Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission 

Project Resources

Related Documents

• Lebanon Middle School SRTS Report
  (PDF, 2.7 MB)
• Safe Routes to Play Final Report
  (PDF, 13 MB)

Related Photographs

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UVLSRPC Projects

Project Administrator:

Patricia Crocker

Project Title:

Lebanon Safe Routes to Play

Related Services:

Land Use Planning, Transportation

Project Summary:

The City of Lebanon has undertaken the “Safe Routes to Play” study with an objective of increasing safe places to bike and walk for children up to age five and their caregivers. The target group was families with children aged 0-5, but the study inherently addresses families with children of all ages. This study includes a “Blueprint for Safe Routes to Play” travel plan for the City of Lebanon that informs active transportation modes, including walking and biking, for Lebanon children and families.

The project team, comprised of Rachel Ruppel of Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, Greg Norman of the Upper Valley Healthy Eating Active Living Partnership (UVHEAL), Russell Hirschler of the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, and Andrew Gast-Bray, Mark Goodwin, and Paul Coats with the City of Lebanon, formed in February 2013 to direct the project’s work. 

Additional staff assistance for the project was provided by GIS Analysts Meghan Butts and Amber Boland, Planner Patricia Crocker, and Executive Director Nathan Miller.

Additional Information

To engage the public in the process, the City of Lebanon sponsored four neighborhood walkabout events during the summer and fall of 2013. These events were held in the West Lebanon, City Center, Sachem Village, and Mechanic Street neighborhoods. In partnership with the Upper Valley Healthy Eating Active Living Partnership, the City also sought input from children and their parents at two School Open House events held at Lebanon Middle School and Hanover Street School in October 2013.

Public input was gathered using the following methods.

• A participatory mapping effort with walking tours in four neighborhoods.
• A participatory mapping effort in two School Open House events.
• Parent surveys distributed online and as hardcopies in April 2014 to gather information about existing travel patterns to and from locations where children play. 

Safe Routes to Play (SRTP) is a child-centered transportation planning process created by GP RED, a national non-profit whose mission is to provide education and research on healthy community design for health, recreation, and land management agencies. SRTP helps communities assess the potential to create non-motorized connectivity between neighborhoods and parks, playgrounds, trails, and natural areas for children and their families. A key component of Safe Routes to Play involves youth engagement strategies to gather youth perceptions of community safety, independent travel, and challenges in choosing active transportation. Children are commuters in our communities, and deserve the choice to travel safely and independently to their destinations. Safe Routes to Play is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. http://gpred.org/safe-routes-to-play/

Funders:

• City of Lebanon
• Dartmouth Hitchcock Healthy Eating Active Living Initiative
• HNH Foundation
• Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission

Committees Involved: