MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release

Transcription

1 MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release Contact: Kelly Kennedy, Exec. Dir How - - Is Your? Connecticut Releases First Ever -by- card Hartford, CT (July 1, 2014) As part of a new complete streets initiative, Connecticut released a first-of-its-kind ranking of the state s cities towns on how bike walk-friendly they are. Simsbury (1), New Haven (2), New Britain (3), Glastonbury (4), Middletown (5) claim top honors as the five most bike- walk-friendly communities. The scorecard appears on the following pages online. The scorecard rankings are based on an online, statewide public opinion survey that ran this spring was open to anyone who lives or works in Connecticut. The rankings are also based on municipal leadership engagement efforts whether cities or towns have bicycle pedestrian master plans; citizen task forces or advisory groups; complete streets policies; whether they have conducted any public outreach efforts related to cycling, walking or complete streets. The surveys scorecard are expected to be conducted annually as part of Connecticut s new five-year initiative to make it safer easier to walk bike by implementing complete streets in cities towns across Connecticut. streets make it easier safer for people to get around on foot or by bike, so they can be more physically active. Kelly Kennedy, Executive Director of Connecticut, explains that We want this project to encourage cities towns to take a really robust approach to complete streets being bike- walk-friendly. Being able to get around safely by bike or on foot isn t just a fad or a health issue or environmental issue. It s an economic development issue. s that are bike- walk-friendly are great places to live, work, shop play. Connecticut has also started to develop an online repository for complete streets resources. What are? are streets that are designed to be safe for everyone to use. make it easier safer to walk bike to work, to school, to transit, for errs, or just for pleasure exercise. Connecticut s law (Conn. Gen. Stat f) requires pedestrians, cyclists, transit users to be routinely considered in the planning, designing, construction operation of all roads.

2 About the Project: Page 2 This project is made possible through the financial support of the Connecticut Department of Health through Cooperative Agreement 1305 from the Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC), the purpose of which is to promote statewide implementation of policies actions to promote health prevent control chronic diseases. About Connecticut: Connecticut is a statewide, member-supported 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that works to make Connecticut a better place to bike walk. For more information updates on this Initiative, visit This publication does not express the views of the Connecticut Department of Health or the State of Connecticut. The views opinions expressed are those of the authors. Connecticut

3 Connecticut friendly, -friendly card LEGEND: Yes, 25 points No, 5 points IDK I don't know, 1 point No response, 0 points 1 Simsbury New Haven New Britain IDK Glastonbury Middletown IDK Canton Weston Hamden Plainville South Windsor Coventry Torrington Meriden IDK Milford IDK IDK Ridgefield IDK Hartford IDK Manchester Stonington IDK Old Saybrook Southbury Colchester IDK Somers Andover IDK Lebanon IDK East Lyme IDK Barkhamsted Madison Essex IDK Stratford Hebron Woodbridge IDK Groton Sprague IDK

4 Connecticut friendly, -friendly card Page 2 30 Wethersfield IDK Enfield Washington IDK East Hampton IDK New Milford Ellington Franklin Suffield IDK Windsor Locks Chester IDK IDK Windham IDK Union IDK IDK Columbia Southington East Hartford IDK Greenwich Durham IDK Windsor Newtown IDK IDK Granby Kent IDK IDK Eastford IDK Clinton IDK New Canaan Middlefield IDK Guilford IDK Avon Stafford IDK Bolton IDK IDK Ledyard IDK Branford IDK Brookfield Mansfield Salisbury New Hartford IDK Haddam Connecticut

5 Connecticut friendly, -friendly card Page 3 63 Vernon East Haddam IDK Litchfield Cromwell IDK Wallingford IDK Monroe Plymouth Willington Westbrook Easton Deep River IDK Bristol Bethany Toll IDK Cheshire Farmington Bethel Norfolk Bridgewater IDK Derby IDK IDK Canaan IDK IDK Chaplin Westport West Hartford Orange IDK Woodstock IDK East Granby Newington IDK IDK Norwich Old Lyme IDK Putnam IDK Berlin IDK IDK Bethlehem Watertown IDK North Branford IDK East Windsor Connecticut

6 Connecticut friendly, -friendly card Page 4 92 North Canaan Shelton Burlington IDK IDK Montville IDK Lisbon IDK East Haven IDK Winchester Fairfield Trumbull Brooklyn IDK Cornwall IDK New London Killingworth Rocky Hill Wilton Redding IDK Marlborough Bloomfield West Haven Darien IDK IDK Ashford Killingly IDK Thompson IDK Norwalk Morris Portl Griswold IDK North Stonington IDK Hampton Beacon Falls IDK Preston IDK Salem IDK Waterford Stamford Bridgeport Prospect Connecticut

7 Connecticut friendly, -friendly card Page North Haven Pomfret New Fairfield IDK Waterbury Ansonia Danbury Canterbury Goshen Naugatuck Plainfield Sherman Wolcott Harwinton IDK Lyme IDK Roxbury IDK Sterling IDK Warren IDK Woodbury IDK Bozrah Colebrook Hartl Middlebury Oxford Scotl Seymour Sharon Thomaston Voluntown LEGEND: Yes, 25 points No, 5 points IDK I don't know, 1 point No response, 0 points Connecticut

8 Metholodology Connecticut friendly, -friendly card Page 6 1. Opinion scores s are equally weighted in the combined final score. 2. All 169 towns are ranked. ings of 1 through 126 reflect tie scores. 3. The public opinion survey was based on ability ability Checklists developed in a joint effort of the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Center for Safe Routes to School, the estrian Bicycle Information Center. 4. The public opinion survey was designed in Survey Monkey publicly available to anyone who lives or works in Connecticut. Respondents were limited to one response per person. 5. Nearly 2200 people completed either the public opinion ability Survey, the ability Survey, or both. 6. opinions on bikeability walkability are equally weighted make up the. 7. scores are based on the presence or absence of 1) a bicycle pedestrian master plan; 2) a bicycle pedestrian task force or similar group; 3) any public outreach efforts on complete streets or cycling pedestrian issues; 4) a municipal complete streets policy. This information was self-reported by municipal staff or elected officials in an online survey or by phone to CT staff. Points were assigned to No I don t know answers to distinguish nonresponding towns from responding towns. 8. opinion surveys were received from 155 of 169 towns. No responses were received for: Bozrah, Canterbury, Hartl, Harwinton, Naugatuck, Oxford, Preston, Roxbury, Salem, Scotl, Seymour, Sharon, Sherman, or Voluntown. 9. leadership engagement information was received from 121 of 169 towns. This publication does not express the views of the Connecticut Department of Health or the State of Connecticut. The views opinions expressed are those of the authors. Connecticut