Knowing that substantial financial investments are being made in the downtown area, the Community Pride and Service Network team has been tackling the question, "What about the integration and health of the surrounding downtown neighborhoods?"  While looking at the Topeka Neighborhood Health Map one can see the critical areas of downtown. 

City of Topeka, Heartland Visioning, Heartland Healthy Neighborhood, Safe Streets, Prevention and Recovery Services, and other individuals are working towards the goal of creating a Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA.) UMB Bank is providing financial assistance toward the costs of developing community relationships in those neighborhoods through community dinners, publications and educational support. 

The Metropolitan Topeka Planning Organization (MTPO) is partnering with the City of Topeka to coordinate the first master plan for pedestrians to safely reach their destinations. 

Bill Fainder, Planning Director of the City of Topeka said that "The aim of the Topeka Pedestrian Master Plan is to create safe and connected walkways between schools, parks, shopping districts, bus routes, workplaces, and other popular destinations. The plan will contain an overarching vision, key issues, a prioritization system for new sidewalks, policy recommendations, and a base 5-year plan to improve walk-ability in Topeka."

Community workshops were held and continued input is being collected online. Provide your thoughts by tracking your walking routes and desires through an interactive map here. To provide more context to your ideas take the survey and share it with others here.

A second workshop will be held at a later date in 2015.