12 Savannah Communities Tapped for Initiative Funded by Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Grant.
(SAVANNAH, GA) Nearly 70% of the more than 700 miles of paved streets within the Savannah city limits lack sidewalks. That lack is considered a factor in the average of 168 crashes involving pedestrians that Savannah experiences each year. Adding to those concerns is the fact that students are now preparing to return to in-person learning at school after an absence of nearly 16 months, which means students soon will be walking or biking to class alongside drivers who are now unaccustomed to their presence.
To help create safer neighborhoods for people walking and biking, Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia are leading an initiative that will eventually impact a dozen neighborhoods throughout the Savannah area. Development of the first “Activity-Friendly Routes to Everyday Destinations Neighborhood Plan” is underway in the Edgemere/Sackville community, and eleven other neighborhoods will be engaged in the next few years.
“Although the results aren’t in, we are hopeful and optimistic,” said Sean Mannion, president of the Edgemere/Sackville Neighborhood Association. “I think it’s a very good program, and it was good to be able to have a lot of volunteers from other parts of the city help out.”
Organizers, neighbors and community members are walking neighborhoods to identify barriers such as a lack of sidewalks, cracked pavement, inaccessible intersections and poor shade due to lack of tree canopies. The effort is among those funded by a five-year, $3.4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control which was awarded to Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. The grant, known by the acronym REACH for Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health, addresses root causes of inequities in health status among racial and ethnic minorities.
“Our purpose in partnering with communities is to work together to collect information and document where barriers are so the community leaders can see what issues exist within their neighborhoods,” said Armand Turner, physical activity program manager for Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. “Those leaders can then advocate for change with the city and work with partners like Tide to Town and Bike Walk Savannah in developing proactive solutions. If we go to these committees and ask residents to take their time to assist with this effort, it’s important for them to get something out of it.”
According to a March report by the Governors Highway Safety Association, Georgia was among seven states that accounted for more than half (54%) of all pedestrian deaths during the first six months of 2020. The report also verified that even though driving nationwide declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. pedestrian fatalities rose by 20 percent compared to the previous year, with Blacks, Hispanics and Asians disproportionately killed in pedestrian-vehicle crashes. The data also suggested low-income communities, which are home to many people of color, often lack sidewalks, streetlights and crosswalks, and those shortfalls likely contribute to pedestrian deaths.
A June 2021 article in the Washington Post, citing the same report, ventured that the disparity appears to have worsened during the coronavirus pandemic because of people driving faster on emptied highways. Also, as the virus itself spread more readily through communities of color, the increase in pedestrian deaths in those communities was probably a result of existing inequities being compounded, the report found.
In addition to Edgemere/Sackville, 11 other neighborhoods were identified for the development of an Activity Friendly Routes to Everyday Destinations Neighborhood Plan, including the neighborhood street safety audits. These neighborhoods include:
- Blackshear/Eastside
- Cuyler Brownsville/Metropolitan
- Feiler Park/Hussards Terrace
- Historic Carver Village
- Jackson Park/Cann Park
- Kayton/Frazier
- Largo Woods and Quail Forest
- South Garden
- West Savannah
- Wilshire Estates
- Yamacraw Village
Turner says the Healthy Savannah and YMCA team members may offer assistance to other community members wishing to utilize the Activity Friendly Routes to Everyday Destinations Neighborhood Plan in their neighborhoods. This includes access to an app that volunteers can use to easily map the safety barriers. The organizers are also providing volunteers with items ranging from T-shirts to water bottles and hats. For more information, contact Armand Turner at armand.turner@ymcaofcoastalga.org
ABOUT THE YMCA OF COASTAL GEORGIA/HEALTHY SAVANNAH GRANT FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH: In September 2018, Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia were awarded a five-year, $3.4 million grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health. This funding, awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been deployed by the Savannah/Chatham County project team to reduce health inequities experienced by Black residents in low-wealth neighborhoods. The local project is called Healthy Opportunities Powering Equity, or HOPE. Its aim is to increase the availability of high-quality nutrition, increase physical activity by creating greater access to safe places to walk, run, bike and play, and foster stronger connections between people and the healthcare providers who serve them. Working with more than 200 community partners and organizations, the team’s work elevates the health and wellness of our community through policy, systems, and environmental change.
healthysavannah.org ymcaofcoastalga.org.
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