The NYC Streets Revolution

Caption: This image from World Class Streets illustrates just how efficient sidewalks can be for moving people in dense contexts: 26 feet of sidewalk moved nearly double the number of people compared to 65 feet of roadway on a NYC street.

"...the treatment of the spaces between buildings strongly determines a city's character."

-New York City Department of Transportation

The New York City DOT released World Class Streets last month, a report that documents some of New York City's recent successes creating high quality public spaces and facilitating innovative solutions to promote alternative transportation.

It is an inspiring document that paints a wonderful vision for urban design centered around healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy environment. Check out the official press release from NYC DOT:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2008/pr08_049.shtml

And be sure to check out the actual document.

Cities of DeSoto & Ferguson, MO Adopt Complete Streets Policies

Caption: A rendering of a Complete Street that accommodates all users

Trailnet worked with the cities of DeSoto and Ferguson, Missouri to develop Complete Streets ordinances, and now these communities are the first in the state to adopt Complete Streets ordinances. Complete Streets is an innovative solution to the obesity epidemic, a problem these communities are taking a stand against at the policy level. The policy also supports increased independence of the aging population and safe routes for children walking or biking to school. The policy adopted states that each community will design, build, and maintain streets in a manner that accommodates safe and contiguous travel for all users – seniors, persons with disabilities, children, pedestrians, cyclists, transit-users, and cars.

“Complete Streets legislation has been popping up across the country at various levels of government and is often cited as the beginning of a more comprehensive commitment to building healthier communities,” said Phil Valko, Trailnet Active Living Program Manager. “Complete Streets means more walkers and bikers, therefore healthier individuals; more walkers and bikers means more neighbor-to-neighbor interaction, resulting in stronger communities; and less driving means less pollution, resulting in a healthier environment.”

“I heard Phil Valko talk about complete streets and its implications for the community, but until I went to the Pro Walk/Pro Bike Conference in Seattle and attended several breakout sessions on the topic I did not REALLY hear him,” said Dwayne James, Ferguson City Councilman. “What I brought back from the conference is that Complete Streets puts policy in place to consider everyone in the planning and design of capital improvement projects.”

The City of DeSoto received one of the Active Living Awards presented by Trailnet and was recently recognized with an OLGA (Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Award) presented by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments for the Get Healthy DeSoto Program.

The City of Ferguson has a similar initiative called Live Well Ferguson! This community-based group is working to get Ferguson residents moving more and eating healthier. “The ordinance goes hand in hand, with what the City is doing with Live Well Ferguson! to make sure that all residents and all visitors can actually go from route to route safely and enjoy their travels through Ferguson,” added James.

Trailnet received funding from the Missouri Foundation for Health for its work on the Healthy & Active Communities (HAC) Initiative. The initiative focuses on creating model healthy and active communities that support resident’s health “from cradle to cane” through policy implementation. The Missouri Foundation for Health is a philanthropic organization whose vision is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves.

For more information on the Healthy & Active Communities initiative, go to www.trailnet.org/p_healthyactive.php#completestreets or contact Phil Valko at phil@trailnet.org or 314/436-1324 #119.

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Trailnet leads in fostering healthy and active communities through innovative programs, planning, and policy that promote walking and bicycling throughout the
St. Louis bi-state region.

The Media is Catching On ...ish

On this blog, we sometimes lament the fact that the media focuses so much on obesity rates and individuals' personal battles to lose weight, that they miss the real story: the root causes of the obesity epidemic and the innovative solutions that are being developed throughout the country.

We'd like to give St. Louis's own KSDK a firm handshake and a congratulatory pat on the back for posting a story that highlights the link between active living and obesity rates in various countries. The highlights of the story are simple: In countries where a high percentage of people use active transportation (walking, biking, public transit) to get around, the obesity rate is low. Below is some quick data from the article:

Country ~~ % Active Transport ~~ Obesity Rate
Sweden ~~ 62% ~~ 9%
The Netherlands ~~ 52% ~~ 11%
Latvia ~~ 57% ~~ 14%
The United States ~~ 12% ~~ 25-33%

On average, only 12% of Americans use active transportation to go to work, school, or shop. In Missouri, that number is far lower--only 4.4% of Missourians get around using active transport.

This post wouldn't be complete if we failed to mention the critical importance of having city design and roadway/infrastructure design that supports walking, biking, and public transit. The sprawl and ever-expanding highway systems that have come to define the St. Louis region and much of the midwest keep people in their cars, inactive, and isolated from their neighbors, kill local economies, and facilitate the obesity epidemic. Many folks don't walk or bike because the roads don't accommodate it or they have no nearby destinations. We've said it before and we'll say it again:

The Choices We Make Are Driven By the Choices We Have.

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