Urban Health Solutions & Urban Health Partnerships

Miami-Dade County Long Range Transportation Plan Workshops

The Miami- Dade County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will be hosting a series of workshops to kick off the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) update and insure everyone has an opportunity to provide input and suggestions on the plan Goals.

June 19, 2013 – Kendale Lakes Branch Library,
15205 SW 88th Street, Miami, FL 33196, 6 PM to 8 PM
June 25, 2013 – Coral Gables Branch Library,
3443 Segovia Street, Coral Gables, FL 33146, 6 PM to 8 PM
June 25, 2013 – North Miami Beach Library,
1601 NE 164th Street, North Miami Beach, FL 33162, 6 PM to 8 PM
June 26, 2013 – West Dade Regional Library,
9445 Coral Way, Miami, FL 33165, 6 PM to 8 PM
June 26, 2013 – Cutler Bay Town Center, Council Chamber Suite 115,
10720 Caribbean Blvd., Cutler Bay, FL 33189, 6 PM to 8 PM

To RSVP for this event, please email the MPO (mpo@miamidade.gov) or call 305-375-4507. Walk-ins are welcome.

To learn more about the LRTP, click here: http://www.miamidade2040lrtp.com/

Help Improve University Drive – Get a chance to win an iPad Mini!

The University Drive Corridor is one of the most heavily traveled roadways in Broward, moving tens of thousands of people each day. It was identified in the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Long Range Transportation Plan as a premium transit corridor and the MPO has launched a transportation and livability study to identify ways to improve it.

Your input is critical in developing a plan for this important roadway. We invite you to share your ideas with us in several ways:

- Log on to www.UniversityDriveImprovements.org
- Call the University Drive Hotline at 954.653.5620
- Attend one of our upcoming public workshops:

June 25 – Northwest Regional Library, Library Auditorium - 3151 North University Drive Coral Springs, FL 33065, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a presentation from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

June 27 – Lauderhill City Hall, Rooms 134-135 - 5581 West Oakland Park Boulevard Lauderhill, FL 33313, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a presentation from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

July 9 – El Palacio Sports Hotel, 9th Floor Ballroom – 21485 NW 27 Avenue Miami Gardens, FL 33056, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a presentation from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Please share your thoughts with us for a chance to win a free iPad Mini! Comments received by July 15, 2013 will be entered into a drawing and will be collected via our website, over the phone or in person at workshops. Just below and share your thoughts with us.

Share Your Thoughts

For more information, please contact Jessica Josselyn, Kittelson & Associates, Inc. at jjosselyn@kittelson.com or Roxana Ene, Broward MPO at EneR@browardmpo.org.

EmergeMiami: Pedestrian Safety Walk in Little Havana

EmergeMiami recently shared details about an upcoming Pedestrian Safety Walk in Little Havana on June 29th at 10:30am. As part of our walk they are asking that pedestrians who have been injured, and their families, to come out and join our walk to help put a personal face on this epidemic of injury and death.

For more information or to get involved please contact Elsa Roberts at eroberts@mtu.edu. To RSVP to the event go to Meetup or Facebook.

This event fits well with UHP’s Safe Routes to Age in Place Initiative which is being piloted in Little Havana.

To read the full article and learn more, click here: http://www.transitmiami.com/pedestrians/pedestrian-safety-walk-in-little-havana

To learn more about Safe Routes to Age in Place, click here: http://www.saferoutestoageinplace.org

Attend the Florida Greenways Webinar – June 19!

Florida Greenways Webinar Rescheduled to June 19!

The date for 1000 Friends’ “Close the Gap” Greenways and Trails webinar has been changed to Wednesday, June 19 from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.

If you have already registered, you are automatically registered for the new date and time. If you have not already registered, you may do so here. We apologize for the inconvenience.

At the June 19 webinar, Foundation President Dale Allen will discuss the new “Close the Gap” Campaign to create a coast-to-coast trail system from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canaveral National Seashore. The Foundation is Florida’s chief advocacy organization for non-motorized trails. Allen will discuss the campaign and acquisition and planning strategies that local governments, planners, concerned citizens and others can use to assist with the protection of key gaps in the system. This event has been approved for 1.5 AICP CM Credits, #e.23649, and 1000 Friends has applied for CLE credits for attorneys.

To learn more, click here: http://www.1000friendsofflorida.org/communications/webinars/?utm_source=130523+alert&utm_campaign=130523+alert&utm_medium=email

Infographic: Requirements for a Bikeable City

GOOD recently shared an infographic on four requirements for a bikeable city. See below to learn more:

You can visit their website for more information at: http://awesome.good.is/infographics/infographic-four-requirements-for-a-bikeable-city/468

News Brief: How to Increase Bicycling for Daily Travel

How to Increase Bicycling for Daily Travel summarizes the available evidence about effectiveness of multi-strategy approaches for increasing bicycling levels, including on-street bike lanes, off-street bike paths, and other bicycling infrastructure, educational programs, and policies. Use this brief to advocate for increasing bicycling as a way to improve people’s health and reduce air pollution, carbon emissions, congestion, noise, traffic dangers, and other harmful effects of car use. And a useful companion is our recently released brief on counting bicycles, which can be used to assess the results of interventions.

Summary:

The Challenge: Only 1% of all daily trips in the United States are made by bicycle, including fewer than 1% of trips to school by children younger than age 16. However many more trips could be made by bicycle, as 40% of trips made in the United States are shorter than two miles.

Make an impact: Recognizing this potential, many government agencies and public health organizations are starting to advocate for increasing bicycling as a way to improve people’s health and reduce air pollution, carbon emissions, congestion, noise, traffic dangers, and other harmful effects of car use. Understanding the most effective strategies cities can use to increase bicycling is important.

What the findings are about: This brief summarizes the available evidence about strategies for increasing bicycling levels, including on-street bike lanes, off-street bike paths, and other bicycling infrastructure and educational programs, and offers related policy implications.

To access this full news brief and learn more, click here: http://www.activelivingresearch.org/dailybiketravel#.UZLQ5vhHB_g.twitter

Seven50 Announcement: The Launch of the Leadership Assets Map, Connecting the Region’s Civic Capital

News from National Complete Streets Coalition

A recent newsletter from the National Complete Streets Coalition highlighted important issues around the country dealing with the need for Complete Streets and safe streets:

Walking and Aging — A recent Atlantic Cities article discusses the conflict between recommendations for older adults to walk regularly for mental and physical health and the fact that our streets are not designed to ensure they can do safely. Reporter Sarah Goodyear. Goodyear cites a neuroscientist who explains that moderate exercise — walking — could be the best preventative measure to maintain memory as our brains age. “Yet,” Goodyear goes on, “the streets of many American communities are designed in such a way that taking a simple walk can be a life-threatening proposition, especially for older people, who might move more slowly and have limited vision or other disabilities.”

Incomplete Streets Death: Edith Hamilton — Edith Hamilton, 44, died after a driver hit her on Main Street in Salem, New Hampshire on May 12. Hamilton was on her usual walking trip home from work. Without sidewalks and crosswalks, Main Street and other streets in the area do not safely accommodate pedestrians.

See the full newsletters here: http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets/newsletter

Rent.com: Walkable Neighborhoods: How and Why You Should Keep on Walkin’

A recent article on Rent.com highlights how sustainability and urban planning initiatives have forcefully recognized a need for walkability in our neighborhoods, and Americans largely support the change of direction. From Millennials’ massive migrations to urban cores to baby boomers’ downsizing and moving to more walkable neighborhoods, recent relocation patterns have largely favored transit-friendly, pedestrian-oriented communities.

Walkability is important because it saves money and is also important from a sustainability standpoint. Americans who live in walkable communities significantly decrease their carbon footprints by walking to work every day. They also are more apt to take public transportation, which supports the local economy and allows more residents to give up their own cars.

The article says that more cities and regions all over the country are taking steps to create pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods in cities and suburbs alike. It offers Walkscore.com and Walkonomics as two great resources for finding a neighborhood’s “walkability score” but says the best way to scout out a walkable neighborhood is to, well, walk around!

To learn more and read the full article, click here: http://www.rent.com/blog/walkable-neighborhoods-how-and-why-you-should-keep-on-walkin/

Participate in the Southeastern Women’s Voices Survey

Every Woman Southeast (EWSE) is a coalition of partners across 9 southern states (AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC and TN) focused on improving the health and well-being of women in our region. Women in the South, especially African American women, have poorer health than women in other parts of the country and the world. The Southeastern Women’s Voices Survey is a study that will help us learn more about the barriers that women face in accessing health care, the services and screenings that could benefit women in our region, and how we can reach women with information about the ACA and key preventive health services.

The survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete. All answers are anonymous, so no one will be able to connect the survey responses with the people who gave them. Please complete the survey by June 7th.

To access the survey, please use this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WomensVoicesSurvey.

For more information about Every Woman Southeast, the Affordable Care Act and women’s health, please visit www.EveryWomanSoutheast.org. We will post the survey findings on our website and are happy to do a webinar for your community to talk about the results.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sarah Verbiest, Every Woman Southeast Coalition Director, at 919-843-7865 or sarahv@med.unc.edu. Through this survey we hope to be able to lift up women’s voices and create ACTION steps for change together. Happy Women’s Health Month!