Tag: Mark Fenton

Complete Streets Update: Mark Fenton & Vision 2020

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From the June 2011 Vision 2020 Champions In Action E-Newsletter

More than 400 business leaders, employee wellness managers, community members, students, and Champions participated in three days of events in May with public health advocate Mark Fenton. The three day series focused on the importance of “completing our streets” so that they are designed and maintained for walkers, bikers, public transit riders and motorists. Mark shared that “for the first time in our history, it is likely that today’s children will have a shorter life expectancy than that of their parents, due to sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition”. To reverse this growing trend, it is imperative that we make significant behavior changes in our lives.  “Although many of these changes are simple and easy to do, they can only reach their full potential when they are instituted as a matter of public policy.”

At the end of the May events, many of the participants responded to a “call to action” and signed a pledge for the City of Keene to adopt a Complete Streets Resolution. The resolution was drafted by the Keene Young Professionals Network (KYPN) and has been endorsed by the Monadnock Region Transportation Management Association.  The resolution states that whenever a road is being built, changed, or updated, all four users need to be considered: pedestrians, bikers, transit users, and vehicles drivers. Instead of designing roads with the sole intention of drivers, it is important to consider each road as part of a larger system that impacts our overall safety, economic development, quality of life, the environment and public health. By supporting a Complete Streets Policy, it can help our own community consider all the impacts roads have on our lives and promote the design and maintenance of roads to maximize benefits. Click here to show your support of the Complete Streets policy being advocated for in Keene! Feel free to use the Resolution as a template to adopt a similar policy in your town. Any and all towns in Cheshire County could benefit from this.

If you would like to get involved with the Keene Young Professionals Network or the Complete Streets Resolution, contact fellow Champion Jen Risley at jen@hannahgrimes.com.

Complete the Streets in Keene Update

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Despite the rain and sleet at April’s Monadnock Earth Festival we had 20 more folks sign on as supporters of the Complete Streets in Keene Resolution (we have 50 supporters so far). We made new connections with individuals from Pathways for Keene & MRTMA.

KeeneYPN’s Chair Jessica O’Connor has been asked to give a short overview of KYPN at the May 4th Vision 2020 Complete Streets Event before the keynote speaker, Mark Fenton, speaks. Keene YPN has also been asked to facilitate a discussion at this event regarding the next steps for the Complete the Streets in Keene Project.

Frequently Asked Complete Streets Questions

Help Bring More Complete Streets to Keene

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The Keene Young Professionals Network (KeeneYPN) is collaborating with Vision 2020 to help bring a Complete Streets Policy to our city.  Inspired by the Keene Community Master Plan Process and the community’s vision for Keene in 2028*, we chose this as the first KeeneYPN community service project.

Our goals are to increase the public’s awareness of why Keene needs a Complete Street Policy and promote an upcoming community event with Complete Streets Member and Transportation Consultant Mark Fenton.

You can get involved with this project in any or all of the following ways:

  • Review sample Complete Street Policies from other communities and help draft a policy for Keene
  • Create handouts and a display for our table at the Earth Day Festival
  • Design an activity at our table to engage Earth Day Festival goers
  • Volunteer to man/woman this table at the festival on April 23, 2011
  • Spread the word about this community project
  • Share other ideas to help make this happen

Contact the KeeneYPN Community Committee to learn more.

* Adoption of this policy is listed as a priority in the Keene Community Master Plan.

Keene, in 2028, is the best community in America. Our city is vibrant, dynamic, beautiful, and functional.

Our built environment consists of mixed-use development and appropriate density within the city limits; public gathering spaces that allow for interaction between people; well-designed, safe, and maintained neighborhoods with affordable housing and neighborhood amenities; clean and efficient public transportation that connects us to our community, the region, and beyond; pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure that is present throughout our community and that places import on people rather than automobiles; and a well-developed trail system that provides connections between neighborhoods, open spaces, and other communities while simultaneously supporting a healthy lifestyle. Full Keene 2008 Community Vision.