Help Create a more Pedestrian Friendly Altadena!
More than sixty volunteers took part in an “audit” of Altadena’s “Walkability Audit” on February 1, 2014. The results of this study has become the impetus for a community-wide effort to encourage neighborhood development that is good for all Altadenans. It has been endorsed by the Altadena Town Council, The Altadena Chamber of Commerce, and Altadena Heritage.
To get involved with projects we are doing, please contact us at mail@BuildingABetterAltadena.org – or call us at (626) 344-7806.
About the Altadena Walkability Project: Neighbors Building a Better Altadena (NBBA) is partnering with Justin Robertson, an Altadena resident and Master’s candidate at UCLA, to conduct a walkability study of the Lincoln and Lake Avenue business corridors. Based on research conducted by Altadena Volunteers in the audit, Justin produced a comprehensive report on “walkability” in Altadena, including analysis of existing conditions, useful and realistic recommendations for pedestrian improvements, and best options for stimulating local economic vitality through pedestrian-friendly neighborhood improvements. His report can be viewed here. [report]
What is “walkability?” Walkability measures how friendly an area is to walking, and balances the needs of all users. Walkability factors include traffic and road conditions, land use patterns, accessibility, aesthetics, and safety.
Why walkability? Walkable neighborhoods are healthy neighborhoods: physically, socially, and economically. Studies find that residents, shoppers, and employers all prefer to live, work, and play in walkable neighborhoods. Young people are attracted to them, and senior citizens come to depend on them. Many walkability improvements are simple and inexpensive, while the payoff can be great, and many cities are turning to audits conducted by users of the streets themselves to help improve walkability for residents and visitors alike.
NBBA is worked with community organizations to recruit volunteers, representative of the diversity of Altadena – age, gender, ethnicity, and residential area – to conduct the audit. The survey we used has been developed by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, a tool that is increasingly used by cities, planners, and the public, for such studies. On 2/1/14, more than 65 volunteers came together, receive a training, and then deployed to portions of Lincoln and Lake Avenues, where they made observations on the area’s walkability.
Since the report came out, volunteers have been working in the community to find projects to improve local walkability. Focus has been on Altadena Junction (Lake and Calaveras), the Rite Aid wall where we are developing a mural project, and the Lincoln Corridor.
For more information on the Walkability Audit or to become an Audit Volunteer, please contact NBBA at mail@buildingabetteraltadena.org, or by calling NBBA at (626) 344-7806.
Neighbors Building a Better Altadena 