The Freeport Town Council undertook the Active Living Plan as part of its ongoing efforts to improve the quality of life for Freeport’s residents. Street Plans was retained to work with the Active Living Task Force appointed by the Council to develop the plan.
The plan established a roadmap for effectively integrating physical activity into Freeport’s social and physical fabric, allowing both residents and visitors to easily build physical activity into their daily routines. As part of the Active Living Plan process, Street Plans conducted an analysis of existing conditions (which included a Handlebar Survey of bike infrastructure in the town) and hosted two public forums which attracted more than 100 total participants. Street Plans also worked with the Active Living Plan Task Force to conduct a survey about active living, which was completed by over 700 people.
The Active Living Plan recommendations were organized around six areas of focus: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Equity, and Evaluation. The plan included many town-wide recommendations, but also focused in on eight “activity centers” which emerged from the planning process. The activity centers included Downtown Freeport, the South Freeport Village neighborhood, and many local recreational facilities for sports or trail-based activities. In these focus areas, the plan outlined strategies to connect and enhance Freeport’s current active living assets. In total, the plan presented 88 projects to improve active living opportunities in Freeport in the short and long-term.
After reviewing a draft document, the Town Council formally accepted the Active Living Plan on July 15, 2014. Later that month, the Town Planning Board determined that the plan was consistent with the Freeport’s Comprehensive Plan as well. Implementation of several short-term projects identified in the Plan are already underway. Click HERE to download the plan.