Register for the Food Summit TODAY!

The price of fresh fruits and vegetables increased by nearly 40%, while the price of sugar, fats and oils, and soft drinks decreased by as much as 20%. The American food system is out of balance.

The St. Louis Regional Food Summit is taking place March 3rd and 4th, featuring national and local speakers. The Food Summit will provide a opportunities to learn, to network, and to get involved in the creation of a Regional Food Policy Council. You don't want to miss this great event.

Visit the Healthy Youth Partnership website for event details and to register:
http://healthyyouthpartnership.org/

Without Transit...

Transit in St. Louis carries:
10,000 people to each Cardinals games
100,000 people to work each day
Thousands of college students to class
Thousands of seniors and individuals with disabilities

If you live in St. Louis County, Vote YES! for transit April 6th on Proposition A

County Health Rankings for 2010

We'd like our communities to be like our bike blenders...
promoting healthy, tasty sustenance and making active living easy!

Like we've been saying all along... Built environment DOES matter when it comes to your health! The results of the County Health Rankings for 2010 echo Trailnet's core message that where you live plays a big part in the choices you make affecting your personal well-being. Residents are limited to the choices that their community provides, which is why promoting healthy and active living through programming, planning, and policy is so important to us here at Trailnet. Saint Louis County ranks 18th in overall health out of 115 counties in Missouri (the ranking number 1 is considered the healthiest county in the state). Saint Louis City ranks 106. Check out the rankings yourself here, and get in the action with us!

Live Well Ferguson TWILIGHT 5K - May 15th

The Live Well Ferguson Twilight 5K is just around the corner!

Has cabin fever set in yet? Are you ready for a break from the cold?

We suggest you set your eyes on the horizon and start preparing for warm weather now! May 15th, Live Well Ferguson is hosting a Twilight 5K Run/Walk in partnership with many other great organizations, including Trailnet. Runners and walkers at all levels are encouraged to participate, whether your goal is to finish first or simply finish the course.

For more details on this great event and to register, visit:
http://livewellferg5k.com/

Trailnet has been working in partnership with the City of Ferguson for the past 2 years to develop the "Live Well Ferguson!" initiative, which seeks to promote healthy eating and active living among Ferguson residents. The Twilight 5K is one of a series of spin-off projects of Live Well Ferguson!, which also includes Ferguson Sunday Parkways, restaurant menu labeling, and a poster education campaign.

Help Identify MoDOT Priority Bike/Ped Projects

Caption: Bridges, overpasses, and underpasses without bike/ped facilities
frequently create gaps in otherwise complete travel networks

We need your help to create a list high priority bicycle, pedestrian, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) projects in Missouri that MoDOT should focus their attention on. The submission deadline is right around the corner, Tuesday Feb. 23.

You can submit your project ideas online through the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation's website:
http://mobikefed.org/HighPriority

To be eligible for consideration, projects must be:

• On or very closely related to the MoDOT system
• Limited in scope (e.g., adding a shoulder to 3 miles of road, not 300 miles)
• Not currently funded (add-ons to current projects ARE encouraged)

We encourage you to think about projects that will:

1. fill gaps in the current bike/ped system
2. address current major obstacles
3. serve many individuals

For additional information / guidelines and to submit your recommendation, visit the MO Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation's website: http://mobikefed.org/HighPriority

Missouri Governor Plans to Save Katy Trail Bridge

Credit: Photo taken from railstotrails.org

Earlier this month, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced plans to save the Katy Trail Bridge by allotting federal Recovery Act funds to Union Pacific for bridge reconstruction. Stretching over two hundred and twenty-five miles, the Katy Trail Bridge is the longest rail-trail in the United States. Preservation of the historical "Boonville Bridge" over the Osage River will ensure that the trail stay intact. The trail is not only important to encouraging tourism in the area, but the bridge itself is an iconic structure that has allowed many community members to lead active lifestyles. With the execution of this proposal, the Katy Trail Bridge will continue to be a great resource for exercise and recreation for many years to come!

Read more about the proposal here.

St. Louis Open Streets Details

Coming May 1!

The City of St. Louis just launched the Open Streets website! On May 1, June 13, September 19, and October 9 the City will close Lindell/Locust to cars and open it up to walkers, runners, bikers, etc. from Skinker all the way to the Arch. It's going to be the biggest street festival St. Louis has ever seen! Open Streets will take place 8am - 1pm each of those days.

Visit the website for more information:
http://stlouis.missouri.org/open-streets/

Check out the route map below. Click on it to see a bigger version.

Active Design Guidelines

Topnotch new resource

The New York City Department of Design and Construction has just released their Active Design Guidelines document. The document presents sets of guidelines for urban planning and for individual building construction. It is full of photos, recommendations, and easy to use checklists. Whether you are an urban planner, an architect, a community resident, or a public health professional, you'll find a ton of useful information in this document.

You can download it here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/html/design/active_design.shtml

Here's what NYC Department of Design and Construction has to say about it:
The Active Design Guidelines provides architects and urban designers with a manual of strategies for creating healthier buildings, streets and urban spaces, based on the latest academic research and best practices in the field. The Guidelines includes:

• Urban design strategies for creating neighborhoods, streets and outdoor spaces that encourage walking, bicycling and active transportation and recreation.
• Building design strategies for promoting active living where we work, live and play—for example, through the placement and design of stairs, elevators and indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Discussion of synergies between active design and sustainable design initiatives such as LEED and PlaNYC.

Love Transit!

First Lady Focuses on Childhood Obesity

Caption: The First Lady harvests lettuce from the White House garden with a group of students

Michelle Obama has chosen childhood obesity as her BIG issue. In the next few months, we expect a number of significant announcements, including new policy and funding initiatives for comprehensive obesity prevention efforts. Read more about it HERE.

It's likely that the new initiatives will focus on changing the things that drive individuals' behaviors, including geographic access, cost, public awareness, and city design. One of the new funding initiatives that is set to be announced in February is a set of CDC grants called "Communities Putting Prevention to Work." These will be major grants--on the order of $5 - $10 million each--that will be awarded to roughly 30 communities in the country. St. Louis County Health Department submitted a strong application. Keep your fingers crossed. This will be a phenomenal opportunity for the region if the County is awarded the funds.

The First Lady's new focus is directly in line with Trailnet's approach throughout the St. Louis region. If you haven't yet seen our Healthy, Active & Vibrant Community Toolkit, you should check it out today. The ideas, stories, recommendations, and resources in the Toolkit will likely be echoed nationally in the coming months. Here in the St. Louis region, Trailnet's partner communities of De Soto, Ferguson, and Old North are working diligently to implement many of the ideas in the Toolkit. Their work is paying off because our collective work has been nationally recognized as an "Emerging Intervention" by the University of North Carolina Center for Training and Research Translation.

If you are passionate about improving the livability, health, or vibrancy of your community, take a few minutes to check out the Toolkit. We're proud to be pioneering innovative/effective obesity prevention efforts in St. Louis. Our region has a long way to go, but like all social change, it starts in small pockets and then spreads.

St. Louis Open Streets

Photo courtesy of BikePortland.org

The City of St. Louis will be launching a series of "Open Streets" events in 2010. Get excited!!!

Let us paint a picture for you: Lindell from Skinker all the way to the arch closed to cars and filled with walkers, runners, bikers, rollerbladers, musicians, and all sorts of activities. It's going to be the biggest street festival St. Louis has ever seen! It's all about fun, activity, and community.

It will be epic! Wait for it... Wait for it...

Trailnet is proud to be working with the Mayor's Office, Great Rivers Greenway, the St. Louis Regional Bike Fed, and others to make it happen.

Ferguson Sunday Parkways 2009

Open Streets will be the second event of this type in the St. Louis Region -- Last year, the City of Ferguson and Live Well Ferguson! hosted three Sunday Parkways events which featured a 1-mile loop of "open streets" and more great activities than we can list, including free aerobics, zumba, tai chi classes, basketball in the street, hula hoops, clowns, and volleyball. The City of Ferguson continues to be a regional leader working at many levels to improve the overall health and vibrancy of their community.

Ferguson will host 3 Sunday Parkways events in 2010--the first one will take place April 25th in the afternoon. Mark your calendars! We'll share more details as they come available.

Make phone calls for Prop A!

"Vote Yes for Public Transit in St. Louis" Join here.

On April 6, 2010, St. Louis County will get the opportunity to advance the region by passing a one-half of one percent sales tax to restore, operate, and expand MetroLink, MetroBus, disabled and senior public transportation. Passage of Prop A is a great chance to promote active living in our region.

You can help today by signing up for a phone banking shift at the SEIU Dialer Center. Contact Ashli Bolden at 314.531.2288 or ashli@missouriprovote.org to sign up for one of the below shifts. Bring a friend!

Thursday, Feb. 4 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 12 volunteers needed
Saturday, Feb. 6 10:30 to 1:30 p.m. 12 volunteers needed
Sunday, Feb. 7 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 12 volunteers needed
Tuesday, Feb. 9 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 12 volunteers needed
Thursday, Feb. 11 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 6 volunteers needed
Sunday, Feb. 14 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 12 volunteers needed

The SEIU Dialer Center
5585 Pershing AVE Suite 130
St. Louis, MO 63112
(Just a block from the Forest Park Metrolink Station)

Passing Prop A will not only help move people, but it will help grow our economy and improve our environment. Learn more about the campaign on the Advance St. Louis Prop A website.

Seriously?!

We would like to honor the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, with a new fake award we are calling the "Seriously?! Award"

This fake award is the perfect thing to honor a new product, Cherry 7 Up Antioxidant, whose label seems to imply that a beverage loaded with high fructose corn syrup (fake sugar) might actually be good for you. Curious how they can claim the product is an antioxidant? They added vitamin E.

Well done Dr. P. Thank you for so fervently believing in the stupidity of Americans that you would grace us with this gift of paradoxical marketing.

As my grandpa always used to say: Ain't nothing but lipstick on a pig!