On May 4, we hosted a lunch and learn about the importance of trails in our community. Attendees heard from three expert panelists about impacts on health, city congestion, quality of life, and much more. Panelists included Tory Meyer, MD, Chief of Staff of Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas and Austin Pediatric Surgery, Cody Ackerman, Outdoor Program & Outreach Manager of REI, and Laura Dierenfield, Active Transportation Program Manager of the City of Austin.
Here are just a few of our favorite points from the event:
- “Trails offer a way to introduce our youth to our natural environment and technology can enable us to get them outside.” -Tory Meyer, MD
- The presence of trails correlated with lower BMI and increased the survival rate of people in the area. – Tory Meyer, MD
- “Economics, a sense of place, and community are manifested by the time we spend outdoors.” – Cody Ackerman
- “People typically need that first experience in nature to be comfortable with it; exploration of the outdoors and trails offer just that. It’s likely this then expands to other outdoor pursuits.” – Cody Ackerman
- “Our street network does not support reliance on only one of these facility types (protected bicycle lanes cycle tracks, quiet streets, and urban trails) and it is necessary to combine them all to form a network.” – Laura Dierenfield
- The 2014 Bicycle Master Plan focuses on capturing short travel demand for all ages and abilities; this will provide alternatives for people traveling less than three miles. – Laura Dierenfield