AUBURN, Maine — While many towns and cities seem more car-focused when it comes to transportation, the city of Auburn is looking to flip the script, investing in pedestrian safety with a string of public "walk audits."
Funded through the AARP Foundation, the events are aimed at taking a close look at how safe pedestrian walkways are throughout different areas in the city.
The walks are being conducted in the downtown area, at the Turner and Dennison Streets intersection, and around the Washburn School neighborhood.
Auburn Transportation Systems Director Jonathan LaBonté said the goal of the walks is to better shape the city's roads to be "complete streets," a standard that includes both safety and comfort for all ages and modes of transportation.
Last year, 246 pedestrians were hit by a car, truck, or other in Maine according to data from the Maine Department of Transportation's Public Crash Query Tool. Already this year, two pedestrians have been hit while trying to cross the street in Auburn.
"We still have the bones of a great downtown, and more and more people want to invest, and live, and work and play in those environments," LaBonté said. "And we want to make sure that as we see that growth, we're building towards a more walkable and inviting community with neighborhoods and not just widening roads to accommodate that rush hour traffic."
Along the way, notes pointed to the lengths of walk lights, crumbling curbs, positions of crosswalks, or even lack thereof. Those points will go to the city manager and transportation projects of interest.
The city hopes to weave similar conversations into the way the city develops for the future.
Additional "walk audits" will be hosted on Wednesday at 10 a.m. and another at 5 p.m. starting at the Hilton Garden Inn.