Today's Recommended Reading -- Finding A Balance

Balancing Public Space with Public Health

For many Americans, the drive from work or school to home is all too familiar: it begins with a long, multi-lane road infamous for its strip malls, lack of sidewalks, and high pedestrian fatality rates. It progresses to a jumble of connecting interstate highways packed with rush-hour traffic. And it ends with clusters of new, low-density, single-family residential developments lacking public parks, playgrounds, libraries, nearby stores or cafes, sidewalks, bicycle trails, and public transit. In much of this country, adults and children travel by private automobile to virtually all of their destinations, because they have no practical transportation alternatives. In poor communities, adults often rely on inadequate public transportation to get to work. Their children end up walking through unsafe neighborhoods to get to school.

Public health has traditionally addressed the "built environment" to tackle specific health issues such as sanitation, lead paint, workplace safety, fire codes, and access for persons with disabilities. We now realize that how we design the built environment may hold tremendous potential for addressing many of the nation's greatest current public health concerns, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, injury, depression, violence, and social inequities. Almost everything in our built environment is the way it is because someone designed it that way. We still have a remarkable capacity to plan ahead, shape the future, and adapt to new settings. This series will offer best practice examples that will inform the building of safer, more beautiful and healthier communities.

Balancing Public Space with Public Health, a new public television documentary series and public health outreach initiative, will explore how communities across the country are re-thinking and redesigning their built environments. More and more American communities are looking at the direct correlation of green public spaces and improved public health. The PBS series will be supported by a nationwide community-based outreach and publicity/promotion campaign, interactive web site, educational curricula for elementary school through college, a companion book, video resource library, and more.

Other resources for Balancing Public Space with Public Health:
Download the full project proposal (pdf, 1.1 MB)

Man eludes search after stabbing teen riding a bike on Thun Trail in Cumru Township

Dear Bicyclists and Pedestrians -- Trail Lovers across Berks County and beyond:

Take a moment to read this articled. When you have finished, please write to WalkBikeBerks and to the Reading Eagle to support trail use -- and to protect the riders and walkers who travel on this section of the Thun Trail.

~Michele

Man eludes search after stabbing teen riding a bike on Thun Trail in Cumru Township

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Report an incident here:
http://www.trailreporter.com/

Public Health Community Lines Up Behind Complete Streets

Public Health Community Lines Up Behind Complete Streets

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Transportation Design Impacts How We Live Our Lives

It is so vitally important that you participate in transportation design in your own community -- as it impacts your time, costs, and way of life. One of many ways for you to become involved is to attend any one of the following meetings to learn what decisions are going to effect you in the near future. If you are not able to attend these meetings, consider joining WalkBikeBerks so that we are able to help you be actively involved in community design.

The Reading Area Transportation Study is the designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for transportation in Berks County. Below is the official 2009 schedule of meetings for both the Technical Committee and the Coordinating Committee. As they are prepared and approved, links to meeting agendas and minutes will be added.

Technical Committee
Coordinating Committee
January 8 (Agenda)(Minutes)
January 15 (Agenda)(Minutes)
February 5 (CANCELLED)

February 24, 9:00 A.M.
SPECIAL STIMULUS MEETING
(Agenda)(Minutes)
March 5 (Agenda)(Minutes)
March 19 (Agenda)(Minutes)
April 2 (CANCELLED)

May 7 (Agenda)(Minutes)
May 21 (Agenda)(Minutes)
June 4 (Agenda)(Minutes)

July 2 (CANCELLED)
July 16 (Agenda)(Minutes)
August 6 (Agenda)(Minutes)

September 3 (Agenda)(Minutes)
September 17 (Agenda)(Minutes)
October 1 (Agenda)(Minutes)

November 5 (Agenda)(Minutes)
November 19 (Agenda)(Minutes)
December 3 (Agenda)(Minutes)


Link to 2008 Meeting schedule, agendas and minutes
Link to 2007 Meeting schedule, agendas and minutes
Link to 2006 Meeting schedule, agendas and minutes
Link to 2005 Meeting schedule, agendas and minutes

All meetings begin at 1:30 p.m. and are held in the Conference Room of the Berks County Planning Commission, 633 Court Street, 14th Floor, Reading, PA. This location is accessible to persons having disabilities, and is accessible to BARTA fixed-route service. Any person having special needs or requiring special aid is requested to contact Alan Piper, Transportation Planner at 610-478-6300.

New Report Finds Obesity Epidemic Increases, Mississippi Weighs in as Heaviest State

New Report Finds Obesity Epidemic Increases, Mississippi Weighs in as Heaviest State

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Safe Transportation Means Better Public Health! (Congress)

CLICK HERE.

Please send your Representative a message in support of safe transportation. It’s a public health, human rights, and economic development issue! For more information, visit http://www.makeroadssafe.org/.

Join Us to Make Berks County Streets Safer, Healthier, Stronger, More Livable

Board Meeting
Saturday, July 25
9:00 AM
*LOCATION: GOGGLE WORKS
201 Washington Street, Reading, PA 19601

*Please note that our regular meeting location is the Holy Cross Church at 329 N. 5th Street, Reading. This location change is only for this one meeting -- and we will return to the Holy Cross Church for meetings in the future.