Harrisburg, PA - WalkWorks, a program of the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, awarded nine communities in the Commonwealth with $210,000 in grants to assist in the development of Active Transportation Plans and increase physical activity by connecting local destinations with improved pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks.
Grant recipients will work over the next year with transportation and community planners to collect data, assess current conditions and aspirations, and incorporate public input to craft the Active Transportation Plans. The program benefits from its partnership with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its funding of two of the grant recipients.
“Moving our bodies is important to improving our overall health, helping to prevent stress and diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Walking is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to do that, and walking outside has the extra benefits of sunshine, fresh air, and taking in the beauty of nature—all of which are good for our physical and mental health,” said Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “WalkWorks supports healthy communities by enabling more people to have the option of walking or biking to places they go every day.”
“Creating roadmaps for improved walking and bicycling can help solve many challenges facing communities, including cleaner air, less noise and traffic congestion, and improving the health and quality of life for residents,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said. “DCNR is happy to work with the Department of Health and communities to create more trails that connect places, get people outdoors and active, and draw visitors who spend money.”
This year’s grant recipients are:
Allegheny County –
- Bethel Park Township: $25,000
- Churchill Borough: $19,375
- South Fayette Township: $11,250
Cambria County –
- Southmont Borough: $24,375
Lehigh County –
- South Whitehall Township: $20,000
Luzerne County –
- City of Pittston: $35,000
Northampton County –
- City of Easton: $35,000
- Palmer Township: $20,000
Westmoreland County –
- City of Greensburg: $20,000
Living in, working in, or visiting communities with safe, beautiful, functional, and accessible public spaces and streets means being able to use activity-friendly routes to get to key destinations. Opportunities like that help to increase physical activity and reduce obesity and chronic disease, which simultaneously improves individual health, expands economic vitality, and reduces health care costs.
This year’s WalkWorks grants embody and acknowledge the connections and needed coordination between transportation policy and public health.
“Our goal is safe, accessible, and inviting transportation options for all, not just the fit and fearless. WalkWorks helps communities understand and apply safe streets for all principles to transportation planning around the Commonwealth,” said Samantha Pearson, Healthy Communities Program Manager at the Pennsylvania Downtown Center and coordinator of the WalkWorks Program. “We are making strides in adjusting our surroundings to make them pro-access, pro-activity, and pro-health. Our collaboration can lead to healthier people, more resilient communities, safer streets and roads, and stronger local economies.”
The grant recipients were selected from a pool of high-quality applicants by a multidisciplinary review team that included representatives from the Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Department of Community and Economic Development.
The WalkWorks program is committed to expanding walkability, bikeability, accessibility, and connectivity to transit across Pennsylvania and encourages residents to incorporate activity-friendly routes into daily routines.
Funding for the grants is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program, as well as additional funding from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, for two of the awardees.
For more information about WalkWorks, visit the PA WalkWorks website.
Visit the Explore PA Trails and Get Outdoors PA website for information on recreational resources.
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