If you see dozens of people strolling en mass through downtown Dartmouth, fear not: It’s likely another appearance of the Downtown Dartmouth Walk.
Christine Atkins of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission said they started the walks in the summer to give people a reason to get outside and meet new friends. They weren’t sure how much interest there would be, so they organized a trial walk on a warm July day.
When 50 people turned up, they knew they a hit on their hands and organized four more from September to October.
The lunch-time strolls feature a warm up, a 30-minute walk and a cool down. Atkins said it’s relatively informal and geared towards the casual walker who wants to get some social exercise in the middle of the day.
They’ve averaged about 10 people per walk.
“We’re just trying to get people out and motivated. It’s about meeting other people downtown,” she said. “Hopefully, somebody maybe got a walking partner for lunch.”
The walks always start at the waterfront’s Compass Rose and a leader takes the group on the route, but people are free to go at their own pace.
So far, walks have gone to the Dartmouth Harbourfront Trail, a nearby park and to the Dartmouth Heritage Museum.
Atkins, who works on Portland Street, joined the group for some of the fall walks. “It was kind of nice because I talked to different people each week,” she said. “We had people that worked downtown. We had a wide range of ages.”
Atkins says that because the walks have proven such a success, they hope to start them again in the spring. She says they’ll be posting updates on their website, www.downtowndartmouth.ca.
