Karen Adelman
Communications Strategist
Coordinator of MetroWest Regional Collaborative
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
617-933-0704
[email protected]

For Immediate Release: DATE, 2017

Natick to Ease Access to Trails for All Ages and Abilities

Town of Natick and MetroWest Collaborative will team on AARP-grant-funded project

NATICK – The Town of Natick is taking steps to make its recreational trails easier to get onto and to use, especially for older adults and people with disabilities. The Town, together with the MetroWest Regional Collaborative (MWRC), the local arm of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), has been awarded funding by the AARP to define and promote improvements that will make the trails more accessible to older adults.

Through the “Senior Friendly Trails in Natick” project, MAPC staff will assess the condition of access points to Natick’s existing and planned trails. The team will “grade” the access points for their age-friendliness and how easily they could be made accessible for residents, regardless of age or ability. MAPC, MWRC, and Town of Natick staff will meet with and survey older adults for their input, and will raise awareness of the need for senior access to trails with an interactive local event behind the Natick Community-Senior Center, 117 East Central Street, Natick, MA, on November 1, at 10:00 a.m..

AARP received almost 1,200 applications for Community Challenge funds, resulting in a highly competitive selection process. “Senior-Friendly Trails in Natick” was one of only 89 projects nationwide to win funding.

For more information on the project, contact Karen Adelman, MWRC’s Coordinator at [email protected] or 617.933.0704, Barry Keppard, MAPC’s Public Health Director at MAPC at [email protected] or 617-933-0750, Susan Ramsey, Natick’s Director of Council on Aging, at [email protected] or 508.647.6544, or Jemma Lambert, Natick’s Director of Community Services, at [email protected] or 508.647.6546.

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