Livable and Complete Streets advocates have long known that policy and planning changes can go hand-in-hand to create vibrant, safe streets and neighborhoods. But do you know what happens during a training? Hear from local transportation planners and engineers at a training in Carthage, Missouri. Co-hosted by the Harry S Truman Coordinating Council, Trailnet and Missouri Livable Streets, participants not only learned about the benefits of active design but took to the streets themselves to see what's working and what's not. Watch video>>>
Showing posts with label missouri livable streets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label missouri livable streets. Show all posts
Monday, December 7, 2015
Scenes from Carthage: a Missouri Livable Streets Training
Livable and Complete Streets advocates have long known that policy and planning changes can go hand-in-hand to create vibrant, safe streets and neighborhoods. But do you know what happens during a training? Hear from local transportation planners and engineers at a training in Carthage, Missouri. Co-hosted by the Harry S Truman Coordinating Council, Trailnet and Missouri Livable Streets, participants not only learned about the benefits of active design but took to the streets themselves to see what's working and what's not. Watch video>>>
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Can a sidewalk grow from a garden? Ashland shows us how
By Sarah Canavese
Take a look outside. What do you see? Roadways? How about
sidewalks? Chances are, you might not see very many sidewalks, and if you do,
you are probably in the lucky minority.
Where I grew up there weren’t many sidewalks, and the ones
that were there, weren’t always kept up to code. Ashland, Mo., can’t boast many
sidewalks right now, but its citizens are looking to change this trend.
Missouri Livable Streets is working with community leaders in Ashland as they
consider new ways to incorporate sidewalks and bicycle lanes into existing
streets and roads.
In the winter of 2012, Grabner’s Learning Garden was awarded
a five-year grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The grant focuses on
gardening programs and on forming healthy community partnerships.
“We modeled our partnership on Columbia’s Healthy Community
Partnership,” said Grabner. As part of that model, Grabner focused on including
“things such as a walking school bus and looking into working with the city and
county livable streets.”
While the connection between gardens and sidewalks may not
be readily apparent, Grabner has known for a while there is a problem with
Ashland’s streets and sidewalks. “There are numerous places all over town where
they will have a sidewalk part of the way, and it just ends abruptly. I have noticed
that for a very long time,” she shared. “Ashland city park is right in the
middle of town, but there are absolutely no sidewalks or trails that will lead
you to the park. When you see folks who bike or jog, or folks who are mobility
impaired, it is really tough to get around, even though it is such a small
town. [Ashland is] growing rapidly and its population has more than doubled
over the last ten years.”
Grabner cites one area of concern near the schools. “For example,
on Main Street which is a main road that goes north/south through Ashland, [it]
connects the primary and elementary school buildings on the south end of town
to the middle and high school buildings on the north end, [and] there are no
sidewalks at all. [There’s a] shoulder and ditches on both sides; lots of people
both walk and bike daily on Main Street, but it is getting more and more
dangerous to do that because of the amount of traffic.”
One solution to the problem lies with a livable streets
strategy: the Walking School Bus program. A walking school bus is just as it
sounds. Youth and adults walk to school together in the morning and afternoon.
In Ashland, the walking school bus helped educate children on safe walking
practices, as well as adults on a safe way to walk their kids to school.
Grabner reports that this program generated a lot of
awareness in Ashland and this summer a Walking School Bus of Girl Scouts walked
from the primary school down to the park, and these same issues came up.
Grabner said, “Once you get off of Broadway, there are no sidewalks for them.
So that was about sixty girls and their families aware first hand of those
kind[s] of issues.”
While raising awareness of the challenges, Grabner’s also
been able to provide solutions that people want to bring back. “It’s been
interesting,” she continues. “The more people I talk with about this, folks in
their sixties, seventies and eighties, every single one remembers that when
they were kids, there were sidewalks. People were walking around all the time,
kids were riding bikes, and it did contribute greatly to knowing your
neighbors, knowing your community, knowing that you were safe and comfortable
in your community. Every single one of them saw that as a good thing. And they
see that as something worth trying to bring back.”
To learn more, or to see how your town can get started with active design, visit Missouri Livable Streets.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Training for the Future
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| Courtesy: MoBroadBandNow.com |
“Regional Training." To some, regional training might sound like a way to get out
of the office and learn a new technique for their job. To others the terms conjure
up meetings, where attendance is required and attendees watch hours of
PowerPoint slides.
To David Cheek, transportation planner at Mark Twain RegionalCouncil of Governments, regional training means the eight counties he works
with get to experience for the first time training offered by PedNet through
Missouri Livable Streets. “I was just excited and pleased to be able to reach
out to the area that we serve and being able to offer the training such as it
was, to come of our more rural police departments,” he said. “That was
gratifying.”
Based in Perry, Mo., Mark Twain Regional Council of
Government (MTRCOG) is one of seven communities and/or organizations Missouri
Livable Streets is assisting in active design training and education. The
Council is governed by an executive board, which has two representatives from each
county that it represents. Their primary
purpose is to set policies for the operation of the Council and the development
of the region.
All eight counties the MTRCOG serves, Audrain, Marion,
Monroe, Macon, Ralls, Randolph, Pike and Shelby were invited to participate in
the first training session and will be involved going forward.
One of the novel and critical training programs offered by
Missouri Livable Streets in collaboration with PedNet is law enforcement
training. While educating the public and motorists about Livable Streets or
active design elements and laws is critical, another key element is training
police and law enforcement professional on these elements and laws, too.
“When you live in a rural community with only one police
officer, I mean, they still have a lot of stuff to do, and probably getting
training on how to deal with bicyclists is not at the top of their list,” Cheek
said. However, Cheek agreed that as enforcers of local laws and policies,
officers are natural stakeholders in the process.
MTRCOG’s training for law enforcement professionals was held
in June for a small team of officers from the area. Officers learned the rules
and regulations bicyclists need to follow, and other laws that pertain to
bicycling. Cheek explained that most of the officers were from rural towns, and
the training was an opportunity to share information about laws and regulations
with which they might be less familiar.
Cheek shared, “I think that is where the best value came
from for the officers; they probably hadn’t had this type of training, and it
was definitely beneficial that it was POST certified.”
(POST stands for Peace Officer Standards and Training and
all sworn officers must maintain these peace officer licenses. According to the
Missouri
Department of Public Safety, all licensed peace officers and reserve
officers must complete at least 48 hours continuing education to maintain their
peace officer license.)
Monday, October 6, 2014
Bowling Green Plans for the Future
By Sarah Canavese
Recently I had a chance to sit down and talk with seven different communities that are partnering with Missouri Livable Streets. In talking with them, I learned why they needed livable streets, what benefits their community hoped to gain, and what other communities could learn from their journeys. In my first post, I share what I learned from Bowling Green, a small community in Pike County in northeastern Missouri. Please be sure to check the Missouri Livable Streets blog for future posts from the other communities, too.
Bowling Green
After I sat down with Dan Lang, the one thing that I took away from the interview was how his past experience as an urban planner has helped him realize how much Livable Streets would complement his community.
Prior to his present position as city administrator of Bowling Green, Lang worked as an urban planner, and back then, Bowling Green was one of his client communities. As part of his job, he did a comprehensive plan for Bowling Green and quickly saw the need for Livable Streets.
“There were a number of aspects related to livable communities or livable streets philosophy that came out of that planning exercise,” Lang said. “Bowling Green is a small, somewhat rural community. I have noticed since I have been here that there is a continuing and renewed interest in walking.”
Fast-forward a few years and when Lang became city administrator, he started to put those ideas, observations and plans into action. After joining the Missouri Livable Streets mailing list and hearing about the opportunity to partner with the project team in 2014, Lang quickly put forward the application for Bowling Green. The town was selected as one of seven communities to receive technical assistance and other information for considering or implementing Livable Streets policies.
Lang sees the assistance well timed to what is happening in his community. “I see a lot of people participating in walking: we have a very well used walking path in our city park… there’s a lot of interest here of people getting out and walking the community and bicycling to some extent.”
Among the challenges that Lang faces, he shared, “It’s difficult to get enough people in the community to know about it, to support an effort, and to move forward with the project. I think education is the key. And I think, too, in most communities, the impact of the cost associated with doing things within your community, whether that’s with streets, or construction of bicycle paths, there is always a funding side to that and can be an issue.”
Acknowledging the challenges, Lang’s commitment is still steady. “I want them to know that it is an achievable policy. If there is a way for us to incorporate [Livable Streets] into our design criteria, or for other communities to do the same thing, then it warrants taking a closer look.”
To learn more about Missouri Livable Streets and how to become involved with your own community, visit http://livablestreets.missouri.edu.
Monday, May 12, 2014
On The Road to Livable: Missouri Livable Streets partners with 7 new communities
Missouri Livable Streets is excited to
announce partnerships with seven Missouri communities to train and support
stakeholders in the planning, design, and advocacy for safer, more accessible
transportation systems. The new partnerships include leaders and their
organizations from:
· Ashland
· Bowling
Green
· Chillicothe
· McDonald
County
· Perry
· Potosi
· Windsor
Each new partner is eligible to receive a tailored training package designed to raise
awareness and build support for Livable Streets in its community. Trainings
include technical assistance and educational outreach for community members,
traffic and law enforcement professionals, as well as civic leaders. Each of
the seven partners can opt for the assistance that best fits the needs of its community.
The Missouri Livable Streets partnership team, including members of PedNet,
University of Missouri School of Journalism and the Missouri Department of
Health and Senior Services, will provide the services.
“Local communities know what works well in their towns and these trainings are tailored to their needs and futures,” said Robert Johnson, PedNet director of consulting. “We are energized to be able to work with such a diverse and interested group.”
All around the country, communities are making the move to livable with transportation plans and designs that encourage and provide safe, accessible transportation for all users and modes of travel. In 2013 alone, more than 80 communities adopted Livable or Complete Streets policies, according to Smart Growth America.
Missouri is no exception. Since 2004, a list has grown of communities working to improve their safety, health and economic vitality through transportation policy considerations. To date, Missouri boasts 23 policies and ordinances, and as a result communities are seeing physical improvements to their community, more biking and walking, and great economic development.
Stay tuned to the MO LS blog and livablestreets.missouri.edu for updates on these and other Missouri communities on the road to getting livable.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Walk your way to health: Take part in National Walking Day
Today, April 2nd, is National Walking Day, a movement sponsored
by the American Heart Association (AHA) aimed at getting people up and moving
throughout the day. The reason couldn’t be more important since one out of
every two men and one in every three women are at risk for heart disease, which
is still the No. 1 killer in the United States. Walking is a no cost,
convenient, and low impact form of exercise and just 30 minutes a day can help
reduce the risk of heart disease and other health issues such obesity,
stroke and type-2 diabetes. Walking is also a great way to spend time with
family and friends and increase people’s
involvement in their community.
But did you know that about one
in four Missourians do not spend any time being physically active? Unfortunately,
for many people, it is difficult to take advantage of walking’s benefits
because they live in communities where they do not have safe, easy access to
places to walk and be physically active. The benefits of designing and building
communities where people of all ages and abilities can get around easily and
safely extend beyond improving citizen’s health and well-being. These changes
can also improve the physical and economic development of communities. In
a recent study of 23 Missouri communities with Livable or Complete Streets
policies, community leaders reported increases in bicycling, walking, and
trail system use; physical improvements to their community; and greater
economic development.
Celebrate your reasons to walk today, and every day, with these
tips from the American Heart Association, and learn more about creating
walkable communities at http://livablestreets.missouri.edu/
Friday, April 20, 2012
Rural communities get livable: Spotlight on Warsaw, Mo
Missouri Livable Streets was pleased to learn about the great work going on in Warsaw, Missouri. While Warsaw is a community on the lake, many people are unaware of how much of a hidden gem it is for biking, walking and enjoying the outdoors.
In this short video, learn how a handful of community advocates and leaders have been collaborating to make their town a more livable, vibrant community and tourist
destination.
Sincere thanks to Irv, Mac, Melissa and Randy for their time and insights!
Sincere thanks to Irv, Mac, Melissa and Randy for their time and insights!
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