January 26, 2013
Doraville Active Living Initiative – Going Strong in 2013! 0
The Doraville Active Living Initiative was born out of a grant from the CDC for their ““Building a Healthy Nation/ Strategic Alliance for Health” project. The grant allowed various residents, community groups, and other stakeholders in the city to develop a plan for promoting more “Active Living” opportunities. The final plan that was developed can be read here.
A Facebook page for the Active Living Initiative has been created for interested members of the community and can be found here.
There were a few key goals which were identified in the categories of “Built Environment,” “Employer Incentives,” and “Sustainability:”
Built Environment
Goal #1: Improve the pedestrian experience
- Install new sidewalks and repair existing sidewalks
- Install new crosswalks and improve existing crosswalks near schools and parks
- Implement traffic calming measures
- Enforce city codes
Goal #2: Improve the bicycling experience
- Provide ample bicycle parking throughout the community
- Encourage safely for bicyclists on shared roads
Goal #3: Improve connectivity to active living opportunities
- Improve access to active living opportunities at community parks
- Improve access to community schools
Employer Incentives
Goal #1: Promote a healthy workplace
- Share information among employees that promotes health and wellness
- Offer free, low-cost, and frequent health screenings to employees
Goal #2: Promote awareness of active living opportunities
- Coordinate with the City of Doraville to increase access to and awareness of active living opportunities
Sustainability
Goal #1: Encourage neighborhood unity
- Maintain the Active Living Steering Committee
- Encourage Doraville residents to participate in hands-on improvement projects
- Celebrate successes
Goal #2: Promote awareness of active living opportunities
- Share the Adult and Youth Active Living Directory
- Develop a way-finding signage system for active living opportunities
The group just had its first meeting of 2013, and is planning to begin reaching out to people in the neighborhoods and in other parts of the community to start promoting projects that were laid out in the plan. We are also searching for grants that could help fund said projects and hope that the Doraville City Council will pass a resolution supporting our efforts in the near future (even if they don’t provide financial support for now).
If you’re interested in getting involved, please become a fan of the Facebook page, or leave a comment with your contact information below. You can also e-mail me at Joseph at Doraville dot Org.
