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Feel free to use this sample letter to contact the Town Manager in support of funding the Planning Department's Active Transportation Master Plan CIP request. Make sure to substitute your own information into the bracketed and bolded sections. This is only meant as a template, so please modify it as desired to suit your message or style.
To:
andrew.flanagan@andoverma.us, SelectBoard@andoverma.us, michael.lindstrom@andoverma.us, paul.materazzo@andoverma.us, monica.gregoire@andoverma.us
(Optional) BCC:
walkbikeandover@gmail.com
Subject:
Please recommend fully funding the Active Transportation Master Plan CIP request
Message:
Dear Town Manager, Select Board, and other Town staff,
Thank you for all the work you've done to make walking, biking, and rolling safer and more accessible to people of all ages and abilities in Andover.
I'm writing today to urge you to recommend full funding of the Active Transportation Master Plan CIP request, submitted by the town's Planning Department.
A crucial part of any long-term project is a set of coherent goals. While the Sidewalk Inventory and Complete Streets projects are critical to making walking, biking, and rolling safer around town, an overarching Active Transportation Master Plan would help guide the town towards a shared vision for the future of non-car transportation.
With the adoption of a Complete Streets Policy, the town has become eligible for a small grant from the state to put together a prioritized list of Complete Streets projects. The town has also already invested significant time and money for a full sidewalk inventory. If funded, an Active Transportation Master Plan would leverage this work and produce a complete guiding document, outlining the vision for walking, biking, and rolling in Andover for the coming decades and the steps needed to achieve that vision.
Shifting away from a reliance on cars is especially important now, given the current climate crisis. The Andover Green Advisory Board, WECAN, and the town's sustainability coordinator have all outlined the importance of meeting the town's climate goals, and alternative, non-car, transportation options are a crucial piece of that puzzle.
Now is the time to leverage the existing work that's been done, recommend fully funding this CIP request, and build a master plan for the future of active transportation in Andover.
Thank you for your consideration.
[Your Name]
[Optional: Your address]
