Put Your Town on A "Road Diet"

"Crimes of the Heart," a Health/Prevention article in the February 15, 2010 edition of Newsweek magazine, covers the waterfront of heart health. "Warn about cigarettes," "Reduce salt," "Subsidize whole grains," and...."towns should start a 'road diet': slim down roads a lane or two and substitute a sidewalk."  Whoa, run that by again? Dan Burden, executive director of the Walkable and Livable  Communities Institute makes the point that when sidewalks are built in a city, people start walking. When people start walking, they get healthier. And another benefit is that anything built to a walkable scale leases out for three to five times more money than non-walkable properties: more tax revenue on less infrastructure. 

Dan Buettner of Blue Zones Vitality Project has successfully implemented these theories with a huge project involving the 18,000 citizens in Albert Lea, Minnesota. The idea is to get a whole town to adopt healthy habits so painlessly, they don't realize the radical changes in their lives.

Dan changes the thinking about transportation and gets the whole town engaged. The town added sidewalks and built a five-mile walking path. Biking and walking are up, restaurants are making changes, people attend "purpose workshops" and get motivated. One creative idea is a "walk bus." Adults cover a route from homes to school, picking up pedestrian students along the way. The kids get exercise, socialize, breath the nice Minnesota air.

Over a 6 week measurement period, more than 700 people joined walking groups; nearly 1,000 people took workshops to help find purpose in their lives; and two-thirds of the restaurants added healthy offerings to their menu.

Here's a thought--maybe now we can get medical grants for downtown infrastructure improvements!