[Vision2020] PR - Idaho Smart Growth Workshops

[Stephanie Kalasz]

Press Release - Multimodal Accessibility Workshops

 

To:      Interested Media

From:  Gary J. Riedner, City Supervisor

            206 E. 3rd St., Moscow, Idaho 83843

Telephone: (208) 883-7006; Fax: (208) 883-7018

E-mail: griedner at ci.moscow.id.us

c:         Mayor, City Council, All City Users

Re:      City of Moscow Press Release

Date:   May 17, 2010

 

 

For Immediate Release:

 

City of Moscow Hosts Multimodal Accessibility Workshops 

 

Moscow, Idaho - The City of Moscow is hosting two workshops on May 20,
conducted by Idaho Smart Growth about policies and best practices that
support Safe Routes to School.  Sessions will be held at Moscow City
Hall in Council Chambers, 206 E Third Street.  The first will include
technical details and a problem solving exercise on complete streets
from 10 - 11:30 a.m.  The second is a community based workshop with time
for questions and answers from 6 - 7:30 p.m.  The workshops are being
offered thanks to support from the Idaho Transportation Department.

 

The Safe Routes to School program is intended to address needed
infrastructure improvements and provide education to assist and
encourage families and children to walk to school.  Currently only half
of children who live within a mile of school walk or bicycle to school.
Parents are choosing to drive children who live close to school because
their neighborhood streets lack essential safety features, such as
adequate sidewalks, for pedestrians and bicyclists, and where speed and
volume of cars has been the main priority in designing the streets.  

 

Presentations and discussion topics will include:

 

Community Design and Convenience - Mixing housing and commercial uses
near each other - the norm for centuries - creates neighborhoods where
the convenience of getting to and from different places is a key
feature.  This reduces driving, saves time, is healthier for residents
and offers more choices in housing and transportation.

 

School Siting - Students can only walk or bike to school if the school
is close and there are safe facilities for walking and biking.  Local
decisions determine where schools are built, how big they are, how
schools are place on the site and whether there are good pedestrian and
bike connections.

 

Complete Streets - For 50 years we have designed streets for safe
comfortable travel by car.  Wide travel lanes, few and dangerous
sidewalks, bike lanes and pedestrian crossing discourage can multimodal
users.  The hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on Idaho roads every
year provides an opportunity to invest in "complete streets' to serve
all transportation users.

 

The Safe Routes to School program is intended to address needed
infrastructure improvements and provide education to assist and
encourage families and children to walk to school.  Currently only half
of children who live within a mile of school walk or bicycle to school.
Parents are choosing to drive children who live close to school because
their neighborhood streets lack essential safety features, such as
adequate sidewalks, for pedestrians and bicyclists, and where speed and
volume of cars has been the main priority in designing the streets.  

 

For more information or to attend the workshops, please RSVP to Elaine
Clegg, Special Projects Manager for Idaho Smart Growth - 208-333-8066.

 

###

 

The City of Moscow delivers quality municipal services while ensuring
responsible use of resources.  We anticipate and meet the needs of our
diverse population in order to build public trust and enhance a sense of
community.

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