Noah Lovett, a resident of Danvers who works at Northeast Arc, described a pedestrian “walk audit” he attended in Beverly and encouraged the Danvers Accessibility Commission to consider hosting the nonprofit Walk Massachusetts for a similar audit in downtown Danvers.

Lovett said the Walk Massachusetts model brings volunteers and municipal liaisons together to document sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalk visibility and other barriers to walking or rolling. He told the commission participants complete worksheets on specific hazards, return them at a debrief and aggregate recommendations to present to the municipality.

The group that conducted the Beverly audit, Lovett said, included about 30 people and a local liaison from Beverly’s bike/pedestrian committee who chose the route and coordinated with the Walk Massachusetts facilitator. Lovett said the audit produced both “social” recommendations — changes that make streets more inviting for people to spend time in downtown — and safety findings such as cracked sidewalks and crosswalks with poor visibility.

Commission members asked whether the audits carry a cost to the town; Lovett said his understanding was the audits themselves are offered free by Walk Massachusetts, although host communities sometimes cover incidental items such as food.

Lovett also told commissioners the scheduling process can take months: the Beverly audit he described had been planned over several months and took place in January after earlier outreach in November. He offered to connect the commission to the Walk Massachusetts contact and to share the audit worksheet used for on-site reporting.

Commission members responded positively, raising practical questions about who would design a route, how to include people with different mobility experiences and whether historical districts pose barriers to some accessibility interventions. Members suggested the audit could include participants from neighboring towns and that the commission should gather additional scheduling and cost information before committing.

No formal action was taken; the commission asked staff and interested members to pursue contacts and additional details from Walk Massachusetts.