The people of Plamondon want to walk, but they need the paths and sidewalks to do it.
That was the message presented to council last Tuesday by Plamondon representative Tracy Lord and Alberta Health Services worker Shana Gauthier. Together, they presented the Plamondon Walkability Project, promoting the idea of improving the health and recreation of the hamlet, while investing in infrastructure to make the community more inviting.
“Physical activity rates in Alberta are dismal – and they’re decreasing steadily,” said Gauthier, who has been a Health Promotion Facilitator with AHS for 18 years. “We are facing the largest youth health crises in hi we might have the first generation that dies younger than their parents because of their unhealthy lifestyle.”
Walking, Gauthier said, is a simple and highly effective exercise. Besides doing wonders for health, a community that is ‘walkable’ tends to have more social cohesion and have less crime, she said.
However, a recent Plamondon District Community Development Society survey found that 82 per cent of the 65 respondents were unsatisfied with the current conditions of their sidewalks –with three quarters of that group saying their dissatisfaction affects the amount they walk around their streets. Lord, who is the Community Facility and Program Director for PDCDS, said that the conditions of the sidewalks range from very poor to nonexistent.
“There are some streets with no sidewalks at all,” said Plamondon-area councillor Guy Piquette. “There are open ditches, sidewalks with no gutters – there’s certainly a lot of work to be done.”
Lord said that while getting proper sidewalks is a top priority for the hamlet, she also noted that Plamondon has only one kilometre of walking trail, compared to 16 kilometres of paved trails around the Hamlet of Lac La Biche.
“The only walking path we have goes up a steep hill to the cemetery,” Lord said, adding that because of the shoddy sidewalks residents actually drive to the start of that path. “The joke around town is that the trail is dead end.”
She said improved sidewalks and more walking trails would showcase the new Festival Centre, the miniature town of Heritage Park, as well as the natural beauty of the Plamondon valley.
Plamondon was recently short-listed for the Walkability Roadshow, a pilot project by AHS that picks three Albertan communities to benefit from consultation with experts in the field of ‘walkability.’ Although they lost out to Carstairs in the small community category, they still received a consultation from the experts.
“They said that walkability starts when you first open the door – what do you see?” Lord said. “And our sidewalks are so bad that I have to teach my kid how to ride his bike on the street.”
Lord and Gauthier both acknowledge that the process of repairing the sidewalks and adding paved walking trails is a long-term project that might not be finished for a number of years. However, several councillors commended the initiative of their presentation.
“I applaud you undertaking this,” said councillor Alvin Kumpula. “And I’d like to see this project in the capital plan.”
Councillor Piquette made a motion for Lac La Biche County Council to show continued support for PDCDS in developing a more ‘walkable’ community, which was carried unanimously by the council.