CHESTERFIELD – The Hilltowns are a step closer to seeing pedestrian-friendly improvements thanks to a $316,000 state grant being administered by the Hilltown CDC.
The five-year, grant can be used to assist 13 towns in making them more walkable: Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Worthington, Blandford, Chester, Huntington, Plainfield, Russell, Montgomery, Middlefield, Westhampton and Williamsburg. The Hilltown CDC applied for the grant in partnership with the Northern Hilltowns Councils on Aging, Walk Boston and Healthy Hampshire.
The grant can help towns apply for grants under the state’s Complete Streets program, grants that can fund pedestrian and bike-friendly improvements to streets and roadways. The money also can be used to create walking maps and conduct walk audits.
Kate Bavelock, director of community engagement for the Hilltown CDC, said that her organization is engaging with communities covered by the grant to see what improvement they would like to see happen.
“We will facilitate whatever they choose,” Bavelock said. “We just want to hear from each town.”
Bavelock said the idea to apply for the grant came from the Healthy Aging outreach initiative, which was conducted locally by the Northern Hilltowns Councils on Aging. She said seniors repeatedly expressed concerns in forums about walkability and pedestrian safety in town centers in the Hilltowns.
The Hilltown CDC received the grant in July of 2020, but Bavelock said that “COVID has slowed us down significantly.”
A walk audit under the program would be conducted by Walk Boston, and involves walking an area with town leadership and other interested parties to experience what the streets are like.
Susan Bronstein, of the group Westhampton Connects, said that after Bavelock spoke at a meeting about the walkability project, the group became excited about the prospect of a walking map.
“We were wildly enthusiastic,” she said, noting that Bavelock has been invited back to pursue a walking map for the town.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.