The Online Forum – START HERE

by · April 28, 2015

START HERE

Welcome to the Walpole DowntownOnline Open House!

This website provides an opportunity for Walpole residents, workers, business and property owners to provide feedback about the plan.

About the Online Open House

This online “Open House” mirrors the public meeting that was held on Tuesday, April 14 at the Walpole Public Library. This website, like the meeting, has been created to provide the public with an opportunity to learn about and provide input to the Walpole Downtown Action Plan.

Your feedback will assist the Town of Walpole and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to:

  • develop and prioritize community and economic development goals and strategies for the downtown;
  • prioritize new opportunities for retail, housing, and office development;
  • provide design guidance for future development; and
  • identify opportunities to better connect downtown to the MBTA station and surrounding neighborhoods.

How the Online Open HouseWorks

To begin the online forum process, follow these steps in order:

  • Activity 1: Watch the narated video presentation.
  • Activity 2: Tell us what you think are Downtown Walpole’s greatest Strengths, Weaknesses and Opportunities.
  • Activity 3: Identify your top priorities for downtown.
  • Activity 4: Select images that represent what you want in downtown.

To begin, click here to go to Exercise 1: The Presentation

About the Plan

Downtown Walpole is the Town's hub for economic, social, government and cultural activity. It is a compact, quaint New England downtown that has many assets including several Main Street style blocks, public transit options (MBTA commuter rail and bus), and a beautiful Town Common. However, like many town centers across Massachusetts, Walpole's downtown vitality and pedestrian activity has diminished over the years as transportation routes, residential patterns, and shopping patterns changed. However, given changing housing preferences, including the desire of many households to reside in downtown environment, there is potential for the Town to improve the area.

To realize Downtown's potential, the Town of Walpole contracted with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the regional planning agency for Metro Boston, to develop a Vision and Action Plan for the downtown area. This plan will create a community vision through a public process, and develop a strategic action plan to achieve it.