04 Jan #TBT: The Doable Neighbourhood Project – Cochrane, ON

In 2014, 8 80 Cities partnered with the Town of Cochrane and three other municipalities in Ontario to create wonderful places to walk, bike, and connect with their neighbours. We called the initiative the Doable Neighbourhood Project (DNP). With funding from the Province of Ontario, we worked with Town staff to engage local residents and decision makers about the parks, streets, and public spaces in between that they loved, and which they would like to improve.

Today we bring you The Doable Neighbourhood Project – Cochrane, which built on community assets and empowered local leaders to implement short-term, high impact pilot projects that enhanced Cochrane’s public space and active transportation networks. We collected ideas and developed resident support through an inclusive community engagement process held between March and September 2014.

As a result, Cochrane implemented three successful pilot projects in less than one year by partnering with diverse stakeholders. The pilot projects included: the Cochrane bike share program, Lake Commando waterslide; and a public book share program. The Town has continued this inspiring work by recently launching a free cross-country ski share program to encourage people to enjoy Cochrane’s incredible natural assets in winter. Since 2014, local leaders have also implemented a public piano project and expanded the Town’s network of on-street bike lanes.

Learn more about this amazing project and its results, and feel free to download the report.