Posts Tagged ‘ADOT’

The “Community Plan”

May 7th, 2013

Strategic community planning is an effective tool to improve population health.  That’s why organizations like the Livable Communities Coalition are so important as they help Arizona communities to become places that improve those social and environmental determinants of health that make such a big impact on population health and public health outcomes.  But how do you drill public health into city zoning, transportation, economic development, real estate development and finance etc.? 

Fortunately, a few great organizations like Urban Land Institute, ADOT, AZ Dept. of Housing, AZ American Planning Association, County Supervisors Association, AZ Association of Economic Development, and the League of AZ Cities and Towns have come together to help create workshops that focus on a holistic approach to land use planning, zoning, transportation, economic development, real estate development and finance.   The key word  “holistic” since we’d like communities to view these disciplines together and understand their connectedness as opposed to in silos. 

The workshops- known as the Community Plan are a free service for public officials at the local level.  They’re 2 to 4-hour workshops with group discussions, case studies, expert speakers, and valuable take-aways.  Workshops can be scheduled upon request depending on instructor availability. Contact Deb Sydenham, the Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute to talk about your community’s issues and to learn more about the Community Plan today.

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Holiday weekends call for extra care when driving

September 2nd, 2011

Over the last decade the Labor Day weekend has become one of the most dangerous weekends for car crashes (along with 4th of July and Thanksgiving weekends)…  so this weekend is a great time to think road safety.   Arizona has decreased the death rate from car, truck and motorcycle crashes by almost 50% in the last 5 years- but crashes are still the leading cause of death for people between 3 and 34.

Policy makers at various levels of government and the public at large can have an impact at reducing rates even further- but effective interventions require solid data.  Do you have partners or Stakeholders that need motor vehicle crash data to help make policy or staffing decisions?  Their first stop should be ADOT’s annual motor vehicle Crash Facts Report.  It provides a bonanza of useful data & statistics ranging from total crashes and fatalities and causes, percentages of incidents that were alcohol related, data on rural v. urban crashes and fatalities- even which days and times of days have more collisions (Friday afternoon is the peak for crashes including fatalities).  There are data about road conditions, lighting, even the kinds of crashes (head ons v. rear enders).  Lots of the data is broken down by gender and age too.  In short, it’s a gold mine for data about motor vehicle incidents and injuries in AZ.

It’s not just public officials that can make a difference… you can too.  For example, your community can work with the AZ Department of Transportation to conduct a Road Safety Assessment on state, local and tribal road facilities. The program is really a way for the public to bring road safety concerns to ADOT’s attention.  If you have an idea in your community you start working with your local transportation authority and other community members about making changes.   If your concern is part of the highway system you can contact ADOT or maybe even fill out their Road Safety Assessment Application.

By the way- car engineering improvements have greatly improved vehicle safety.  Check out this 2 minute video to see how a ’59 Bel Air fares v. a lighter ’09 Malibu at 40 MPH.  Make sure you watch the second half which shows what happens to the driver’s compartment.

Remember – buckle up, no matter when you’re on the road, but especially as you head out for the long holiday weekend.

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It’s Back to School for Teen Drivers

August 29th, 2011

Back-to-school time means that a new bolus of high-schoolers that got their license over the summer are hitting the streets for the first time during the school year.  All the data suggests that the first year of driving is an especially important time for safe driving skill development.  Fortunately, our State has a “Graduated Drivers License” provision to help better develop skills and limit distractions- keys to safe driving habits. 

So what’s a Graduated Driver’s License?  It means that for the first 6 months that a teen holds a license they can’t drive between midnight and 5 a.m. unless they have a parent in the car or are driving directly to or from a school or religious activity, a job or a family emergency.  They’re also limited to 1 passenger under 18 (except for siblings).  These limits are based on data that shows that late night driving and driving with other teen peer passengers sharply increase the risks of having a car crash.  There are three basic steps to this system, detailed on ADOT’s website.  A system like ours is estimated to reduce fatal crashes among 16 year olds by 20%. 

If you’re a concerned Arizona parent that’s looking for additional (evidence based) guidance that goes above and beyond the state limits check out (and share) the CDC’s new 60-second “Parents Are the Key” video about safe teen driving.  Parents can make a positive difference when it comes to preventing the number one killer of teens in the United States—car crashes by: 1) making sure your teen always wears a seat belt; 2) limiting your teen’s nighttime driving; 3) limiting the number of teen passengers allowed in the car to 1 or 2 at the most; and 4) having clear expectations about texting and phone use while your teen drives. You might also want to reinforce your rules with a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement.  You can also join a conversation about safe teen driving on the Facebook.

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Gettin’ to School

July 7th, 2011

If you’re my age, you probably walked or biked to school- it was a basic part of our culture. Unfortunately the tradition has been lost (for now).  In 1969 half of all kids walked or bicycled to and from school and almost 90% of kids that lived within a mile of school walked or biked.  Today only 15% of kids walk or bike, and the number of trips made by cars has skyrocketed (I’m guilty with my kids too).

We’re trying to change that.  We just launched our new online assessment tool called the Active School Neighborhood Checklist as a first step. We’re partnering with the Arizona Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School Program to develop a tool that generates a score which represents the walkability, bikeability and safety of schools.  The results of this assessment will help communities, school facilities professionals, schools, and city officials identify barriers that prevent students from walking and biking to school each day and create solutions to encourage neighborhoods to be more physically active.

Many thanks go to the WIC Information Technology team for creating this first-of-its-kind instrument.  We’re very proud of its partnership with ADOTs Safe Routes to School Program — a key connection between the built environment and health.

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