Council’s Corner

Active Transport: improving our quality of life

Washington City has many assets, but three that I am focused on today: friendly citizens, nearly continual sunshine, and undeveloped land. That’s a combination that is hard to resist. Hence, we have a lot of growth. In the midst of that is the question: How can we best support a healthy population, and provide access to our beauty, parks, commercial zones, and recreational opportunities? Hippocrates once said “ Walking is man’s best medicine” and on September 28, 2017, Washington City officials passed a plan to prioritize this type of medicine and support our rapid growth.

An active transportation component has been adopted into our master plan. Active transportation can be defined as any self-propelled, human-powered mode of transportation, such as walking or bicycling. This can include biking to work instead of driving, walking to the grocery store, or having your children ride their bikes to school.

One of the overall goals is to connect Washington City and the surrounding areas by use of bike lanes, trails, and connecting sidewalks. The vision of the committee is that “Washington City will improve its quality of life and collective health by creating and promoting an integrated bikeway, sidewalk, and trail system for transportation and recreation that will connect neighborhoods, places of work, and commercial centers.”

The additional suggested mileage will offer great economic and health advantages for our community. “Looking at it from a public health perspective, there are tremendous health benefits to having a more walkable community”, said Audrie Frehner, Health Educator and member of the Washington City Active Transportation Committee. “Having walkable communities has shown that residents are twice as likely to meet the daily physical activity recommendation.”

Data collected and shared in the plan states that there are approximately 94.5 miles of walking and bicycling facilities in Washington city today. We have a set plan, that after implementation, those existing miles will increase to 244 total miles. Within the next few years you will see changes of connectivity throughout Washington City through bike paths, sidewalks, and trails.

As we continue with this effort, the following questions are on the forefront of our minds: What could Washington City’s network of trails, bike lanes, and sidewalks become in the future?

Where do these recommendations come from? And who benefits from the recommendations in the plan? We will continue to make efforts to implement the goals of the active transportation plan and the vision that we hold for Washington City.

As we move into the next phase, we are filling out the work of the committee to implement the plan.

A special thanks to Committee members, and organizations, : Washington City Public Works, Leisure Services, Southwest Utah Public Health Department, Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization, Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance, Washington County School District, Utah Department of Transportation, Horrocks Engineers, Alta Planning and Design,City Leadership and Washington City citizens.

As we move into the next phase, we are filling out the work of the committee to implement the plan. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE to implement the plan in a variety of ways: Implementation in various departments, programs to enhance awareness and use; expansion of accessible recreation that relates to this plan; developing policy and standards that will serve us in the future; continual attention to city transportation and planning efforts, and publicity and promotion of healthy, active engagement.

We invite your participation in the implementation of the Active Transportation Plan and the additional resources that Washington City will have to offer. Call Audrie Frehner at 435-986- 2567 and volunteer if you have interest and/or skills that can assist us to design a city that serves us well in these areas.

Kolene Granger

Councilwoman

kgranger@WashingtonCity.org

Audrie Frehner

Southwest Utah Public Health Department

435-986-2567