Work Group Members:

Updated on 3/21/2024

2023-2024 Priorities:

• Planning healthier communities with access to key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail, work).

• Increase, promote, improve, and maintain the number of safe and well-lit sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways to improve connectivity and accessibility.
• Planning healthier communities and places by prioritizing transportation systems and services.

2023-2024 Access to Exercise Opportunities Work Group Meeting Schedule:

• Tuesday, October 24, 2023, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm, Microsoft Teams
• Tuesday, December 19, 2023, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Microsoft Teams
• Tuesday, February 27, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Microsoft Teams
• Tuesday, April 9, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Microsoft Teams
• Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Microsoft Teams

Tuesday, April 9, 2024, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Microsoft Teams- Work Group Meeting

Attendees: Alice Ammerman, Pam Cook, Sabrina Golling, Kelly Kavanaugh, Rachel Pohlman, Alex Rotenberry; Staff: Ashley Rink

• Welcome and Agenda Overview
  • Rachel Pohlman welcomed everyone.
• Review Meeting Notes from February 27, 2024
  • At the work group meeting on February 27, 2024, the group updated the priorities as follows:
    • (Priority 1) Increase, promote, improve, and maintain the number of safe and well-lit sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways to improve connectivity and accessibility.
    • (Priority 2) Planning healthier communities with access to key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail, work).
    • (Priority 3) Planning healthier communities and places by prioritizing transportation systems and services.
• The following action steps were highlighted from the discussions at the previous meeting:
  • (Priority 1) Promote use of sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways
  • (Priority 1) Create a 101 workshop to help communities identify the first step for adding sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways.
  • (Priority 3) Create a one-pager for funding options to share with communities related to transportation systems and services.
• Action Planning
  • The results of the Action Step Strategy Survey were reviewed; 5 work group members completed the survey.
  • The group discussed concerns about low meeting attendance and work group member engagement.
  • The meeting agenda shifted from identifying action steps to member engagement. The group discussed:
    • Resharing roles and responsibilities.
    • Developing description of the work group and what is the mission of the work group.
    • Identifying action steps/ strategies may be a driver of engagement.
    • Communicating what the group has decided to work on.
    • Wanting the meetings to be meaningful for group members that are attending meetings.
    • Options for moving forward; resharing the survey and understanding who is going to be doing all the work.
    • Choosing an action step/ strategy and then intentionally determining who to engage.
  • The group decided to move forward with the action step below related to the following priority:
    • Priority: Planning healthier communities with access to key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail, work)
      • Action Step: Create a list or directory of organizations/ individuals that are invested in statewide recreation and physical activity to “map” our network assets.
  • The group discussed identifying organizations creating or improving recreation sites could include, land use, parks, cultural and natural resources, Cooperative Extensions, Active Routes to School, county, city, government, non-profits, and others, and not limiting to programs.
  • The list/ directory will provide a list of engaged partners invested in statewide recreation and physical activity.
  • Rachel shared as an example a resource guide that was created in both web and PDF versions.
• Closing
  • The next work group meeting is on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on Microsoft Teams.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Microsoft Teams- Work Group Meeting

Attendees: Alice Ammerman, Pam Cook, Sabrina Golling, Kelly Kavanaugh, Leah Mayo, Rachel Pohlman, Alex Rotenberry, Tish Singletary, Dianne Thomas; Staff: Ashley Rink

• Welcome and Agenda Overview
  • Rachel Pohlman welcomed everyone and asked for introductions.
• Review Meeting Notes from December 19, 2023
  • At the work group meeting on December 19, 2023, the group worked on refining the wording of the priorities. The group felt the third priority was encompassed in the first two priorities. The remainder of the meeting was spent on action planning for the first priority included below and considering what was realistic and needed to be fine-tuned.
    • Increase, promote, improve, and maintain the number of safe and well-lit sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways to improve connectivity and accessibility.
    • Planning healthier communities and places through transportation options that connect key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail).
• Review Homework Suggestions
  • The homework for work group members from the last meeting was to:
    • Review action plan suggestions.
    • Invite work group members.
• Action Planning
  • The group decided to approach action planning during the meeting by splitting time to focus on the priorities as one big group.
  • The group started action planning with the second priority, “Planning healthier communities and places through transportation options that connect key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail).”
  • The group discussed land use design was in the planning sector and transportation services was a separate sector and that there is a difference between transportation infrastructure and transportation services. There was an overlap with the strategies and that approaches would be different depending on whether the group was referring to destinations or transportation systems and services.
  • Based on the discussion, the group supported separating the second priority into the following two priorities with one focusing on key destinations and the other focusing on transportation systems and services.
    • (Priority 2) Planning healthier communities with access to key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail, work).
    • (Priority 3) Planning healthier communities and places by prioritizing transportation systems and services.
  • The group started discussing action planning for priority 3, then moved to priority 2, and ended with priority 1. Refer to the action planning document for strategies and related information added during the meeting. 
• Closing
  • The next work group meeting dates will be on:
    • Tuesday, April 9, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Microsoft Teams
    • Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Microsoft Teams
  • The next steps related to the priorities and action planning in the order of discussion included:
    • (Priority 3) Planning healthier communities and places by prioritizing transportation systems and services.
      • Vote anonymously on level of support for the work group moving forward with strategy of creating a one-pager for funding options to share with communities related to transportation systems and services.
        • Voting be on a scale of 1 (against it), 3 (could live with it, not excited about it), to 5 (excited and onboard with it).
      • If the group agrees to moving forward with this strategy, then we would create a document to collect  and organize the information and after that work with a graphic designer to make it accessible for people.
    • (Priority 2) Planning healthier communities with access to key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail, work)
      • Invite land use planners.
    • (Priority 1) Increase, promote, improve, and maintain the number of safe and well-lit sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways to improve connectivity and accessibility.
      • Vote on which action step/strategy the work group wants to move forward for this priority.
        • Create a 101 workshop to help communities identify the first step for adding sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways.
        • Promote use of sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways
      • After determining which action step to move forward on, then start gathering information and who is not at the table that needs to be in that conversation.

Tuesday, December 19, 2023, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Microsoft Teams- Work Group Meeting

Attendees: Alice Ammerman, Sabrina Golling, Kelly Kavanaugh, Leah Mayo, Michelle Nance, Rachel Pohlman, Alex Rotenberry, Tish Singletary; Staff: Hannah McDiarmid and Ashley Rink

• Welcome and Agenda Overview
  • Rachel Pohlman welcomed everyone and asked for introductions.
• Review Meeting Notes from October 24, 2023
  • Rachel Pohlman provided a high-level overview of the work group meeting on October 24, 2023. The purpose of the work group for this year was to review the priorities and identify how to move forward with the priorities identified. The work group began action planning at the previous meeting.
• Review Homework Suggestions
  • The homework from the previous meeting included:
    • Suggestions for refining wording of priorities and action plan items
    • Suggestions for who needs to be invited to work group meeting
  • Suggestions for refining the wording of priorities were discussed. The discussion included:
    • Inclusion of planning products that are more tangible and can be quantified.
    • Acknowledging who has control to make changes and influence changes.
    • Being specific such as more than safety in general, saying increases in four-way stops, average speed limits, etc. If the priority is general, there could be specific action steps that are measurable and tangible.
    • The funding sources for increasing are different than those to promote, improve, and maintain the number of safe and well-lit sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways to improve connectivity and accessibility.
    • Education and encouragement were not included in the priority as they are more the method than the objective and would be measuring the policy, systems, or environmental changes.
    • Recommended keeping the language for active mobility versus alternative transportation consistent with other state plans and groups, such as the Bike/Ped Work Group under the Governor’s Highway.
    • The first priority’s focus is more about land use planning and the second priority’s focus is on transportation. Considerations for land use planning should reflect equity and social determinants of health. In rural communities there may be no destinations; when improving connectivity there must be something to connect to and acknowledging those connections support healthful living.
• Clarify Second Priority
  • Those present were in favor of adopting the new wording for the second priority:  
    • Planning healthier communities and places through transportation options that connect key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail)
• Discuss Optional Third Priority
  • At the previous work group meeting, the group discussed potentially adding a third priority, “Increase opportunities for physical activity through the natural and built environment supported through multimodal mobility options.”     
  • Those present were agreement of not adding the third priority because it was redundant of the first two priorities.
• Action Planning
  • At the previous work group meeting, the group focused on the first priority (Increase, promote, improve, and maintain the number of safe and well-lit sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways to improve connectivity and accessibility) about connectivity and having walkways and trails.
  • The action plans are where the group can include some of those very specific measures and measures that would be addressing social determinants of health and equity. The action plans are for the work group and implementing, directing recommendations, and/or connecting with others doing the work is up to the work group. The action plans should include what the group is working on and resources, connecting and/or obtaining, could be included as action steps.
  • The group discussed action planning for the second priority (Planning healthier communities and places through transportation options that connect key destinations (e.g. schools, medical facilities, food sources, parks, retail)) and added action steps to the action planning document. Additional information shared by work group members for future consideration is included after the action plans.
  • The next step for the action plans is for work group members is to review the action steps and consider what is missing, realistic, and/or should be fine-tuned.  
• Suggestions for who needs to be invited to work group meeting
  • Another homework assignment from the previous meeting was to consider who was missing from the work group. The group reviewed and added to the document, Who Needs to be Invited to Work Group Meetings.
  • Work group members are asked to invite others to join the work group. Sample language for work group members to use for inviting work group members will be shared.
• Closing
  • The group discussed potential dates for the next work group meetings and potentially changing the meeting times from 1:00 to 3:00 pm to 2:00 to 4:00 pm. A Doodle Poll will be sent to the work group to determine the next meeting dates and times.
  • The next steps for the work group are to :
    • Complete Doodle Poll for next work group meetings in February, April, and June 2024.
    • Review action plan suggestions.
    • Invite work group members.

Tuesday, October 24, 2023, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm, Microsoft Teams- Work Group Meeting

Attendees: Alice Ammerman, Pamela Cook, Sabrina Golling, Katie Harmon, Irene Ivie, Kelly Kavanaugh, Leah Mayo, Rachel Pohlman, Alex Rotenberry, Tish Singletary; Staff: Hannah McDiarmid and Ashley Rink

• Welcome and Agenda Overview
  • Rachel Pohlman welcomed everyone and asked for introductions. The icebreaker question was what their fall activity was.
• Grounding and Level Setting
  • The purpose of the meeting was to provide grounding and level setting, review the priorities identified this past year, and identify how to move forward with the priorities identified. Group agreements, common language, the Year of Action asks, roles and expectations, and timeline were also reviewed.  
  • The 2023 NC SHIP report is now available. The pages for Indicator 7: Access to Exercise Opportunities are also available in a standalone document.
  • The headline indicator is the percent of people with access to exercise opportunities; for the result statement the term physical activity opportunities was used to be more inclusive.
• Priority Review
  • The purpose of the priority review was to determine if the priorities were clearly stated, were actionable, were resourced, and if they would continue to be a priority.
  • The 2022-2023 Priorities from the 2023 NC SHIP report were:
    • Increase, promote, improve, and maintain the number of safe and well-lit sidewalks, bike trails and lanes, walking trails, and greenways to improve connectivity and accessibility
    • Promote, sustain, and expand multimodal transportation options to increase access to places for physical activity
• Action Planning
  • The short and long-term strategies discussed during previous asset mapping were reviewed and are available on the 2022 NC SHIP Scorecard.
  • The work group began action planning during the meeting. 
  • The work group discussed potentially adding the following as an additional priority.
    • Increase opportunities for physical activity through the natural and built environment supported through multimodal mobility options
• Closing
  • The next steps for the work group are to :
    • Complete a Doodle Poll for a work group meeting date in December.
    • Share suggestions to refine the wording for priorities.
    • Share suggestions to fill in action plan items.
    • Consider and share who needs to be invited to these meetings. (Some groups that are not represented include aging, differing abilities, and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI).)

• America Walks- How to Conduct a Walk Audit in Your Community: https://americawalks.org/how-to-conduct-a-walk-audit-in-your-community-quick-video-guide-for-assessing-your-neighborhood-walkability/
• CDC Active People Healthy Nation: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/activepeoplehealthynation/index.html
• CDC Moving Matters Communication Campaign: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/activepeoplehealthynation/moving-matters.html
• CDC Priority Strategy: Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/community-strategies/activity-friendly-routes-to-everyday-destinations.html
• ChangeLab Solutions - The Planner’s Playbook: a community-centered approach to improving health and equity: https://www.changelabsolutions.org/product/planners-playbook
• Connect Beyond- A Regional Mobility Initiative: https://www.connect-beyond.com/
• Creating Active Community Environments in South Carolina: A Grassroots Guide: https://scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/Library/CR-012013.pdf
• Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina. 2020. North Carolina’s Plan to Address Overweight and Obesity. www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com
• Move More Walk Now: Engage Your Community: https://movemorewalknownc.com/engage-your-community/
• North Carolina Department of Transportation- Complete Streets Policy: https://www.ncdot.gov/divisions/integrated-mobility/multimodal-planning/
• North Carolina Department of Transportation- Integrated Mobility Division: https://www.ncdot.gov/divisions/integrated-mobility