The North Street Neighborhood Association is pleased to share this announcement with you.
The Montview Neighborhood Sidewalks-and-Streets Working Group has joined the Week Without Driving campaign, a national initiative that’s drawn attention across the country for inviting community leaders and residents of cities and towns to get a new perspective on mobility by committing to not driving for a week, or a day, or two days…whatever is possible in terms of their own circumstances.
Boston famously asks people to Make Way for Ducklings, we’re asking people in Northampton to Make Way for Chickens, with the message: Drive less or not at all if possible—at least for this one week; and drive more carefully (always). Our goal is to shine a light on the challenges of getting around without a car and hopefully to highlight those people in our community who might already be doing that!
Most of us cannot imagine life without a car, yet according to weekwithoutdriving.org approximately one-third of people in the US cannot drive due to age, ability, income and other factors and one-quarter of people in the US face transportation insecurity. So! What do they do; how do they manage? Week Without Driving invites people to answer that question, to experience that reality by putting themselves in the shoes (no pun intended) of those who cannot drive for whatever reason. Participants will help to shine a light on Northampton’s transportation network—the sidewalks, multi-use paths and public transportation—providing on-the-ground data that will be useful for city officials and residents who want to reduce driving and support and encourage walking with improved walkability infrastructure, especially in the downtown neighborhoods.
We expect Week Without Driving to spark new ideas, inspire change, and/or offer a fresh look at mobility in Northampton. People can sign up at weekwithoutdriving.org
Week Without Driving is a project of America Walks.
The Montview Neighborhood Sidewalks-and-Streets Working Group consists of residents who live in the Montview neighborhood and some from a bit beyond. The focus of our work, and of all the work done over decades, has been around improving and updating infrastructure—the sidewalks and streets. We want to calm traffic. We want to make our sidewalks and streets safe and accessible for everyone and every sort of transportation that gets one from one place to another: walking, in a wheelchair, on a bicycle or in a car.
For more information:
- Nora Brown—na*******@***il.com
- Claudia Lefko—ir***************@***il.com
- Patricia Rodriguez—pr************@***il.com