Franklin Tomorrow kicks off Mobility Week with initiation of walkability audits, focus on school bus ridership

With a focus on the impact of school transportation on congestion, representatives of Franklin Tomorrow, the Franklin Special School District, and Williamson Inc. gathered Sept. 12 to kick off Mobility Week, an initiative of Williamson Inc. in partnership with organizations and businesses across Williamson County.

Franklin Tomorrow’s monthly FrankTalks lecture on Monday, Sept. 12, focused on the importance of school bus ridership and trends in student transportation as the kickoff event of Williamson Inc.’s Williamson County Mobility Week.
During the event, Franklin Tomorrow Board Member Brad Thompson provided training to those present to conduct Walkability Audits of their neighborhoods and provide that information to Franklin Tomorrow for collection in a report to the City of Franklin.
“We are encouraging people to involve their children in the Walkability Audit because they can be really observant of hazards or obstacles that we as adults might not see,” said Thompson, who is chairing Franklin Tomorrow’s Transportation Committee. “I went through the checklist in my neighborhood this past weekend with my kids and they really enjoyed it.”
You can download the Walkability Audit Checklist by clicking the image at left or the link below and then returning it to Franklin Tomorrow at admin@franklintomorrow.org by Oct. 1.
FrankTalks is a monthly series, presented by Vanderbilt University’s Office of Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations.
Nissan is the presenting sponsor of Mobility Week, which will continue Sept 12-16 with a different focus daily on practical ways that the community can work collaboratively as a community to reduce traffic congestion on our roadways. For a full schedule of Mobility Week events, go to www.willcomoves.com.
In October, FrankTalks will be held at the Williamson County Public Library on Oct. 10, and feature New York Times-bestselling author Robert Hicks discussing his new book, The Orphan Mother, which will be released Sept. 13. The program will start at 9 a.m. with a coffee social, followed at 9:30 by the program with Hicks.