Silver Bow Kiwanis Kiwanis Club Meeting, Apr 17, '12

12:00-1:00 Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Paul, the new Kiwanis Family Ambassador, Matt, the new Vice President, Michaela, the new secretary, Hannah, the past Secretary, and Adriana the current and past President from the Montana Tech Circle K were all here with us today.

Shawn made a preliminary announcement about the Bike Rodeo, and posters are available. If you would like one for your store window check with Keith.

Keith announced that he will be talking about the web site at a meeting in May, and will ask everyone present to name somethign you can do, see, or learn from our club web site, so, as Shane puts it, prepare for a pop-quiz!

Shane introduced Gina Evans from Safe Routes to School, who has been working on developing walking or bicycling routes to schools so that children can get to school safely under their own power. At their last walk to school day in October, over 500 students walked to school. The next walk to school day is May 17, and they are looking for volunteers to help with that.

Last month, there was a state-wide Safe Routes to School meeting, which Butte hosted, and in the next couple of weeks, Journeys from Home will have safety training here in Butte, which our members are being encouraged to participate in.

Since 1960, there has been a 66% drop in the number of kids that bike or walk to school, and this is indicative of the drop in children's activity levels. Over the same time period, there has been a 276% increase in the rate of childhood obesity. Part of the Safe Routes to School program is getting kids active again.

Gina turned the meeting over to Susan Mackey with the Complete Streets program, which is tied in to Safe Routes to Schools in making sure that bicycle and pedestrian routes are available around and through Butte. There are already Complete Streets programs in Billings, Bozeman, Helena, and Missoula, and Great Falls is close to having a program in place. The Butte program in only a couple months into the initial phases, so currently they are working on developing a task force and developing relationships with planers and agencies.

The accident rate in rural areas is 2.7 times higher than in urban areas, and this is significantly correlated to the planning and implementation of infrastructure. Complete Streets programs require planners to consider not just driving, but bicycle, pedestrian, and mass transit when working on any street project, and to remember that making an area usable and safe for people with disabilities is more than just ramps at street corners.

Often these projects are simply a matter of painting lanes a little differently, in other cases, there can be more expense. However, by requiring these considerations early in the planning process, the actual expense can be very minimal.

Another aspect of Complete Streets is maintenance of streets and sidewalks year round, including things like snow removal and trimming obstructing branches.

Presentation

Gina Evans, Safe Routes to School

Menu

Ham and Cheese Omlet

Attendees

27

Event Updated

4:12 Tuesday, April 17, 2012