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Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Division, recommending the Board approve and authorize the Public Health Officer to sign a letter in support of the El Dorado County Transportation Commission’s grant application for funding to support the development of active transportation opportunities in El Dorado County, funded by a California Department of Transportation’s “Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant.”
FUNDING: There is no funding associated with this Agenda item.
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DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION
The Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) Public Health Division, recommends the Board authorize the Public Health Officer to sign a letter in support of the El Dorado County Transportation Commission’s grant application for funding to support the development of active transportation opportunities in El Dorado County. The grant is funded by California Department of Transportation’s “Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant.”
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In El Dorado County, the availability of a safe environment that promotes alternative transportation is limited. A 2016 survey that identified 2.5 percent of workers in El Dorado County walk to work, .6 percent of workers bicycle to work, 1.3 percent use public transportation, and an overwhelming 76.8 percent of workers drive alone (www.WellDorado.org). Alternative transportation includes active transportation modes, which are defined by as any self-propelled, human-powered mode of transportation. The benefits of active transportation include improved health, improved air quality, and reduced traffic congestion. Unfortunately, in El Dorado County, access to safe avenues to promote active transportation is limited, as validated by the survey results outlining the number of workers who drive alone to work.
HHSA’s Public Health Division recently completed a formal Community Health Assessment, which used quantitative and qualitative methods to systematically collect and analyze health data w...
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