With the contentious decision to relocate the middle school from South Street, I wanted to see how accessible the current middle school location is. This 3-mile loop has excellent signage for pedestrians and is 97% sidewalks and crosswalks. There are six schools along this loop, including Rundlett Middle School, three parks, two bicycle Fixit stations and two City bus stops.
Starting on School Street, which has a sidewalk on both sides of the street, heading downtown, you pass Thompson Park. The entrance is flanked by climbable ironwood trees opening to a small play structure with swings and steps to a small field and basketball court. North Spring Street borders the eastern side of this park, making it a great pit stop to connect with friends after school.
Christa McAuliffe School is a block down Spring Street, nestled close to neighboring homes less than 30 feet away
Turning down Thompson Street, which has sidewalks on both sides of the street to South Street, which also has sidewalks on either side. Both Spring and South Streets are part of the North-South Corridor of the City's Bike Master Plan.
South Street leads to McKee Square, which has pedestrian crosswalks and bike sensors in the pavement to trigger the traffic lights to change. Plans for a roundabout are underway! Traffic studies and preliminary design concepts will be shared at an upcoming community meeting with construction starting next year. 80% of the project will be financed with State grants. There is a standing-only bus stop for the Crosstown Route at this location.
There are numerous signs alerting drivers of this Safe Routes to School Route.
Facing north on South Street, Abbott-Downing School has front steps to the sidewalk and a crosswalk leading to Rollins Park, which is 0.1 miles away. This park features paved walking paths throughout the park and a full-sized playground. It also includes a baseball field, a softball field and a field hockey field (fall). A bicycle Fixit station is next to the Abbott-Downing playground.
The sidewalk leading to Rundlett Middle School travels all the way around the building and past multiple fields. The only section of this loop that doesn't include a sidewalk is 287 feet from the back of the Rundlett to Cornell Drive.
Rundlett students walk less than a half mile to get to Memorial Field for Track and Cross Country practice along Cornell to Clinton Street, crossing over to Fruit Street with ample signage for safety.
The fourth school on this loop is Woodside, a private school for pre-K and kindergarten just before Memorial Field on Fruit Street.
Memorial Field is a 36-acre park with two football fields, a track, a baseball field, two softball fields, a Little League field, two soccer/lacrosse fields, 10 tennis courts, two basketball courts and plenty of room to run around. Renovation costs are projected to be approximately $30 Million.
A covered Concord Area Transit bus stop for the Crosstown Route is across from Memorial Field.
Sidewalks on both sides of Fruit Street lead to Pleasant Street where you can see the Concord Regional Technical Center entrance with the second bike Fixit station on this route.
A roundabout is planned for this Pleasant/Warren/Fruit intersection with the design process in 2027 and construction in 2028 - keeping costs low by applying for the same State grant used for McKee Square.
Concord High School was built in 1927, with new wings added in 1960 and 1996. The Concord School Board purchased a home across the street in 2023 to use for its CRTC program. Warren Street has sidewalks on both sides and signs alerting drivers of crosswalks.
The final school on this loop is the Dewey School, which was constructed in 1900 by local architect James Randlett in response to rapid residential development in the immediate area. It served as an elementary school for over 100 years from 1901-2004 when it closed due to declining enrollments and reopened as the School Administrative offices in 2005. School Board meetings are held in the basement, accessed from behind, on the first Monday of every month at 6pm and includes an opportunity for attendees to speak on any topic they wish. The next meeting is July 1, 2024. See you there!
I love this!!!