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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 within a specific community. The data and resultant analysis achieved through the Community Health Assessment provided the baseline information and framework for a broader community health improvement planning process and the development of the Community Health Improvement Plan. One area of focus in the Community Health Improvement Plan is “active living,” which “encourages residents to adopt a more active lifestyle and support health through the built environment.” Both the Public Health Division and county residents place value on a healthy, active lifestyle that includes promotion of access to safe active transportation modes.
The County’s Strategic Plan also endorses healthy lifestyles in its “Healthy Communities” goal, which includes, “recommending a Board policy that will integrate public health practice more effectively into the land use planning process, by promoting community practices for a safe environment that supports positive physical and behavioral health and wellness among residents and visitors.”
HHSA supports the concept of developing active transportation opportunities to serve the needs of both rural and urban residents in El Dorado County. Active transportation options for residents and visitors to the county would enhance their mobility, health, well-being, and quality of life. To that end, HHSA’s Public Health Division desires to extend a letter of support for El Dorado County Transportation Commission’s grant application for the California Department of Transportation’s “Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant.”
ALTERNATIVES
The Board can decline to approve this letter of support.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
N/A
CAO RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board approve this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact associated with this Board item as the item is only a recommendation to authorize HHSA’s Public Health Officer to sign a letter of support for El Dorado County Transportation Commission’s grant application.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Clerk of the Board to provide one (1) Minute Order to the HHSA Contracts Unit at 3057 Briw Road.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
County Strategic Plan, “Healthy Communities”
CONTACT
Patricia Charles-Heathers, Ph.D., Director