Meeting Invite: Regional "GreenRoutes Network" discussion meeting - Thursday, March 1 2012 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Tom Connors
Dear Friends:
For at least the past decade, if not longer, people have been trying to create regional networks of bike routes, hiking trails, or greenways of various scales as a way of preserving open space, protecting the environment, encouraging healthy recreation, or establishing safer bicycle commuting routes.
For several reasons, this may be the right time to try again. A group of us are inviting you to an initial meeting to discuss creating a regional “GreenRoutes” coordinating group, adopting a unified regional map of existing and potential routes, coming up with a common logo and identity that we could each use to connect our local efforts with a larger network in order to facilitate mutual support and enhanced visibility within our own jurisdictions and on the state level. While the vision includes hiking, conservation, and open space, the initial emphasis will be on creating regional bike routes – the “arterials” of an alternative transportation network.
WHEN: Thursday, March 1, at 6:30 to 8:30 pm
WHERE: Harvard School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Ave, Kresge Building, Room G-2
INTERESTED? Whether or not you can come, PLEASE RSVP – to St...@LivableStreets.Info
(And let us know who else should be invited to the even bigger meeting we hope we all agree to pull together this spring...)
Thanks....On behalf of the ad-hoc convening group....
Steven E. Miller
Executive Director, Healthy Weight Initiative, HSPH, Dept. of Nutrition
Board of Directors, LivableStreets Alliance
cell: 617-686-1050
Blog: "Transportation, Health, and Livable Communities" -- http://blog.livablestreets.info/
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DRAFT VISION STATEMENT:
“A regional network comprising hundreds of miles of off-road, multi-use paths and trails in parks and park-like settings, supplemented by buffered bike lanes that separate cyclists from traffic (cycle tracks) and by pleasant, low-traffic streets (“neighborways”), creating a connected network reaching every neighborhood and municipality in metro Boston, linking them to each other as well as to centers of employment, shopping, and cultural and recreational interest. It will be a highly valued recreational and tourism resource, connecting and extending our parklands into adjacent neighborhoods and serving as the “armature” for additional green areas – from urban pocket parks and playgrounds to more extensive suburban conservation areas. In addition to reducing car trips and providing an often faster method of moving around, the regional GreenRoutes network will have significant environmental, climate protection, public health, economic, and social justice benefits. It will increase access to our rich legacy of parks, river-side paths, and linear parks. It will reduce air and water pollution, encourage physical activity, add to the region’s economic vitality, and make it easier for people in low-income or under-served communities to access the region’s outdoor resources. Many segments of the regional GreenRoutes Network already exist. But key gaps need to be filled and the overall system expanded. Local projects and regional initiatives will be given additional value and appeal by being part of this larger vision. And regional coordination will help insure that local projects include appropriate linkages, avoiding the creation of dead-ends and “paths to nowhere.” A regional coordinating and information sharing GreenRoutes Coalition will focus on state-level policy issues. Within the larger vision and a unified overall map of existing resources, major desire lines, and possible connection points, local Project Commes will take the lead on specific efforts.”