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Strategic Alliance for Health Communities Resolve to Complete the Streets
The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians – Strategic Alliance for Health (SAH) Project is pleased to announce that all four SAH communities have passed Complete Streets Resolutions in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Complete Streets are those that are designed and maintained to be safe and accessible for all users of all abilities, and not just motorized vehicles.
Sault Ste. Marie was the first SAH community to adopt a Complete Streets resolution in August of 2010. Manistique followed in September, with St. Ignace in December 2010. The City of Munising passed their resolution on February 21, 2011. SAH coalition members in each community worked with city leadership to develop the resolutions which demonstrate a commitment to plan, build and improve non-motorized transportation infrastructure as part of street repair and construction projects.
Improving the walkability and bikeability of their communities is one piece of the SAH project which is working toward making lasting policy, systems, and environmental changes to increase access to physical activity, healthy nutrition, and reduced tobacco use and exposure.
In June and July of 2011, the Sault Tribe SAH will be partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to bring the 2nd Annual Let’s Get Moving – Community Challenge to Manistique, Munising, St. Ignace, and Sault Ste Marie, along with the SAH mentored communities of Newberry and Kinross. The Community Challenge encourages the use of non-motorized transportation as community teams compete by earning miles for exercise, healthy nutrition and tobacco-free lifestyles. Each community will receive awards from BCBS-Michigan based on their team’s average per person mileage. The funds will be used by the cities to make some type of infrastructure change to enhance access to healthy behaviors within their community.
For more information about Complete Streets, the Sault Tribe SAH project or the Community Challenge, please contact one of the community coordinators:
- Kerry Ott, Manistique – [email protected]
- Randy Sundell, Munising – [email protected]
- Jeanette O’Rourke, St. Ignace – [email protected]
- Michelle Conway, Sault Ste. Marie – [email protected]
Downtown Manistique, Michigan.
On Monday September 13, 2010, the Manistique City Council unanimously passed a Complete Streets Resolution – making them only the second city in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to do so!
The Manistique Strategic Alliance for Health Coalition in partnership with the City of Manistique first started working on the Complete Streets project after Walkable Communities Expert, Dan Burden, conducted a walking audit and training in Manistique in October 2009.
After months of presentations in the community, and working with City Administration and members of the City Council, the draft Complete Streets resolution was presented in August of 2010. This came only weeks after Governor Jennifer Granholm signed two new bills into law requiring MDOT to develop a Complete Streets plan and for communities to consider all users as they design and construct streets, sidewalks, bikepaths and other transportation infrastructure.
The City Council and leadership of the City of Manistique, is to be commended as they understand the benefits that Complete Streets can bring to the health of our citizens and the economic health and vitality of our community. The key now is to work to secure funding that can begin to make these infrastructure changes a reality, and improve accessibility for all transportation users in the City of Manistique: pedestrians, bicyclists, motor vehicles and other users.
The City of Manistique is a town of about 3000 residents, located on the shore of Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula.
For more information on the Manistique Complete Streets Resolution, please contact Kerry Ott, Strategic Alliance for Health Community Coordinator at 906-341-9561 or [email protected].
Complete Streets Resolution for Manistique, Michigan
Passed by unanimous vote of the Manistique City Council on September 13, 2010
WHEREAS, increasing walking and bicycling offers the potential for greater health of the population, and more livable communities; and
WHEREAS, A Complete Street is safe, comfortable, and convenient for travel by automobile, foot, bicycle, and transit regardless of age or ability, and
WHEREAS, The Michigan Legislature has passed Complete Streets legislation that requires the Michigan Department of Transportation and local governments to consider all users in transportation related projects; and
WHEREAS, the Michigan Planning Enabling Act has been amended, requiring that all transportation improvements identified in a plan are appropriate to the context of the community and considers all legal users of the public right of way; and
WHEREAS, Complete Streets support economic growth and community stability by providing accessible and efficient connections between home, school, work, recreation and retail destinations by improving the pedestrian and vehicular environments throughout communities; and
WHEREAS, Complete Streets enhance safe walking and bicycling options for school-age children, in recognition of the objectives of the national Safe Routes to School program; and
WHEREAS, the City of Manistique recognizes the importance of street infrastructure and modifications such as sidewalks, crosswalks, shared use paths, bicycle lanes, signage, narrow vehicle lanes and accessible curb ramps, that enable safe, convenient, and comfortable travel for all users; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Manistique, to the extent feasible, will include Complete Streets design considerations and practices as a routine part of infrastructure planning and implementation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Manistique supports the future development of a non-motorized transportation plan and a Complete Streets ordinance that supports ease of use and safety for all users of transportation systems within the City of Manistique.
As reported in the Daily Press:
Coalition promotes healthy lifestyles
MANISTIQUE - The city of Manistique has received a long to-do list from Dan Burden to make the community more walkable. Burden is a nationally recognized authority on bicycle and pedestrian programs who conducted a walkability audit last October. In a recently released draft report, Burden addresses areas of concern and provides suggestions for correcting problems that have befallen many Upper Peninsula cities.
Expert wants ‘walkable’ U.P. cities
MANISTIQUE - The Manistique Strategic Alliance for Health (SAH) Coalition is looking to break the tradition of short-term health initiatives and programs. The coalition, which is a creation of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, has been busily preparing and planning for a permanent, community-wide makeover that includes two key improvements.
The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program, in conjunction with a Complete Streets initiative and the creation of a farmer’s market, have become the central focus in a long list of initiatives being tackled by the coalition. According to Kerry Ott, community coordinator for Manistique, the goal of SAH is to encourage healthy lifestyles in order to prevent things like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.
