Belmont Citizens Forum

We sponsor informative meetings on issues related to our mission: historic preservation in our town; matters affecting our environment, preservation and management of open space; and traffic and transportation issues.

WALKING IN BELMONT - A PUBLIC FORUM

What will it take to get more people walking?

Courtesy of D. Wasserman

Walking is good for your health, your pocketbook, and the environment-if there's a safe place to walk. People of all ages can learn how to walk more safely, and find a great deal of enjoyment in doing so. And there are plenty of ways towns can improve walking conditions.

Walking in Belmont: Why People Should Walk, Why They Don't, and What Can Be Done, a public forum, will be held on Thursday, October 23, from 7:30-9:00 pm, at the Belmont Memorial Library Auditorium. Anne Paulsen, former State Representative for Belmont, will moderate the Forum.

The goals of the Walking Forum are two-fold: to develop a Walking Committee in Belmont that would explore and promote favorable walking conditions and good pedestrian access to sidewalks, and to develop a booklet on short walks in Belmont to make walking more enjoyable. Please contact Anne Paulsen at annempaulsen@gmail.com if you'd like to participate.

Speakers will include Rosa Carson, Program Coordinator for Walk Boston, an advocacy group whose mission is to create and preserve safe walking environments that build vital communities. Ms. Carson will focus on snow removal and safe pedestrian access to sidewalks.

A panel of experts will address walking in Belmont and take questions and answers:

Sgt. Kevin Shea, Belmont Police, pedestrian safety.
Donna Moultrop, Health Director, Belmont Health Department
Nava Niv-Vogel, Director, Council on Aging
Karen Parmet or Peggy Eysenbach, Safe Routes to School

The Forum is sponsored by the Belmont Citizens Forum, the Belmont Council on Aging, Sustainable Belmont, and the Vision 21 Committee. It is free and open to the public.

For more information and further details, please visit www.belmontcitizensforum.org , e-mail info@belmontcitizensforum.org, or call 617-484-1844.

Events are announced in our Newsletter and on our web site.
Recent meeting topics include:

• Smart Growth: What is it and do we want any? With Jay Szklut, Belmont's Economic Development & Planning Manager, and Karl Haglund, Chairman, Belmont Planning Board
   
• Floods, Drought and the War over Water, with Kathleen Baskin, the state's Director of Water Policy
   
• Traffic Calming Forum, with nationally recognized expert Cara Seiderman, Cambridge's Transportation Program Manager.
   
• Trapelo Corridor Redesign, presented by the MIT Urban Studies Graduate Students