News
News Archive : 2009 : October
Janette Sadik-Khan Wants New Yorkers to Walk This Way
October 29, 2009
By: Kate Rockwood | From Fast Company
Janette Sadik-Khan, 49, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, cut through the congested knots of Manhattan traffic with a novel concept: Close some roads to cars. Green Light for Midtown, a project launched last May, has turned lanes of Broadway in Times Square and Herald Square into pedestrian zones — and sped up traffic. Read more >
Living in a Post-Car World
October 26, 2009
By: Christie Findlay | Source: AARP Bulletin print edition | 10/01/2009
Battles over President Obama’s economic stimulus plan and health care ambitions underscore the difference between promising to bridge the capital’s partisan divide and actually doing it. Apart from the fray stands Ray LaHood, the sole registered Republican in Obama’s Cabinet. In his first year as Transportation secretary, the former congressman and Obama’s fellow Illinoisan has become a vocal advocate for his boss’s priorities—from green transportation options like high-speed rail to the wildly popular Cash for Clunkers program. Read more >
Walking Safely and Without Fear
October 23, 2009
Yesterday, parents throughout the United States were shocked by the tragic death of a seven year old girl, Somer Thompson who was found killed after not making it home from school. The girl was walking home with a group of other children and got separated. In response to this tragedy, media reports, blogs and others have responded with a broad range of perspectives from decrying the practice of allowing young children to walk home without an adult to those who caution an overreaction to the incident.
The tragedy of this situation does not change the fact that child abductions, particularly by strangers, have become a rarity. A 2002 federal study reported that 99.8 percent of all missing children returned home safe. Of the remaining only an estimated 0.0068 percent represents kidnappings by a stranger.[1] Abductions, however rare, are unacceptable. However, protecting our children from dangers needs to be balanced with what the real risks are and good decision-making.
Where is the danger to our kids? It is in not letting them walk! Since 1969, the number of kids walking/biking to school has fallen from 50% to 15% while childhood obesity has risen from 8% to 30% (CDC). Over 300,000 deaths are attributed to disease and complications surrounding obesity.[2] Over 12,000 children die each year from unintentional deaths. For children 5 to 19 years old, the leading cause of death was from being a passenger or driver in an auto-accident. [3]
Walking to school is not the problem but one the major solutions to what ails our country. Andy Hamilton, Executive Director for WalkSanDiego and Vice President of America Walks said, “Creating communities, resources and a culture that support children walking to school is one of the best ways to improve our quality of life. Safe walkable environments reduce car trips, improve children’s health, and increase children’s confidence in navigating the challenges of world.”
Lenore Skenazy, author of Free Range Kids, said in an interview yesterday “We all know the world can be a dangerous place, which is why I have worked to train my kids to be safe. All free-range parents do. We know that at some point, some time, even if we don’t expect it, our children will be beyond our sight, and we want them to be as prepared as possible.” Somer’s parents were doing the right thing. They were raising a child who could be independent and who could become healthy and thriving adult. Our job as community members, parents, politicians and the like is to make sure we do not let fear drive our decisions.
Contact Mindy Craig, President
America Walks,
510.847.3665
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[1] The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Efforts to Combat Crimes Against Children, Audit Report 09-08, January 2009, Office of the Inspector General, Chapter 3: Child Abductions.
[2] American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
[3] CDC Childhood Injury Report: Patterns of Unintentional Injuries among 0-19 Year Olds in the United States, 2000-2006
Help release a new report on pedestrian safety
America Walks has been working closely with the staff at T4America on a new edition of STPP’s popular pedestrian safety report, Mean Streets. You may recall that in 2004, America Walks co-released that report with STPP, garnering significant press coverage for both our local members and our national group, and raising the profile of pedestrian safety issues nationwide.
Hybrid vehicles more dangerous to peds, bikes
October 21, 2009
Some years ago, the sight-impaired community began asking about the danger posed by quieter hybrid electrive vehicles (HEVs) compared to Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, a concern because sight-impaired pedestrians rely almost entirely on vehicle noise to navigate street crossings. A new report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests they are, although the sample size was too low to get a sense of how large the problem is nationally. Read more >
Florida Town Tries Walking School Bus Project
October 18, 2009
by Bobbie O’Brien
The iconic big yellow school bus is getting some competition from sneakers and sandals as a new way to get to class at Belcher Elementary in Largo, Fla. Kids and parents are teaming up in surrounding neighborhoods and walking to school together. The initiative aims to promote the healthier option of walking for both parents and children, while cutting down on vehicular traffic at the school.
To listen to this NPR story or read the transcript, please visit http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113039310.
Sidewalks Paved with Gold
October 16, 2009
Another way walkable cities pay back is through health savings — avoided costs associated with healthcare and lost productivity. The Danish Ministry of Health calculated the savings at 25 cents per km walked. A study of U.S. healthcare showed that treating the effects of sedentary lifestyles cost $117 billion in 2000. Another study suggested we could save $77 billion in healthcare costs if everyone walked enough to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines.
Another financial benefit is transportation costs. In walkable urban areas, households spend 9% of their income on transportation, while suburbanites spend 25%. That comes out to around $50,000 of extra mortgage value available to spend on a home.
In America Walks’ October E-newsletter, you saw that homes in walkable neighborhoods retain their value far better than unwalkable suburbs. Christopher Leinberger of the Brookings Institute reported that the per-square-foot value of housing in walkable neighborhoods is 40-200% higher. The reason: so-called “millenials” and baby boomer retirees prefer interesting urban over quiet suburban neighborhoods. And households with kids have declined to only 33%. With 10,000 dead or dying suburban malls, there are many opportunities to create walkable centers where none exist.
Techno-Tools for Promoting and Improving Walking
October 15, 2009
New York City Department of Transportation hosted the 10th International Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities 2009. The conference took place at New York University in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, from Wednesday October 7 to Friday October 9, 2009. The conference set new records for attendance at Walk21 with nearly 700 delegates over the four days and people from all continents of the globe and all professional walks of life.
Andy Hamilton, Vice President of America Walks and Southwest Regional Director of America Walks, reports on one Walk21 tech-savvy panel, which featured five software developers and their walking-related products. Not all of them were ready for the market, but all seemed very promising. Read more >
Hundreds of Millions Available through CDC Prevention Grants
October 8, 2009
On September 17, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a new program: Communities Putting Prevention to Work. Thirty to forty communities will receive a total of $373 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars through this competitive grant program to support interventions that reduce obesity through improved physical activity and nutrition and/or reduce tobacco use. Communities can apply for either focus area or both.
Read more >
October 7th is International Walk to School Day
October 4, 2009
Don’t forget to walk to school this Wednesday, October 7, 2009! Organize a local event or participate in one right in your neighborhood. Almost 1,500 schools in the United States have already registered to participate, joining schools and families in more than 40 countries worldwide. This event is a jump-start for local efforts to make the walk to school safe, attractive and popular. For more information, check out International Walk to School in the U.S.A.
Streetsblog
