Thanks to the City's Cool City designation, on August 16, 2006 the City of Benton Harbor welcomed Dan Burden, the country's leading walkability expert, to town to do a Walkabilty Audit.
The Walkability Audit was a huge success! With around 50 people attending, Dan said it was the best turn out he's ever had, and he's done around 4,000 across the nation!
The afternoon started off by a brief orientation by Dan telling us what we were going to be doing and then we hit the roads to do the walkability audit and learn where opportunities to improve our downtown's walkability and accessbility lie.
While on the walkability audit, participants pointed out where good location for benches, trash facilities, lighting, landscaping, and more, could be added or improved. Participants also pointed out the good parts of downtown like the beautiful historic buildings and opportunity for wide sidewalks.
After having a great educational afternoon during the walkability audit, participants had supper and then reassembled at the State Theater and watched a presentation on downtowns, walkability, and revitalization. Excitement grew as everyone realized the potential of downtown Benton Harbor to be a great place for the residents of the City and visitors to the area.
After Dan's presentation, the City of Benton Harbor knew they had some work to do. The Michigan Department of Transportation was in the process of planning a construction project on I-94 BL, Main Street. After a meeting with MDOT, it was decided that they would put their plans on hold so that Benton Harbor could conduct a visioning session for their downtown Main Street.
To be continued...
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