BikeTexas Busy with Healthy Living Initiatives

Healthy living initiatives are flourishing across Texas, and BikeTexas is working to ensure that bicycling is well represented, along with nutrition and physical activities such as walking, in these efforts. The first week in December was a busy one as we met with some of the great organizations involved in this effort!

Texas Active Living Network (TALN)
TALN provides information and education on building trails, bikeways, and other transportation, recreation, and conservation infrastructure to encourage active lifestyles for Texans. On Monday, December 1, BikeTexas hosted and participated in their monthly meeting. BikeTexas is a charter member of the group, which also includes the National Park Service, Texas Trails Network, TxDOT and the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Partnership for a Healthy Texas
Then on Tuesday, BikeTexas staff headed over to the State Capitol for the Obesity Health Policy Forum, sponsored by Partnership for a Healthy Texas and the Methodist Healthcare Ministries. BikeTexas is a member of Partnership for a Healthy Texas along with 41 other statewide organizations.

Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs, a champion of active living and good nutrition, gave the keynote speech. She outlined the economic costs of obesity in Texas, detailed in the publication Special Report: Counting Costs and Calories – Measuring the Cost of Obesity to Texas Employers.

Click here to see the forum agenda listing speakers and the 41 member organizations. (denise, this is new. can you link the pdf i sent you of this when you put this on the website?)

Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Thursday, December 4 found BikeTexas staff at the Texas Transportation Institute’s Austin office for the meeting of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, to welcome Partnership staff member Robert Ping of Portland, Oregon during his visit to Texas.

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is working to maximize the benefit of the $612 million that was authorized by the 2006 Federal Transportation bill and passed to local governments through the state departments of transportation. BikeTexas is an active member of the partnership. Information on Texas Safe Routes to School, including many contributions by BikeTexas, can be seen here.

Though it’s a big investment of time and energy for BikeTexas to be an actively contributing member in these efforts, it’s more than worth it. We get great opportunities to further cycling in Texas at the local, state and federal levels, and we connect with allies we can call upon who know and respect the work of BikeTexas and its members.