Walkability

Last month YMCA veteran and walkability expert Liz Lord, MPH, PA, engaged teens attending the statewide 32nd Annual NC YMCA Youth & Government Conference in Raleigh at a workshop all about walkab

North Carolina YMCAs reach out beyond the walls of the Y to support and strengthen communities. For several years, some YMCAs in North Carolina have used walk audits to identify barriers or challenges to walking or biking (as well as rolling strollers and wheelchairs). 

Last month two new walking groups at the Pharr Family YMCA in McAdenville (Gaston County Family YMCA) conducted walk audits to identify challenges for walking and rolling (wheelchairs, strollers, bikes, etc.) throughout the downtown area.

The Alliance partnered with AARP North Carolina in 2019 on a “tactical urbanism” project in Southport, NC, where volunteers created temporary crosswalks and bike lanes with chalk and paint and created a small “parklet.” 

Advocacy works! In July, the Harrison Family YMCA conducted a walk audit in the Rocky Mount Housing Authority’s (RMHA) Weeks Armstrong neighborhood.

Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson and Kelvin Macklin, CEO of the Rocky Mount Housing Authority, joined Harrison Family YMCA staff and walking club members on July 15 for a walk audit in the Weeks Armstrong neighborhood to assess how safe it is to walk or wheelchair roll in the area.

In November 2019, 15 students from the Parkland High School Youth & Government delegation in Winston-Salem conducted a walk audit around their high school to assess how safe it is to walk or bike to their school and in the surrounding community, and to share their findings and recommendations with local policymakers.

The YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina partnered with AARP NC - Coastal on Sept. 13, 2019, on a tactical urbanism (TU) project to demonstrate the need for a crosswalk in Southport, N.C., to support a safe, healthy and active community in this popular resort town.

What does the landscape look like in North Carolina for safe walking and biking? There’s plenty of work to be done.