Hi all, I just wanted to come back to this game and give an update about what this Wayfarer system has meant to me.
I started wayfaring in my suburban town, finding the cool historic spots, filling in parks and other POI’s. Like all of you, it was great to hear the positive feedback from other players at Campfire meetings, especially when they recognize your name from the spots around town.
I got to the point where I ran out of quality POI’s. I found out there was an abandoned railroad that was suppose to be a trail in my town. This railroad was a total of 22+ miles across 9 towns (already majorly preserved, just never converted to trail usage), and directly connects to our state trails and the Appalachian Trail. Long story short - from tugging the leg of the County Historian back in 2022, we’ve now created a new municipal nonprofit historical society for a nearby town (on the railroad) to participate in our Chamber of Commerce trail committee. We’ve gotten support from majority of municipalities and actively dividing up sections for testing, planning and development. The County has made this a top priority project as well as majority of municipalities. Some major bridges are needed and we’ve been trying to get state and grant funding, but still need to do some more planning to be done. Local planners have been a blessing, helping out on municipal trail committees, saving us thousands. In total this project can create this 22-mile linear park, and will pass through hundreds of acres of preserved land, with potential for new parks, recreation fields and nature preserves. Anywhere from 250-500 new POI’s over the course of the next couple years.
It is incredible to see what this game has done for me, giving me a project that has changed my life and career interest. I am excited to learn more about Urban Planning & Design at my future schooling as I transfer to a local state university from community college. I also received a certificate in GISx to help in this.
It is going to be so fun to add all these waypoints around the map, as I have fallen out of love with the game due to my location. No walkability, so hopefully this project changes it.
I hope this encourages some of you all to go ahead and do that project you’ve been thinking about. It is worth it for your community, and you’re that person that needs to get it done. Lets show Niantic that this is more than a hobby, but something that can change and reshape communities.
Thanks all for indulging me, keep up the good work across the world!