The purpose of this project was to walk the beloved historic Jacksonville neighborhood, Springfield, and notate which sidewalks were broken or otherwise needed repairments. This is critical for a small community such as Springfield as it is easily walkable for the residents and town travelers who come to tour the area. Broken sidewalks not only are incompliant with ADA guidelines but are unsafe for the general biker and walker, creating a key issue for community members. Rory Hampson was tasked with collecting and analyzing data to create a documentation of where the walkways that need fixing are in order to improve the redevelopment and restoration of the area. Though the project is not yet complete, an entire quadrant of the neighborhood has been notated on a map utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to more easily and accurately depict the areas that need attention from local officials to address the need for redevelopment. Community members saw a need. I was walking the neighborhood one day and stopped to talk to a local resident out walking her dog. She was so kind and I could tell that she had seen a lot of the neighborhood change throughout her life by the way she talked about the importance of the work I was doing. She was outside to get fresh air amidst a pandemic and to walk her dog on a nice and sunny afternoon. This project is more than just a safety precaution for bike users, it’s a way to restore the home-like feeling of the neighborhood when walking outside. Friends and family should be able to enjoy a nice stroll to the Main Street restaurants without worrying if their children will trip and fall on broken sidewalks.
