Current ALRC Demonstration Projects

Current Projects | Healthy Coastal Connections | Emerging Leaders

Healthy Coastal Connections Project
From May 2009 to June 2010 the Active Living Resource Center provided intensive technical assistance to Smart Coast in support of the Healthy Coastal Connections Project. The goal of the project is to develop and implement a plan to reduce childhood obesity/physical inactivity in the Mobile Bay area. The target of the project is a 50 percent reduction in the incidence of childhood obesity over a 5 year period that will be accomplished by the development of a transportation network across Mobile and Baldwin counties, linking schools, neighborhoods, parks, and other destinations by walking, biking, and transit trips. Currently, the region is one of the most auto-dependent in the United States. Not coincidentally, the region is also home to a population that has high obesity rates, low physical activity rates, and severe health disparities across racial groups and economic strata. To read the project's framing document, click here. (PDF File | 88Kb)

Year 1: Building Capacity, Building Awareness, Building Relationships
During the first year of the Healthy Coastal Connections (HCC) project, the personnel of the Active Living Resource Center conducted 4 field visits, logging a total of approximately 4 weeks in the Mobile Bay area. The visits were conducted in accordance with the HCC 5 year strategic plan. (The plan, which includes Year 1 accomplishments, can be viewed here.) Between visits, the ALRC/NCBW staff supported Smart Coast with biweekly conference calls, trouble-shooting (as needed), generated technical reports relating to the field visits, and provided guidance to Smart Coast staff as they engaged with citizen groups, individual advocates, health professionals, business owners, and others across both counties.

The launch of the Healthy Coastal Connections project should be considered a nearly unqualified success. Thanks to the reputation of the ALRC/NCBW as a national expert on matters of Safe Routes to School, regional transportation planning, Complete Streets, and road safety, our presence was often the critical spark that lead to safety improvements (Government Street audit), policy change (Complete Streets policies, and the MPO's long range transportation plan), and-perhaps most importantly-we have changed the way local media and local opinion leaders think and talk about active transportation.

The HCC project has also benefited the ALRC/NCBW in myriad ways. Our prolonged contact with Smart Coast and the HCC project has allowed us to see how a change towards a more walk/bike-friendly landscape in the southeastern United States can be accomplished. We have gained valuable insight into what messages stick and what the critical needs are when it comes to supporting change from the direction of local politicians, the general public, the medical community, the DOT, and rank-and-file city staff. In addition, we have benefited greatly from working with Charlene Lee and Wendy Allen of Smart Coast: their wisdom and tenacity helped translate the momentum we created into policy and environmental change. We have captured these lessons learned in the Healthy Coastal Connections Travelogues and (of course) in our more technical, less entertaining project reports. Download the Travelogue in full or in chapters.

Travelogue 1: June 2009
Working to build awareness about the obesity/built environment connection; establishing relationships; strategic planning and organization development with Smart Coast; and a trip to Lulu's. Download | PDF File 2.2MB

Travelogue 2: October 2009
Government Street Walking Audit; partnering with the Mobile Business Improvement District; Complete Streets presentations to elected officials; SRTS working meeting; and a 5 pound sweet potato. Download |PDF File 2.8MB | Photo Essay

Travelogue 3: February 2010
MPO Long Range Transportation Plan; Smart Walk to School; Fonde Safe Routes to School audit and community meeting; AARP walking audit; and Doggie Mardi Gras. Download | PDF File 2.1MB

Travelogue 4: May 2010
BP's Oil Spill; Dangerous by Design Summit; Walk your Dog to School Day; American Idle book signing and ride with the author; and a retrospective on Healthy Coastal Connections Year One. Download | PDF File 1.3MB

HCC Travelogue 2009-2010
A compilation of Travelogues 1-4, and additional project resources. Download | PDF File 7.1MB

HCC Tools and Presentations
Health and the Built Environment in Alabama. A 30-minute presentation delivered to a number of audiences during the first field visit. The presentation: 1) establishes the link between the built environment and physical inactivity; 2) shows a community how to turn itself around; 3) provides strategies on building support for change; and 4) identifies pertinent national trends. Download the presentation | PowerPoint Presentation 30MB

Complete Streets presentation. Delivered to elected officials in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Presents the economic and health benefits rationale for designing streets for all users. Download the presentation | PowerPoint Presentation 10MB

Intersection and Street Audit Tool. The ALRC developed two-page tool will allow anyone to quickly evaluate the pedestrian/bike friendliness of a street or intersection. The audit tool was field tested during our Government Street audit. Download the audit tool | PDF File 142KB

Bike 'N' Walk: GIS Mapping.The goal of the Healthy Coastal Connections Project is to foster the creation of a transportation network that integrates walking, biking, and transit. We quickly discovered there was no such map available, so we created our own. The map has limitless applications. Users can display the 0.5 mile walkshed around schools and display the sidewalk network as a simple way to visualize which schools have high walking potential. http://www.bikenwalk.com/smartcoast/

HCC Project Reports
Government Street Pedestrian Safety Audit
The HCC team partnered with the local Business Improvement District to study walkability in downtown Mobile. Government Street is a main east/west connector for motor vehicles, transit, bicyclists, and pedestrians. There are many destinations that could be reached by foot, including the downtown's only grocery store, and the city's waterfront. The report yielded immediate improvements to a transit stop, planned crosswalk upgrades, a presentation to Mobile's City Council, and considerable media attention.
Government Street Report | PDF File 5.2MB
Mobile City Council Audit Presentation | PowerPoint Presentation 9.8MB

Fonde Elementary School Pedestrian Safety Audit
The elementary school is located at the intersection of two 5 lane roads. A student was (recently) severely injured while walking to school, after he was struck by a motor vehicle. While the incident generated much media interest and community outrage, little has changed in the intervening months and unsafe walking conditions remain. The HCC team visited the school at the request of the principal and a school board member to observe dismissal, to interview parents, students, and school personnel, and to facilitate a community meeting to develop a plan for safety improvements.
Fonde SRTS Report | PDF File 2.9MB

June 2010 Connectivity Report: Mobile and Baldwin Counties
The Connectivity Report is a snapshot of where respective levels of government (local, regional, state) are at on planning regulations, land use policy, and transportation policy-specifically policy that supports walking, bicycling, and transit. Additionally, we surveyed local bike shops and advocates/users for their respective perspectives on how well local infrastructure supports walking and bicycling. The Connectivity Report represents a year's worth of data collection. It is intended to identify critical gaps in expertise, policy, and investment with respect to non-motorized transportation.
June 2010 Connectivity Report | PDF File 2.1MB

Letter to the Editor: International Walk to School Day
The local media has been an indispensible ally in raising awareness of physical inactivity, drawing attention to barriers in the built environment, and in highlighting the traffic safety problems that afflict bicyclists and pedestrians in the Mobile area. For 2009 International Walk to School Day, Smart Coast drafted a letter to the Mobile Press-Register.
Letter to the Editor | PDF File 29KB

Year 2: Sustaining the Healthy Coastal Connections project
The Healthy Coastal Connection project began Year 2 in July 2010. With a strategic plan firmly in place, a Friends of Healthy Coastal Connections campaign underway, and a talented, well-rounded steering committee, the future looks promising for this generation of children in the Mobile Bay area. ALRC/NCBW continues to provide technical assistance to Smart Coast, and we raise Smart Coast's profile wherever possible. In September, Smart Coast presented on the HCC Project at the 2010 Pro Walk/Pro Bike® conference.
Envision, Create, and Implement a Regional Bicycling and Walking Plan | PowerPoint Presentation 8.6MB

Project contact: Mark Plotz | mark@bikewalk.org

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