In September 2015, Denver's Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) adopted a transportation platform which provides a collaborative framework for residents and decision-makers to discuss transportation policy positions: communications/transparency, planning and funding, safety/health, walkability, bikeability, transit, and parking. Denver's Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) was founded in 1975, to ensure residents and neighborhood organizations are informed and engaged in the public policy and decision-making process, and currently represents about 100 neighborhoods throughout the city. See three of 88 positions in the transportation platform below: Communications / Transparency Denver and other transportation agencies should adopt comprehensive data-driven ...
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). It is important to ensure that FAST Act funding is equitably distributed to address inequities in current pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, as well as to reduce disparities in health and obesity rates, especially in Latino neighborhoods because Latinos are disproportionately burdened by poor active transportation infrastructure as well as obesity. Nationally, Latinos make up 17.4 percent of the population. However, in some cities, like Miami, Fla.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Elizabeth, N.J.; Elgin, Ill.; Providence, R.I.; Denver, Colo.; Allentown, Pa.; and Austin, Texas, Latinos make up over 30 percent of the population. The FAST Act reauthorizes the Transportation Alternatives ...
The Transportation and Health Tool was developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support practitioners in examining the health impacts of transportation systems. This tool provides data on 14 transportation and public health indicators to describe how the transportation environment affects safety, active transportation, air quality, and connectivity to destinations by state or metropolitan area. This tool also provides strategies to improve transportation health outcomes. For example, Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) can improve community safety and equity, increase walking and biking, and reduce chronic disease. Additionally, according to one comprehensive ...
Safe Routes to School National Partnership developed a report and two fact sheets to explore equity issues related to active modes of transportation in order to increase health, fairness, and opportunity for low-income communities and communities of color. In order to positively influence health at the community level, it is important to not only identify socioeconomic inequities, but also environmental inequities, particularly inequities related to transportation infrastructure which influence access to employment and education opportunities as well as healthy resources, like nutritious food, safe places to play, and government services. The report sets out why equity and active transportation matter, addresses tensions that may arise when the active transportation and equity ...
How can we all be a part of making 2015 great? According to New Jersey Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-20th) we can start by supporting efforts to improve child health and equipping underserved communities with the tools they need to live a happy and healthy lifestyle. In a recent op-ed piece, Quijano shared what many researchers and health care practitioners are already aware of---that many Latino and African Americans do not have easy access to healthy food. She discusses how more often than not communities that lack easy access to healthy food, called food deserts, struggle with an endless cycle of obesity. Along with the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, many low-income Latino communities must deal with additional barriers such as a lack of safe transportation to ...
Plans for more active transportation in the small city of Lebanon, Indiana are underway. According to a news story from reporter.net nearly 20 residents gathered in December 2014 to discuss plans for a proposed bike & pedestrian master plan. The plan came after local residents met in February for an active transportation workshop. Shortly after the workshop a steering committee was formed and engineers were hired to help residents formulate the plan. A draft of the latest plan was presented at a city meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 17th, 2014. Read the full story ...
Temporary protected bike lanes were brought to at least eight different cities throughout the country, including Denver (32% Latino), Oakland, CA (25% Latino) and Mountain View, CA (22% Latino), three cities with sizable Latino populations. According to a Peopleforbikes blog, many of these projects were inspired by a 2013, $600 temporary protected bike lane project that took place in Minneapolis, MN. Initiatives such as these can serve to inform traffic engineers and the public about the benefits and beauty of having separate bike ways. With a few orange traffic cones, some green paint, homemade stencils, plants and a few signs, anyone can help get the conversation about protected bike lanes started! A few tips from Peopleforbikes for hosting a pop-up protected bikeway event ...
Partnership opportunities exist at all levels of collecting data including state agencies, local jurisdictions, universities, and others. Check out this report from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership to learn more about collecting data effectively and improving modeling. Access the Improving Modeling and Data Collection for Active Transportation Report ...
According to this report, in schools with a Safe Routes to School program, 32.4% of children walked to school compared to only 20.2% in schools without a Safe Routes to School program. Budget cuts to transportation as well as increased childhood obesity rates, a need to decrease traffic, and a desire to improve community safety, are all reasons why transportation departments should work collaboratively with Safe Routes to School partners. Learn more about how both sectors can work together in the Safe Routes National Partnership's Buses, Boots, & Bicycles ...
