Continuing public outreach to the Springfield community through the Live Well Springfield community partnership, MassBike held a public meeting at the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association (AQCA) last week to gather input for developing the City of Springfield Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. AQCA, an all-volunteer non-profit organization representing residents and businesses in the Armoury-Quadrangle neighborhood of downtown Springfield, hosted the meeting. Carol Costa, AQCA President, opened the meeting with updates on neighborhood issues and introduced MassBike and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) staff to the audience. Roughly 25 Springfield and area residents attended the meeting to share their ideas for improving walking and biking in and around the city.

Residents provided written comments through the Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey and marked up neighborhood maps illustrating potential bicycle routes, dangerous pedestrian crossings, and other barriers to safe walking and biking in Springfield. Comments from residents spanned numerous topics with particular concerns being voiced around safe access to bus stops in snowy conditions, unsafe pedestrian crossings at specific locations, connections to a proposed rail-trail project in the McKnight Neighborhood, and providing bicycle lanes on important corridors that connect neighborhoods, such as State Street.

If you live or ride a bike in Springfield, we encourage you to take the Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey to help shape the Springfield Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. 

We also encourage Springfield residents to attend the final three public input meetings for the Springfield Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan:

What: Public Meeting on the Springfield Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan
When: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 - 5:00 PM
Where: Bay Area Neighborhood Council
Karen Sprague Cultural Arts Center
American International College
1000 State Street,
Springfield MA 01109

Where: Forest Park Civic Association
When: Details coming soon

Where: New North Citizens Council
When: Details coming soon

This work has been made possible through MassBike’s involvement in Live Well Springfield, a coalition of community organizations, including Partners for a Healthier Community, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and the City of Springfield. The city's first bike lane is a direct result of that work. Read more about our efforts here.