Detailed description (English): Walkable Carluke is a three day experiment in creating outdoor rooms and walking routes around Carluke town centre. It is partly aimed at helping address health issues , simply by getting people to walk around town more. In transport parlance, this is the most fundamental modal switch we can aspire to.
Some Theory! People tend to be happy walking around local environments and into town if this is not made too difficult (road crossings), unpleasant or even unsafe. Most people are quite prepared to walk 7-10 minutes, which equates to a 400 metre distance. Towns need to seem walkable.
During Walkable Carluke, Carluke BID will create six to eight potential small urban spaces as outdoor rooms and pocket parks and street-side places to sit, using benches, deck chairs, bales of hay, astro-turf, sofas, coffee carts and more. These spaces will then be connected by one or more visual devices to encourage people to walk between them, for example obelisks, footprints or even balls of coloured wool and pied pipers! We hope local people and visitors will see the town centre in a new light. Come and wander about, meet your friends, have a coffee and lounge about for the day!
Target group(s): Young mothers and children, people who are obese, people who commute out of town to Glasgow by rarely walk into the town centre, school kids, shop workers and people generally; plus visitors from neighbouring towns and areas.
Objectives: To get people to walk more, and to see their town centre in different ways.
Expected Outcomes: We expect to attract a lot of people to walk around town and to visit Carluke during Walkable Carluke.. We shall be making a film of the week.
Partner: National Health Service Lanarkshire
Rural Development Trust
Carluke Development Trust
Carluke Parish Historical Society
Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Art Partnership
two major local sponsors
local businesses
local charities
local churches