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Tractor-trailers and school buses routinely speed past Liz Pless' home along rural 15th Street Southeast in Ruskin.
There's no safe place on the busy two-lane street to ride a bike or go for a walk.
Her mailbox stands precariously at the edge of a storm-water trench, and the sidewalk is across the busy street. There are frequent gaps in the walkway, which sits too close to the fast-moving traffic for Pless — or her 11-year-old grandson, Justin — to use.
"When the kids come home, they have to walk down there, in the ditch," said Pless, 55. "We don't even have bikes anymore."
The walkability of an area not only contributes to its pedestrian safety and property values, but it also plays a part in a community's health.
An emerging public health perspective links the ability of residents to easily walk or bike to their risk of becoming obese. In Hillsborough County, as in many parts of the country, streets in rural areas often don't have sidewalks or places where people can walk, jog or ride their bikes.
People who live in neighborhoods with sidewalks tend to be more physically active. A 2009 study on neighborhood walkability found that in walkable neighborhoods — designed so people can walk from their homes to other places — people got 35 to 49 minutes more physical activity each week, according to James Sallis, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and one of the study's authors.
Adults in neighborhoods that weren't as walkable were more likely to be obese or overweight.
"Decisions made by urban planners and local elected officials can have large effects on health, but health consequences of development decisions are rarely considered," Sallis said in an email. "In the U.S., probably half the population lives in neighborhoods where it is not feasible to walk for transportation, thus putting them at risk for many diseases."
In Hillsborough County, many of the schools with the highest obesity rates are in areas that are difficult or unsafe for pedestrians, according to a Tribune analysis.
An example is Wilson Elementary School in Plant City, which has one of the highest obesity rates in the county and few sidewalks beyond the blocks around the school.
For the full article, visit the Tampa Tribune.
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