Pedestrian/Biker Safety discussed in Springfield

Look up!  Look down!   Look all around when you’re out and about town . . . . and look at things from a pedestrian’s view. 

At the invitation of the Springfield Community Wellness Team, a group of community leaders went for a walk in Springfield the morning of September 23 to assess walking / biking areas in our town. The goal was to identify features that support and create challenges for this type of activity in our community.

They were asked to consider how environment influences decisions or interactions; and the economic impact of complete streets.

Complete streets are streets for everyone. They are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users including pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Complete streets make it easy to cross the street, walk to shops, and bicycle to work and school.

The goal is to make walking and biking more attractive and to encourage people to become more active and healthy. In a recent survey done by the Mayo Clinic Health System, 58% of respondents said they don’t get enough physical activity because of lack of time. Others indicated cost of being involved in various programs or gym membership, while others said they don’t want to be active. 

“How can we incorporate activity into our day so that there are no barriers?” asked Brown County Public Health Nurse Melissa Hoffmann, who facilitated the discussion. People can incorporate activity into their daily lives, she suggested, by walking to school, walking to work, and walking to the post office or doing errands. 

for more on this story check this week's Springfield Advance-Press

Discussing concerns for pedestrian/biker safety at the intersection of  Highway 14 and Cass Avenue during the walk audit are Springfield Elementary Principal Jeff Kuehn, City Manager Matt Skaret, Brown County Public Health Nurse Karen Moritz, Community member / Hospital Board member Sharon Pieschel, Hospital Administrator Scott Thoreson, Brown County Public Health Nurse Melissa Hoffmann, Superintendent of Schools Keith Kottke, Mayo Clinic Health System Dietitian Linda Carruthers, and Springfield Childhood Wellness Committee member Donna Woidylla. Springfield Advance-Press Editor Doris Weber also participated in the walk and took this picture.