Up for a walk but not quite sure where to go?
The Franklin Regional Council of Governments, in an effort to get people out and walking for better health, has issued new “Walk Franklin County” maps with routes for each of the 26 Franklin County towns from Ashfield to Whately.
There’s even an extra map for downtown Greenfield.
The maps, updated from ones that were issued a few years ago by the COG and the Greenfield Community YMCA, were created as part of Walk Franklin County, a partnership between Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Greenfield Community College and the YMCA.
Funded by a Mass in Motion grant, under a state initiative to lower the risk of chronic disease by supporting equitable food access and active living habits, the maps show routes of one to four miles and are available at every town hall and public library in the county, as well as at the Franklin COG’s offices at the Olver Transportation Center in Greenfield.
Those folded maps are larger than the earlier editions, which some seniors found too small to read.
The effort is part of a larger campaign to get people walking not only for recreation, but to accomplish everyday chores, said COG Community Services Director Phoebe Walker. And while each map includes an example of a scenic walking route in each town, the hope is that it will also inspire people to get in the habit of taking some of the many other walks around their town and elsewhere.
“It’s part of a much larger effort of many different stakeholders in Franklin County to encourage people to get outside and walk more, and to get to places of interest as well,” Walker said. “This funding comes out of a national effort to reduce diabetes and pre-diabetes and heart disease. At this point, on in three people in Massachusetts has pre-diabetes, and one of the important things you can do is move more.”
The maps also describe where people can park, and things to see along the way.
The maps can also be downloaded online at https://frcog.org/publicati…/view/walk-franklin-county-maps
To encourage even more walking, the COG is running a Look Who’s Walking contest in which people who pick up a map and get walking can take a picture of themselves and post it to the COG’s Look Who’s Walking Facebook event page or tweet with the hashtag #walkfranklincounty. Participants will be entered for prize giveaways during September and October.
Those who want more privacy can also email a picture to giannini@frcog.org and also be entered for the drawings.