email: reck@wvu.edu
Local Welcome & Overview - 2:00 PM
This highly visual, and information rich workshop addresses the remaking of towns from auto congested, angry and uncivil space into peaceful, economically successful, viable village centers, neighborhoods, towns, and regions. A sense of place, individual town character, civic pride, respect for government, trust, and a celebration of the civil servant are end results of focus on public process, and older traditional street and town making principles.
Introductions - 2:05 PM
This presentation validates the ideas, knowledge, values and beliefs of each audience. The workshop kicks hard at the shin of antiquated ways of believing and behaving. It confirms and focuses on important versus meaningless uses of a decision makers’ or citizens’ time and money.
Local Viewpoint - 2:25 PM
The Walkable Community Workshop shouts at us to successfully motivate the men and women in our community to make Wheeling a more “walkable” community. Everyone must start working, whether we sit on a planning commission, city council, county commission, chamber of commerce, school board or serve as a lead official. This is a workshop worthy of all people who believe it is time to rebuild America, neighborhood by neighborhood. It is a workshop for those who wish to return cities to their original greatness through hard, disciplined, inspired, team driven work. This workshop celebrates men and women who are performing Herculean efforts to build fun, responsible, socially and financially responsible public works and private projects.
What Is the Pedestrian Safety Problem? - 2:30 PM
Streets perform many missions in addition to moving and storing vehicles. Both main streets and neighborhood roads serve as “outdoor living rooms”. Well-constructed streets elicit appropriate behavior, increasing neighborliness, association, belonging, acceptance, pride, and play. When roadways become focused for inappropriate motorist volumes or behavior, streets become problems, breeding crime, litter, disrepair of properties and other social problems. Streets teach young people life skills; They allow seniors and people with disabilities to interact with others. Well-designed streets provide safe and efficient movement of all vehicles, while also providing for sanitation, utilities, and timely emergency response. Quality design of streets determines property values. When streets are engineered for fewer purposes, focused on moving traffic and little else, they fail the greater needs of a city. One of the greatest challenges to any town or city is identifying, funding, and bringing together a coalition of stakeholders to revive decaying and unhealthy urban streets.
BREAK
What Is the Walkability Problem? - 3:00 PM
This workshop explores the street pattern, conventional Vs traditional streets. How our street designs became unhealthy. The designer’s role to define and set appropriate speeds and behavior. Tools for altering behavior. The role of trees, trails, alleys, lanes, streets, avenues, boulevards and parkways. Road Diets and other successful street conversions. Reducing the number of lanes while improving efficiency, capacity, and safety. Setting the right dimensions, handling fire, bicycle and pedestrian access, increasing resident safety. The design vehicle, proper curb radii and centerline radii. Meeting the needs of fire, sanitation, and maintenance vehicles.
Vision of A Walkable Community - 3:15 PM
At the heart of building and measuring walkable communities is the presence of people walking, bicycling, sitting, and exchanging. We need to help document the problems of and engender new and better qualities of streets and public places – to create places not to just walk, but to live with civility, pride and passion, and to celebrate urban life.
Local Problem Identification (Break-Out Group) - 4:00 PM
Transportation research must have heart and soul, as well as substance and purpose. Our towns are hurting and our researchers are in one of the best positions to start the healing. If societies in all places of the world are to remain stable and healthy for centuries to come, we must learn to move more on our own… shorter distances and with less impact on resources of the planet. Our life-style of auto-based travel is becoming disruptive in virtually all households. There are no easy answers. There is no end to growing urban traffic congestion but a growing number of citizens want peacefulness where they live and an end to the sprawl they bought into.
BREAK
Organizing for Success - 5:00 PM
Most cities struggle not with design issues, but with techniques for implementing change. Research is needed to address the best methods and processes for overcoming fear of change, methods for gaining public participation and support, developing models, and disbursing information widely and quickly on the success of these new models.
Where Do We Go from Here? - 5:15 PM
Working independently people develop common issues like family, safety, beauty, natural, open space and eco-tourism. People also want an area to be attractive, friendly, prosperous, fun and festive. Setting up pedestrian committees can make sure that everyone has thorough training and instruction, and a willingness to develop important models for the community. The role of implementers is to guide participants in friendly ways to design tables where they can act on their values and overcome mediocrity.
Help Is Available - 5:30 PM
Walking audits, orientation, brainstorming and prioritizing are all useful tools in developing a walkability project. Other workshop events for citizens allow a bit of presentation on what similar communities are doing to embrace change as thy design their walkable community. Designers can see the importance of common community consensus items such as trees, medians, and sidewalks.
Summary and Wrap-Up - 5:45 PM
Appendix 12D
The WHEELING WALKS Campaign, West Virginia University and Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation held a Walkable Community Workshop on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at the Artisan Center at 1400 Main St., Wheeling. The workshop conducted by Ron Eck a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at WVU is designed to mobilize the resources necessary to make the Wheeling area a safe and attractive place to walk. Areas discussed include the pedestrian safety problem, the walkability problem, the vision of a walkable community and organizing for success. Community leaders, Ohio Valley Runners/Walkers Club members, and WHEELING WALKS participants were invited to attend. During the workshop, members learned about the problems that pedestrians face every day and joined together to develop an action plan for making the Wheeling area more walkable.
Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation hosted a dinner that followed at the River City Ale Works. Mayor Nick Sparachane, Ohio County Sheriff Tom Burgoyne and Councilman R. “Herk" Henry were honored for their efforts to make Wheeling a more “walkable” community. Other Honorees included Judi Hladek, founder and CEO of The Wellness Bridge, Ruby Greathouse, President, Brooke Pioneer Trail and Dr. William Mercer, Director Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department. Special recognition was also given to Rich Carnahan of IDEA GIANT and Courtney Hunnell, out-going Wheeling marketing director.
Judi Hladek’s organization logged over 28,000 miles during the WHEELING WALKS campaign and Greathouse has been instrumental in plans to connect the trails in Brooke County with Ohio County. Sheriff Burgoyne’s office is a participating worksite of WHEELING WALKS.
IDEA GIANT is a newly formed company in Wheeling that developed the website and graphics for WHEELING WALKS. The website is www.wheelingwalks.org.
WHEELING WALKS challenges individuals to walk 30 minutes or more on almost every day. Regular walking (30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on almost every day) has all the benefits of other more strenuous (macho) activities, and it is less likely to cause injury. Regular walking can cut your risk of heart disease by one half and benefits occur immediately.
The next meeting of the Walkable Wheeling Task Force is scheduled for Monday, April 1, from 3:00 to 4:30 on the 3rd floor of the Artisan Building in Wheeling. All interested individuals and groups are invited to attend and become involved. Please call 740-695-3683 for more information.