I don't normally publish press releases, but this one is inviting West Orange County residents to something very informative and worthwhile....
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National expert to
share best practices in street designs that support economic development, safe
access to schools, and neighborhood health
(Winter
Garden, Fla.) – The public is invited to a series of free workshops that will
address how residents and community leaders in West Orange can leverage streets
and transportation investments to create places that are more supportive of
economic development, active living, neighborhood health and safe access to
schools.
Dan Burden,
executive director of the national non-profit
Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, will share how communities
throughout the country and Central Florida are approaching transportation
projects as a means to add value to land and improve quality of life for
residents and visitors, while moving traffic smoothly and
efficiently.
The
workshops will explain how traffic-calming measures, road “diets,”
intersections, trails, bike lanes, sidewalks and other street design elements
affect commercial districts, school areas and residential neighborhoods. Two of
the workshops will conclude with optional “walking audits,” during which
participants assess nearby streets to identify firsthand some of the barriers to
safe, productive streets, and to discuss ways to overcome those barriers.
Members of the public are invited to attend one or all of the workshops, which
are scheduled as follows:
· Street Design & Your
Business
8:30 to 9:15 a.m. (with
optional walking audit until 9:45 a.m.), Tuesday, Feb. 28
City of Winter Garden City
Hall, 300 W. Plant Street, Winter Garden, FL
· Street Design & Your
School
2:15 to 3:00 p.m. (with
optional walking audit until 3:30 p.m.), Tuesday, Feb. 28
Lake Whitney Elementary School,
1351 Windermere Road, Winter Garden, FL
· Street Design & Your
Neighborhood
6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday,
Feb. 28
People of Faith Worship Center,
220 Windermere Road (co-located with Children’s Lighthouse, near Roper YMCA and
Southwest Aquatics)
The events
are free and open to all members of the public, including business operators,
homeowners, students and parents, school officials, elected leaders, healthcare
providers, municipal staff, consultants, emergency responders, seniors’
representatives, property owners, parks and recreation providers, and more.
“This area
is full of opportunities,” Burden said. “We see some places doing it very well,
such as downtown Winter Garden and other
locations where streets have brought value and quality of life. But we also see
places with incredible challenges to overcome. The good news is that there are
many examples of how to overcome those challenges, and that’s what I look
forward to sharing with folks during the workshops.”
The
workshops are supported by the City of Winter Garden, Safe Streets West Orange
and the WALC Institute. For more information, email SafeStreetsWestOrange@gmail.com.
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About
Dan Burden
Dan
Burden, executive director of the WALC Institute, has worked with more than
3,500 communities throughout the world to help them get “back on their feet.” In
2001, he was named by TIME magazine as “one of the six most important
civic innovators in the world.” In 2009, a user’s poll by Planetizen named
Dan as one of the Top 100 Urban
Thinkers of all
time. His efforts also earned the first-ever lifetime-achievement awards issued
by the New Partners for Smart Growth and the Association of Pedestrian and
Bicycle Professionals. Burden blogs about
transportation issues for AARP. His work has been covered by regional and
national news organizations, including the Associated
Press, NBC
Dateline, The Discovery Channel, National Public Radio and more. He served as
the principal writer for the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning and
Design Curriculum and also served as a main instructor for the National
Highway Institute’s course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility
Design.
About
the WALC Institute
The WALC
Institute is an educational, non-profit organization working to create healthy,
connected communities that support active living and that advance opportunities
for all people through walkable streets, livable cities and better built
environments. The Institute is based in Port Townsend, Wash., and assists
communities throughout North America and the world. For more information, visit
www.walklive.org, email
team@walklive.org or call
(360) 385-3421.
