Ashland, Mo. looks toward more Livable Streets

Recently the Missouri Livable Streets team visited Ashland, Mo., as local community members discussed ways to increase opportunities for healthy living.

Southern Boone Learning Garden Director Jennifer Grabner and Missouri Livable Streets partner Robert Johnson from PedNet were both featured in a radio story from KBIA. Discussing Ashland's shift toward expanding sidewalks and walkways, Grabner shared her awareness that more community members have been taking to the streets to walk and bicycle over the last few years. Ashland's police chief also noted that a Livable Streets approach is critical for ensuring public safety as more people  increase their physical activity and navigate local streets and pathways that may not be adequately connected. (Listen to the entire story)

We are excited to partner with Ashland and look forward to increasing safe ways to walk and bicycle  in the future!

The Golden Quarter Mile

By Sarah Canavese, guest blogger

Living longer is important to many seniors and their families. But staying active and maintaining the same quality of life is for many even more critical. Health professionals have often said that exercise is important to maintain quality of life as we age, but provided little guidance on how much is really needed. Now, new research shows that a quarter of a mile, or one loop around a standard track, is enough to help most seniors stay active and keep physical disabilities at bay.

Dr. Marco Pahor, director of the Institute on Aging at the University of Florida, Gainesville, led the study which found people in their 70s and 80s are more likely to retain their ability to get around on their own when they take part in a moderate-intensity exercise program.

Pahor’s Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study looked at whether different types of exercise programs could help lower the risk of immobility among seniors. The researchers also wanted to know whether these exercise programs would lower the rates of disability and illness, as well as early death among seniors. (See the related video from UFHealth)

Between 2010 and 2011, the researchers followed 1,635 men and women from across the Unites States ages 70 to 89 that could walk roughly a quarter of a mile without any type of assistance.

Participants were split into two separate groups. The first group was randomly assigned to a structured exercise program, where they were given instructions to exercise by walking and taking part in strength, balance, and flexibility training. They participated in three to four home sessions and two visits to a medical center each week as well.

The second group was not instructed to exercise but instead was assigned to a health education group where they attended weekly meetings on healthy aging during the first 26 weeks of the study and monthly meetings thereafter.

Every six months, the two groups were tested on their ability to walk a quarter of a mile without assistance.

After being enrolled in the study for two and a half years, the active participants stayed active and were able to prevent physical disability or mobility loss. In fact, as reported by an article from the University of Florida, “moderate physical activity helped aging adults maintain their ability to walk at a rate of 18 percent higher than older adults who do not exercise”.

This study is important for many towns across Missouri. Overall, almost 15 percent of Show-Me State residents are 65 years old or older and that percentage is only expected to increase as more Baby Boomers age. To help Missouri’s seniors stay active, independent and healthy longer, Livable Streets or Complete Streets policies can be helpful tools in preparing for the future today.

As one participant, Mildred Johnston, 82, a retired office worker from Gainesville, Florida, who participated in the study said, “Exercising has changed my whole aspect on what aging means. It’s not about how much help you need from other people now. It’s more about what I can do for myself.”

No matter what kind of policy a town passes, for many seniors, those words couldn’t be more golden.

Learn more about Missouri Livable Streets.

Get Your Bike On This May!

Each May communities across the country mark National Bike Month, a celebration of cycling and its many benefits sponsored by League of American Bicyclists. From Florissant to Columbia, to Kansas City to Springfield, communities across Missouri are gearing up their two-wheelers for a month full of festivities including Bike to Work Week Bike to Work Week (May 12-16) and Bike to Work Day (May 16).

While bicycling in Missouri has increased dramatically since 2000, Missouri ranks 30^th as a Bicycle Friendly State and only 7 Missouri communities are recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as Bicycle Friendly, meaning they provide safe, encouraging environments for cycling.

This leaves a lot of room for improvement but don’t let that jam your bike chain. The good news is with a strong presence of bike/ped enthusiasts and growing momentum of Missouri’s Livable Streets efforts, more communities are on their way to becoming not just bicycle friendly, but friendly for all forms of transportation and their users. For example, Ashland,Mo., along with 6 other Missouri communities were recently announced as recipients of Livable Streets trainings and technical assistance.

Livable improvements like bicycle lanes, smooth pavement, and shared-use trails can make a big difference by reducing traffic demands and creating more connected healthier communities whether you travel by bicycle, foot, or wheelchair.

Want your community to get livable and be more bicycle friendly? Learn about the ways you can help at http://livablestreets.missouri.edu/.

Get tools and ideas for celebrating Bike Month from the League of American Cyclists here then head on over to Facebook to follow our cycling celebrations and tell us how you’re celebrating Bike Month.  

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.

Walk your way to health: Take part in National Walking Day

Today, April 2^nd,  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/

Using the walkability audit as a policy tool: Spotlight on Unionville, Mo

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How walkable or bikeable is your neighborhood? Hear from community advocates in Unionville, Mo., who are conducting a walkability audit with residents to better raise the issues of policy change with local leaders.

Sincere thanks to Chrissy, Ericka and Jeanie for their time and insights!

Photovoice Missouri raises livability issues

What happens when you give dozens of teens and youth cameras and tell them to document their towns and everyday lives? Turns out quite a lot. From improving or constructing sidewalks in small rural towns where youth can safely exercise and play, to increasing access to healthy foods in their communities, many Missouri youth are concerned about improving their built environment.

Our friends at the Healthy Lifestyles Initiative, part of MU Extension, worked with the MU Health Communication Research Center to recruit students and teachers for Photovoice Missouri, a year-long effort aimed at giving young people simple education and advocacy tools to talk about the issues that matter most to them. The pictures students took and shared document their everyday lives, including both the positive health behaviors they saw, and the areas where they thought improvements could be made.

Recently, a group of students were chosen as having photographed the most compelling issues facing their towns and, along with their teachers and families, they were invited to Columbia for an awards ceremony where the winning student was announced. It was a moving ceremony and was featured in the MU Extension podcast.

While the concept of Photovoice has been around for decades, it’s exciting and eye-opening to see what fresh perspectives and ideas people bring forth. Among the photos submitted by the students from Dallas, Dent, Lafayette, Mercer, Ralls, and Shelby counties, as well as the City of St. Louis, many of them related to livability issues: access to sidewalks or bike lanes, crumbling infrastructure, safety issues around getting healthy. Some students are already working with their teachers to educate their community and civic leaders on the importance of healthy and active streets and neighborhoods.

Check out Photovoice Missouri and see what youth around our state have to say and show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photovoicemissouri/