Agenda - 12-06-2004-5i - Laserfiche WebLink

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More than 200 senior citizens and county employees will use the Senior Center and work at the Human Services Center every day, on average. Over the course of a year, an estimated 3,000 different seniors will use the Senior Center. In addition, more than 7,500 residents live within one mile of the project area.. As a result, an extensive population will be served by the project interventions. ARer recruiting the Active Seniors Project Team, project staff will hold a brief training to teach participants how to use a pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure assessment tool, such as the Walking & Bicycling Suitability Assessment (WABSA) developed by the iJNC School of Public Health and NC DHHS, in order to systematically evaluate the local pedestrian and bicycle network. The Project Team will then conduct this assessment of the pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the area around the planned new senior center and existing community park, and develop recommendations for needed improvements. In addition, the Project Team will identify existing routes for walking and biking, to the extent they exist, that seniors and others can use to be physically active. Project staff will then produce a "Trail Map" that can be posted and distributed at the Senior Center, Human Services Center, and Community Park to help publicize these loops. This will ensure that the project has an immediate impact on helping local residents access walking and biking facilities at the same time that it identifies recommendations for how to improve these facilities and connecC them with the larger pedestrian and bicycle network in Chapel Hill. The Project Team's findings will be summarized in an illustrated report and PowerPoint presentation, and presented to the Senior Center Design Committee, the Town of Chapel Hill, Orange County, and others to help inform future infrastructure investment decisions.. In addition, project staff will compile a tool kit of the materials used in the project to make the lessons learned available to other communities in North Carolina. In this way, the project will help publicize existing pedestrian and bicycle facilities around the Orange County Senior Center and Homestead Community Park, catalyze needed improvements, and serve as a demonstration project to help inspire others to create more walkable communities for senior citizens and all residents in their community. D. The expected outcomes of the interventions are the mapping of existing walking routes and the identification of infrastructure improvements needed to create a safe and continuous pedestrian and bicycle network in the area surrounding the plam~ed Orange County Senior Center, existing Human Services Center, and existing Homestead Community Park. The project will also create an organized constituency that is empowered to advocate for the fiurding and construction of these improvements, and share its experiences with others.