A Citywide Vision for Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathways in Chicopee, Massachusetts Stephanie Carlisle
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity Fall 2016 Networks of Opportunity: A Citywide Vision for Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathways in Chicopee, Massachusetts Stephanie Carlisle Ambica Chadha Daniel Fontaine Sammi Gay Justin Gilmore See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/larp_grad_research Part of the Environmental Design Commons, Landscape Architecture Commons, and the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons Carlisle, Stephanie; Chadha, Ambica; Fontaine, Daniel; Gay, Sammi; Gilmore, Justin; Hulten, GianPaula; Krevat, Derek; Li, Shuo; Smialek, Alexandra ‘Ola’; and Tapia, Melody, "Networks of Opportunity: A Citywide Vision for Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathways in Chicopee, Massachusetts" (2016). Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity. 51. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/larp_grad_research/51 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Stephanie Carlisle, Ambica Chadha, Daniel Fontaine, Sammi Gay, Justin Gilmore, GianPaula Hulten, Derek Krevat, Shuo Li, Alexandra ‘Ola’ Smialek, and Melody Tapia This article is available at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/larp_grad_research/51 Networks of Opportunity A Citywide Vision for Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathways in Chicopee, Massachusetts Stephanie Carlisle | Ambica Chadha | Daniel Fontaine | Sammi Gay Justin Gilmore | GianPaula Hulten | Derek Krevat | Shuo Li Alexandra ‘Ola’ Smialek | Melody Tapia ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Pacer Planning would like to thank everyone who assisted us with this project. First and foremost, we wish to express our grateful appreciation to Lee Pouliot, Director of Planning for the City of Chicopee, and Jack Benjamin, Assistant Planner for the City of Chicopee. Your vision, support, and guidance made this project possible. Thank you to the Chicopee Police Department for helping us distribute our community survey, and to the Chicopee School Department for helping to develop this project’s goals and for working with us to achieve them. We also wish to thank the Chicopee school principals, PTO members, and government employees who participated in interviews for our project. Thank you to Michelle Santerre, Director of GIS for the City of Chicopee, for providing data that was instrumental in the completion of our project. We wish to give special thanks to Richard Fries, Executive Director of MassBike, for your incredible insight and creativity. We would like to thank Jana Linhart from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program for working with us. We also wish to thank Michelle Chase, Town Engineer of Agawam, for meeting with us and sharing your experiences. Thank you to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) for providing insightful feedback on our work. Thank you to Steve McGinty, UMass Amherst Social Sciences Research Services Librarian and to Teaching Assistant, Alicia Coleman. We would also like to thank Jen Stromsten, of Jen Stromsten Consulting, for all of your guidance and advice. We would also like to thank all the staff and faculty from the Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Department, for their valuable expertise and assistance. Specifically, thank you to all of those who shared prior work with us or met with us about this project: Michael DiPasquale, Extension Assistant Professor of Regional Planning Frank Sleegers, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Dr. Mark Hamin, Senior Lecturer of Regional Planning & Graduate Program Director Dr. John Mullin, Emeritus Professor of Regional Planning Dr. Flavia Montenegro-Menezes, Assistant Professor of Regional Planning Thank you to Dr. Robert Ryan, who worked with us extensively, and last but not least, we would like to thank our professor, Dr. Darrel Ramsey-Musolf, for guiding us through this challenging, but rewarding process. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements................................................................................................................ ii List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... x List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... xi List of Maps ......................................................................................................................... xii List of Images ...................................................................................................................... xiii Table of Acronyms ............................................................................................................... xv Table of Locations .............................................................................................................. xvii Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... xviii Purpose .................................................................................................................................... xviii Overview .................................................................................................................................... xix Findings ....................................................................................................................................... xx Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... xxi Proposed Citywide Pedestrian and Bicycle Path Network .................................................... xxi Recommendations for the Northeast Sector of Chicopee ................................................... xxii Recommendations for the Northwest Sector of Chicopee ................................................. xxiii Recommendations for the South Sector of Chicopee ......................................................... xxiii Programming Recommendations ....................................................................................... xxiv Policy Recommendations .................................................................................................... xxiv Infrastructural Design Recommendations .......................................................................... xxiv About Pacer Planning .............................................................................................................. xxvi Format of This Report ............................................................................................................. xxvii Chapter 1: Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 Client ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Problem ....................................................................................................................................... 3 History & Notable Persons .......................................................................................................... 5 Demographics .............................................................................................................................. 9 Age & Population Trends ...................................................................................................... 10 Race and Ethnicity ................................................................................................................. 13 Median Household Income ................................................................................................... 16 Housing Density..................................................................................................................... 19 Median Home Value .............................................................................................................. 22 iii Educational Attainment ........................................................................................................ 24 Chapter 2: Existing Conditions in Chicopee ........................................................................... 26 Land-use .................................................................................................................................... 26 Zoning ........................................................................................................................................ 27 Natural Resources in Chicopee .................................................................................................. 30 Parks in Chicopee....................................................................................................................... 30 Transportation ........................................................................................................................... 32 Highways 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