Wheelock Village Walkability Project 

The Selectboard accepted the $2500 grant from AARP to identify hazards to residents of all levels of mobility and to improve overall walking safety in our village.The route is a busy, east-west connector between Rtes. 5, 16 and Interstate 91. No safe pathways, and traffic speeds above the posted 35 mph signs make it unsafe for walking and force residents to drive within the village. Thanks to the Town of Wheelock for serving as our fiscal sponsor and to the Caledonia County Sheriff for speed data.

At the August 31 meeting WCI volunteers presented their walk audit findings and sought residents’ ideas and recommendations for possible next steps towards the goals of making the village more walk-friendly for all. Kelly Stoddard Poor, Vermont’s AARP Associate State Director, joined us for the presentation and discussion, which focused on crosswalks, speed, and signage. See the presentation here. The grant also paid for an electronic display screen WCI gave to the town. 

In November, we did a 4 question survey to get more feedback from more residents on crosswalks, speed, and signage. 37 people participated. Read the results here.

Wheelock walk audit volunteers were assisted by Logan Perron (not in photo) and Josh Taylor (second from left) from VTrans and Liam Abbate from NVDA (center-left).  

The community was invited to a discussion meeting and free dinner on August 31, 6-8pm at Wheelock Town Hall.

What's next? We continue to researchour options.  We are in touch with our neighboring town of Sheffield, as they have similar concerns. One possible next step is seeking a VTrans scoping study. Wheelock village has many assets and we want to be able to enjoy them!