Upcoming Request for Proposals  - Healthy Eating Active Living

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) within the next couple of months related to healthy eating and active living.

DPH will solicit proposals from cities, non-profit organizations, and/or school districts in Los Angeles County to adopt one or more plans or policies that will create an environment where it is convenient, safe and easy for community members to eat healthfully and participate in physical activity every day. Selected Proposers will receive up to $125,000 per year for up to four years, based upon continued availability of funds.

This grant program is made possible by an award received by the Department of Public Health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Transformation Grants initiative. Check this website periodically for updates. You may also register on the County’s webven system to receive a notification once the RFP is released: http://camisvr.co.la.ca.us/webven/ and select the “Human Resources” vendor code.

Estimating Cost to Build Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure in the SCAG Region

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is currently updating its Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The RTP is a long-range (25-year) transportation plan for the SCAG region which can help reduce air pollution, significantly increase the walkability and bikeability of cities in the region, and expand the public transit system.

To support SCAG’s efforts in making difficult resource allocation decisions, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LAC DPH) estimated the cost of creating pedestrian and bicycle improvements throughout the SCAG region. The accompanying document (PowerPoint pdf) provides the calculations and assumptions used in our draft analysis. There are three components to the analysis: (1) bicycle costs; 2) pedestrian costs; 3) bicycle and pedestrian costs in Transit Oriented Districts (TODs). The estimate we calculated is $40 billion over the 25-year period.

El Monte Pushes Healthy Agenda with Change to General Plan
On June 20th, 2011 the El Monte City Council unanimously approved the Health and Wellness Element portion of the city’s General Plan. In doing so, the city hopes to address high rates of obesity that plague El Monte. The goal of the element is to align transportation and land use planning with health-related goals. The element provides policies and strategies that will help address health topics in the city. The Health and Wellness Element was funded by the LA County Department of Public Health. For more information visit the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Glendale Adopts Safe and Healthy Streets Plan
On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, the City of Glendale unanimously voted to adopt the Safe & Healthy Streets Plan. Using Department of Public Health PLACE grant funding, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition worked with the City of Glendale to develop the plan over the past three years. The goal of the Plan is to help make Glendale streets a safer place for pedestrians and cyclists and get people out of their cars and onto bikes and sidewalks. The next step is implementation of the Plan to help achieve these goals. Example policies and programs recommended for implementation include creating a bike and pedestrian map, establishing a pedestrian and bicyclist advisory committee, and establishing city-organized rides and walks. All of the policies in the Plan as well as the implementation timeline can be accessed by clicking here.

Culver City Adopts Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan
Culver City recently adopted its first-ever Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan which will serve as an official guideline for developing policies, programs and facilities needed to support walking and biking in the city. The document proposes a bicycle network of 36.88 miles of bikeways — 6.5 miles of bike lanes, 9.73 miles of “Shared Roadway Bicycle Marking,” 5.61 miles of bike routes and 14.62 miles of potential bike friendly streets — and pedestrian zones and corridors that include extensive streetscape and landscape improvements. The development of the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan was funded by a Department of Public Health PLACE grant.
For more information visit Los Angeles Wave

City of Los Angeles Adopts Bicycle Master Plan
The City of Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan was adopted March 1, 2011. The plan aims to create a citywide network by designating 1700 miles of bike lanes. To achieve this goal, 40 miles of bikeways are to be built every year and existing gaps will be closed to create connectivity within the city. The plan has three primary networks for cyclists including: the Backbone Network (providing access to major attractions such as transit hubs); the Neighborhood Network (providing access on local streets for cyclists who prefer slower paced routes); and the Green Network (providing access to cycling paths and green spaces such as areas along the LA River.

Report: Transportation and Health - Policy Interventions for Safer, Healthier People and Communities
This report provides policy recommendations in the following areas: a) policies that improve the environment and environmental health; b) policies that enhance community design and promote active transportation; c) policies that reduce motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities. The report is authored by the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) at UC Berkeley and was made possible by a cooperative agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Partnership for Prevention.

Separated Bikeways Open in Long Beach
The City of Long Beach recently opened a separated bikeway, also known a a cycle track, along 3rd Street and Broadway in downtown. The separated bikeway protects bicyclists riding in the street from cars by installing a variety of barriers. To see how such a bikeway works, take a look at the animated video below explaining how cycle tracks and buffered bike lanes work in Portland.

Newly painted bike lane near 7th Street and Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles