Our team at Salud America! of UT Health San Antonio is bringing together a new group of transportation, affordable housing, and health leaders from all across the country to promote equity in transportation for Latinos, thanks to a new Innovation, Equity and Exploration (IEE) grant from the Voices for Healthy Kids network! The one-year, $30,000 grant will address equity gaps in the planning of transit, walking, and bicycling projects. September 2020 UPDATE: Innovations in Transportation Equity for Latino Communities Voices for Healthy Kids IEE Grant Summary Report. September 2020 UPDATE: To learn about the workgroup findings and recommendations, join the webinar on Sept. 30, Voices for Health Kids: Innovation, Equity and Exploration Series - Equity Gaps in Latino and Rural ...
Transit is good for Cleveland’s economy, according to a new study. Researchers at Cleveland State University’s Center for Economic Development explored the economic impact of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) over the past decade. They found it’s good for commuters, students, employers, school districts, and healthcare institutions across the region. “[The Transit Authority] is fantastic investment for taxpayers,” Obed Pasha, an assistant professor at Cleveland State and one of the study’s authors, told Streetsblog USA. “Not only does it help lift people out of poverty, it helps revitalize neighborhoods.”
Transportation Woes in Cleveland
Housing and transportation are important factors to get out of poverty and stay healthy. However, ...
Early experiences can influence a person’s entire life. Specifically, stress due to adversity, poor nutrition, and exposure to environmental toxins can lead to biological changes, which make people more likely to experience physical and mental health problems later in life. Although individual interventions are important for addressing immediate needs, they alone will not advance health equity, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report provides science-driven recommendations to address the social, economic, environmental, and cultural determinants of health and early adversity. They say to advance health equity, decision-makers must address the systemic root causes of poor health and chronic ...
Improving safe routes for people to bike can help cities reach their health, equity, economic, and climate change goals. Kansas City, Missouri (10.2% Latino), for example, can save 36 lives every year and increase local spending by $500 million if the city fully implements its bike plan over the next two decades, according to a new study from the University of Missouri Kansas City’s Department of Architecture, Urban Planning, and Design. Commissioned by Bike Walk Kansas City, researchers analyzed various social and economic benefits of the Kansas City Bicycle Master Plan. “This research confirms how essential a quality bike network is to so many city goals: safety, health, economic opportunity, and fiscal sustainability,” Bike Walk KC’s Director of Community Planning, ...
Access to safe, reliable transportation options matters, especially for health and wellbeing. A lack of options can make it impossible to keep a job, get out of poverty, and care for aging family members. In San Antonio (64% Latino), walking is not safe; therefore, public transit quickly becomes an unrealistic option, limiting resident’s transportation options and access to opportunity. That’s why the city government created a new position to develop a coordinated non-vehicular pedestrian mobility effort in its discussions about the 2019 budget.
Pedestrian Mobility Officer
Last month, city officials hired San Antonio’s first Pedestrian Mobility Officer, Timothy Hayes. This position will dedicate Hayes to enhancing the pedestrian experience by developing and ...
Although public transit is far safer than driving, the walk or bike to a transit stop can be hazardous. To grow transit ridership and increase the people-moving capacity of a roadway, it is critical to include active transportation as an integral element of all transit infrastructure and operations. That’s why The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT), based in Toronto, recently released its new guidebook on that very subject. “Transit operates most effectively when planned and built in close connection to walking and cycling facilities,” the guidebook states. It highlights some of the most innovative policy strategies, implementation planning, infrastructure, and programming that transit agencies have been employed — seeking to better coordinate and improve active ...
Every segment of American society—individuals, families, communities, and businesses—benefits from public transit. However, there is a lack of equity in these services. Latinos, for example, often report bus routes are unreliable, infrequent, or even unsafe, contributing to disparities in health and wealth, according to a Salud America! Research Review. An equitable transit network for Latino and all families starts with an equity analysis. That’s why transportation advocacy group, LINK Houston, conducted its Equity in Transit 2018 Report. They found that nearly one million residents in Houston, Texas (44.5% Latino) are living in areas with high-transit needs, but do not have access to frequent weekday, weekend, and evening services. Do you know who has access to ...
Walkable urban places correlate with economic, social equity, and environmental benefits, according to a new report. The new report, Foot Traffic Ahead 2019, ranks the amount and characteristics of walkable urban places in the 30 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Unfortunately, just 0.04-1.2% of land in these cities counts as walkable urban places. The new report explores the reasons for this deficiency and outlines how cities can stimulate more walkable urbanism and its many benefits. “U.S. metros where the public and private sectors work together to adapt and deliver increased supply of walkable urban places will be the economic and social justice winners of the next generation,” according to the Foot Traffic Ahead report, released in June 2019 by Smart Growth ...
At least one person has been killed in a traffic crash in Texas every day since Nov. 7, 2000. That’s why Vision Zero Texas has enabled advocates to push Texas leaders, including a letter-writing campaign (with Salud America! participation) and in-person advocacy, for strategies to improve road safety and set a goal to have zero deaths on state roads. The efforts are paying off. In May 2019, the Texas Transportation Commission voted to adopt a goal of reducing traffic fatalities on the state’s roadways to zero by the year 2050!
Traffic Deaths in Texas
Nearly 3,600 people died on Texas roads in 2018. Why? Human factors, like distracted driving and speeding, vehicle factors, like breaks and headlights, and roadway factors, like access points and pedestrian crossings. ...
