Healthy Communities
Policy Paper
DRAFT May 2005
Definition:
Healthy Communities is a new effort by the transportation and health profession to call for improvements in community design and education campaigns to promote health through increased use of transit, pedestrian and bicycle modes. Examples include Safe Routes to Schools and Active Living Communities that emphasize a pedestrian focus providing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to engage in routine daily physical activity. Healthy communities focus on a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines (at least 30 minutes of activity each day). A region’s health is further defined by its ability to preserve and protect its natural, cultural, and historic resources.
Best Practices:
Use of federal transportation dollars for safety funds for bicycle/pedestrian projects and traffic calming
· Wisconsin Department of Transportation - uses vehicle volume, speed, and pedestrian accident history to prioritize spending. It also identifies locations that are hazardous for pedestrians and cyclists factoring in concentration of vulnerable groups (children, elderly, handicapped) and the potential of surrounding land uses to generate walking trips.
Transportation and Community and System Preservation (federal highway funds)
· New Jersey Transit provides dedicated bikeways to serve commuter trains.
· Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco) - Housing Incentive Program: provides funds to communities that build affordable housing and urban design initiatives (grant program) to connect persons to public transportation.
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (federal highway funds)
· City of Philadelphia - Bike Network Plan - Bicycle Level of Service (LOS) was based on comfort, traffic speed, and lane width.
Policy Recommendations:
1. PENNDOT, SPC, and the Counties are urged to adopt a “Complete the Streets” policy. The policy would direct that transportation projects at every level of government – Federal, State and local – should be funded and designed to provide appropriate facilities and accommodations to serve pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users. This should be coordinated at the local level with land use planning. This policy should be flexible to encourage the development of off-street facilities such as greenways that either complement or substitute the on-road facilities.
2. PENNDOT and SPC are urged to identify a “fair share” commitment (on each project with transportation funds) to pedestrian and bicycle safety needs. PENNDOT and SPC are further urged to provide more funding to local agencies to incorporate these needs on roads under their jurisdiction.
3. SPC is urged to seek funding for a bicycle/pedestrian coordinator to oversee the programming and coordination for Transportation Enhancements, Hometown Streets/Safe Routes to Schools, Walkable Communities, and other governmental and private foundation initiatives to promote Healthy Communities. This person would staff the SPC Pedestrian/Bicycle Committee, as well as the committees that review the funding applications for Transportation Enhancements and Hometown Streets/Safe Routes to School, to ensure coordination between local and state government agencies and citizen groups.
4. PENNDOT, SPC, and the Counties are urged to incorporate the common health and wellness needs of the minority, low-income, elderly and disabled communities and populations in bicycle/pedestrian planning efforts when forecasting the demand for transportation services. The goal is to develop universal and equitable services for all communities with special efforts to serve historically underserved communities.
5. SPC, county governments, Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition Activity (PANA) (as PA Health Department designate), Allegheny County Health Department, university research centers, and others are urged to coordinate the development of Health Impact Assessments in developing transportation models and performance measures. These efforts should be utilized to identify government and private sector funds that can be used to include the evaluation of health impacts when measuring the level of service impacts of transportation and economic development projects. These efforts should also include data gathering and coordinating/establishing data linkages for baselining and trend tracking.
6. The Commonwealth, SPC, Counties and local governments are encouraged to plan and invest in a land use and transportation network that connects and enhances suburban and urban communities with accommodation for multi-modal transportation choice.
7. The Commonwealth, SPC, Counties, local governments, public transportation agencies, watershed associations, clean air quality groups are urged to form partnerships to promote planning and programming to improve water quality and waterways as an alternative means of transportation.
8. The Commonwealth, SPC, Counties, and local governments are urged to plan to preserve ecological functions and other natural services that benefit people, community, and nature.
9. The Commonwealth, SPC, Counties, and local governments are urged to plan to for the preservation of historic resources through the establishment of a regional historic preservation board that can identify local, state, and nationally significant historic sites and develop a regional law to protect them. The board would be responsible for developing a regional historic preservation ordinance to empower citizens to nominate a historic structure to be on the Southwestern Pennsylvania Register of Historic Places and provide a full public review for any sites that require development or exterior changes.