About two dozen Peterborough residents bundled up against cold rain for a Jane Jacobs Walk & Roll through downtown May 2.
Jane Jacobs Walks are a global movement inspired by writer, urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs. The free self-organized walks are held the first weekend of May each year.
Danica Miller, director of planning and building for Peterborough, said the event was part of an input-gathering effort for the town’s master plan update, and allowed community members to weigh in on what they want the town to look like in the years ahead. A “rolling” part of the event, which would have taken people through bike path tours, was canceled due to the weather.
“We walked through downtown, and we talked about really the vision for Peterborough’s
future,” Miller said. “We talked about things that were positive, like wanting to see more green spaces and having some of the pavement removed where it could be removed, things like opportunities for adding lighting or better wayfinding signage.”
Miller said they also talked about “threats or concerns” for the future, such as buildings that appear to be in poor condition or underutilized second floors. And, what the future could look like.
“That was a really fun way to vision the future of downtown,” she said.
After the guided walk, community members reconvened at the park for a guided visioning session. Miller said participants were given note cards and asked to think about different sections of town.
“For instance, we would start in South Peterborough, describing where we are, what we’re looking at, and asking the participants to envision kind of the same things for those areas of town,” Miller said. “It was a really great way to kind of see where things were aligning in terms of wants and needs, just among those participants.”
Miller said the walk was an exciting way to kick of the master plan, and more ways to participate and give input are in the works.
“We have a hotline set up right now where people can call a number and they’ll
go right to a voicemail box, for instance, where you can answer a prompt,” she said. “We’re going to be changing those prompts weekly, among other activities.”
You can access the hotline by calling 603-784-5607 and following the prompts. To see more ways to participate online, visit tinyurl.com/pboro2026.
