Public Health officials in Grand Rapids, MI, (15% Latino) are working to connect two parks by way of a new walking path, thanks to support from a $13,900 active living grant it recently received from the Michigan Department of Community Health. The trail project is just one component of the team's plan for chronic disease prevention among the population. The idea is to encourage trail usage in an area of the city where much of the population is comprised of high risk Hispanics and African Americans. “What we are basically doing is trying to connect Roosevelt Park and Garfield Park in terms of providing a walking path,” said Jill Myer, the supervisor of the health department’s obesity initiative, in an Mlive news article . “The goal is to provide some safe walking ...
Community members belonging to the Great Streets Mountain View group are working towards friendlier streets in Mountain View, CA. To raise community awareness of the initiative and to offer residents the opportunity to identify potential road improvements along California St., Escuela St., and Shoreline St., the group held walking tours on Saturday September 27, 2014. According to Great Streets Mountain View (GSMV), the streets that they hope to bring improvements to are part of a neighborhood that is already densely populated and has high traffic counts (26% of Mountain View's population lives there). Therefore, they make good candidates for lane reduction, improved lighting, street trees, and bike lanes---all important components of Complete Streets. The area also has a ...
Miami might soon have a 10-mile world-class linear park thanks to the efforts of various city partners, university students, community members, and a newly formed non-profit organization.
According to a blog post from Friends of the Underline, the organization that's spearheading the initiative, the idea for this linear park first came from the group's founder Meg Daly, who one day realized that land beneath the city's metrorail was underutilized.
“The vision is to connect eight transit stations to one linear park,” said Daly, in the blog.
Originally the proposed linear park, was called the Greenlink, but now the park is being called The Underline. Plans for the new trail include widening the trail to 20-feet, as well as adding lighting, landscaping, and water fountains.
In ...
A new state law in California that requires drivers to remain at least three feet away from cyclists took effect on September 16, 2014. Drivers who do not obey the new law can face between a $35- $220 fine, according to a LA Times news article. If traffic becomes congested and a driver needs to switch lanes, they must wait to pass the cyclist until they are safe. They are also required to slow down to a "reasonable and prudent" speed. The National Conference of State Legislators reports that as of June 2014, 24 states had a three-foot safe passing law. Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, Utah, ...
Cities all across the US and the globe recently celebrated Parking Day--an initiative that aims to get people to experience what a temporarily transformed public space might look like. During Parking day, which occurs every third Friday in September, communities build temporary parklets (small spaces on streets or sidewalks that resemble parks). Parklets often feature bike racks, green turf, grass, trees, plants, park benches, tables, and sometimes even free games. The idea behind Parking Day is to inspire locals to explore the possibility of developing a more walkable & livable community with more pedestrian friendly streets. According to a blog from Streetsblog USA, this year communities who participated in Parking Day included: Providence, R.I.; Louisville, KY; ...
What would bike lanes look like if they were designed and built with the safety of a twelve year old girl in mind? Would you feel comfortable riding them? These are some of the questions that leaders at PeopleForBikes a national non-profit committed to making riding safer for everyone, asked themselves as they developed their latest campaign called: Build it for Isabella.
One of the main goals that People for Bikes strives for is to build bicycle infrastructure that anyone could use, not just your typical group of bike advocates.
The idea of the Build it for Isabella campaign is that if you build it for a twelve year old girl like Isabella, anyone can use it. That would mean that rather than rely on painted bike lanes and on sharing lanes with drivers, that communities would ...
Plans for improvements to Elmendorf Park, located on the Westside of San Antonio---a predominantly Latino area that has been historically underserved---are in the works. More importantly, local residents have approved of the plans for the $14 million in added amenities to the 30-acre park. According to a San Antonio Express news article, improvements will include: new playground equipment, an upgraded pool, an adult exercise area, trails, fountains and additional parking. In the news article, Lourdes Galvan, a trustee of the San Antonio River Authority (SARA), said: “It's been a long ride, but this happened because of all of you.” She added, “this is a result of your input.” The renovations are scheduled to begin by December 2014 and the project is to be complete by ...
While some Latino families and kids lack access to parks and playgrounds, others face the additional challenge of locating playgrounds that are designed for children with disabilities in mind. Fortunately, new parks designed with accessible features like broad, flat ramps to get to the top of a play house, swings with highback chairs, and sand tables placed at the level of wheelchairs, can provide disabled children with a safe place to play, while enabling them to get the physical activity they need. According to a news article from NPR, in recent years, more individuals have become aware of the need to build what is termed "inclusive" or "accessible" playgrounds. So far 2505 playgrounds in 96 cities have been logged into NPR's new tool which lets users find and track accessible ...
Residents of Westwood, one of Denver's predominantly Latino neighborhoods, celebrated the grand opening of a new park on Saturday, September 6, 2014. According to District 3 Councilman Paul Lopez's Facebook page the Cuatro Vientos-Four Winds Park is the first park to come to district 3 in nearly 30 years. Local residents, members of Westwood Unidos---a coalition that works to promote healthy living and bring healthy options to the Westwood neighborhood---and many other key stakeholders, gathered between 11am-3pm on Saturday to celebrate the occasion. According to the Westwood Unidos Facebook page, prior to the park opening, the community had less than 10% of the target acres of park per capita. In 2012, when the Colorado Health Foundation announced a request for ...
