Community Highlights

Franklin is designated as an Honorable Mention community due to its management and planning policies and the impressive link between historic tourism and walkability. Highlights of Franklin’s application include:

• Franklin has implemented a number of Walk Friendly policies that are helping to shape the community into a safe and enjoyable walking environment. Among these policies are the connectivity standards adopted in the City’s Development Standards. These include standards for internal connectivity based on calculation of a connectivity index score, maximums of 600 foot blocks, requirements for connections to external streets and pedestrian networks, and provisions for pedestrian connections at dead-end streets and culs-de-sac.
• Franklin has embraced its history and tourism draw and is actively using it to improve the walkability of the City. This is significant, as it can serve as an example to many communities on the fringes of major metropolitan areas. The City offers walking tours for children and adults that explore the history of Franklin’s Main Street, graveyards, historic battlefields, and other features and are frequently wheelchair accessible. To complement the tourism aspect and make walking more amenable, the City has also engaged in an excellent wayfinding campaign