Canton is becoming a walkable city. Walkability means friendliness for pedestrian activity. To promote pedestrian activity there must be connectivity.
People desire walkable places and accessibility. While metro Atlanta is doing its part to catch up, research shows that more and more people and employers are choosing places where many of life’s necessities are in walking distance. What makes for a desirable, walkable place is accessibility to employment, housing, recreation, education, and other services within a, give or take, 20-minute walk. Walks are safe, useful, and productive.
Canton has places where such connectivity exists, and we are heading in the right direction for more.
Projects such as the recently-completed Marietta Road Streetscape and the Main Street Pedestrian Connector collectively enhanced the beauty and attractiveness in their respective parts of town. There are re-paved roads, landscaping, a host of other infrastructural improvements, and sidewalks.
We have the 81-acre Etowah River Park set to open this year. Among its many features are an amphitheater, a walking track, and a footbridge over the Etowah River.
These are the types of investments that enhance our community’s livability and quality of life factors.
Add in other previously completed streetscape and re-design projects, such as Railroad Street, Waleska Street, and the Hickory Flat Streetscape, and it adds up to numerous improved areas of infrastructure, connectivity, and walkability.
Walkability, in any community, is good for a number of reasons. Health is an obvious benefit, but a walkable city also promotes social interaction, reduces crime (as more people are around), and attributes to building a sense of place. Walkability also helps promote businesses that are located within visible areas with high pedestrian activity. And while on economic impact, studies show a younger workforce and young families choose to live and work in more walkable communities. That includes new college graduates, young talent, tech creatives, and new families. More frequently, these are the types of demographics desired by large employers and retailers when making investment decisions. This also helps explain why we see the rise of mixed-use developments and lifestyle centers popping up around the country. Nearest to us is the Avalon development in Alpharetta.
Conventional wisdom used to believe that creating a strong economy preceded quality of life. Now, however, the reverse seems to be the case. Quality of life is the first step to attracting new residents and jobs.
As evidenced in our investments, our community is laying the groundwork to become a more desirable place and to build upon our already great quality of life. In fact, quality of life and creating a strong economy complement each other, and Canton is growing in both areas as a more desirable place to live, work, invest, and recreate — day by day, step by step.
to your business!