The LA Walks mission is to make walking a safe, efficient, and enjoyable mode of transportation for everyone in Los Alamos—young and old, able-bodied and handicapped. We want walking to be on an equal footing, and integrated with, other transportation modes. In contrast to organizations such as TAPS and LAPA, we are primarily focused on walking in urban and developed areas. We overlap with other organizations in that we want to include both urban sidewalks and trails as part of a connected transportation network. We are also concerned with minimizing the negative impacts of motor vehicle traffic, and support alternative transportation planning, public transit, and bicycling.
Our current activities and projects include:
Creating a PowerPoint presentation summarizing who we are, why walkability is important, and what it takes to make Los Alamos a walkable community.
Creating a "pedestrian checklist" for use by neighborhoods to audit local conditions.
Creating an online web-based version of the pedestrian checklist, with photos and diagrams illustrating problems and solutions. The result is our Walkability/pedestrian safety checklist page.
Preparing a "Downtown Pedestrian Route Study and Improvement Proposal" in PowerPoint form, for presentation to Public Works and the Transportation Board. The first version of this was completed, and was one input to the design of changes made to Central Avenue as part of the Cultural Center Pathway project. We are continuing to study walkability problems and solutions in the downtown area.
Studying the current county "Pedestrian Transportation Plan", and working with the County staff and Transportation Board to produce a revised version.
Planning followup activities to our "Walkable Communities" workshop, held in February 2002. For more information, see our coming events page.
Being involved in pedestrian issues and problems as they arise such as the Villa/Aspen traffic calming project.
A large amount of material has been developed for the Los Alamos County Comprehensive Plan, including vision statements, desired outcomes, and proposed actions. The material can be viewed or downloaded from Envision Los Alamos on the County web site.
(Viewing or printing PDFs from the County site requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click
on the icon to download the reader if you don't have it installed.)
TAPS (Trails and Pathways Subcommittee), under the Parks and Recreation Board, is charged with oversight of the Los Alamos County Trail System.
The Los Alamos County Cycling Coalition is working for a livable, walkable, bikeable Los Alamos. The coalition represents the interests of all classes of bicycle riders in the community, and supports bicycling as part of an integrated, multimodal transportation system.
LADC (Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corp.) is a nonprofit corporation focused on providing assistance to small businesses as well as on improving economic outcomes in Los Alamos and Northern New Mexico. A strong, sustainable small business and retail community in downtown Los Alamos encourages people to walk within the downtown area rather than driving off the hill.
PEEC (Pajarito Environmental Education Center) is a non-profit volunteer organization located in Los Alamos; it promotes knowledge of the natural history of northern New Mexico, environmental education, and stewardship.
Virtual Los Alamos, "the Online guide to Los Alamos", has a wealth of information on shopping, tourist attractions, hiking trails, and other destinations for walkers.
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