Dept. of Health Offers Cities Active Transportation Assessment Grants

PIERRE, S.D. - The SD Department of Health recently announced the tenth year of a technical assistance opportunity for South Dakota communities on conducting active transportation assessments that can jumpstart improvements to the built environment, enhancing walkability and bike-ability.

Active transportation integrates physical activity into daily routines such as walking or biking to destinations such as work, grocery stores, or parks. Creating activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations is an evidenced-based strategy to increase physical activity in communities.

Previously selected communities include: Huron, Mitchell, Salem, Volga, Ft. Pierre, Crooks, Burke, Tripp, Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, Sturgis, and Mission.

One South Dakota community, or two communities if a joint inter-community application, will have the opportunity to work collectively with South Dakota State University Landscape Architect (SDSU-LA) students under the direction of Professor Donald Burger during their spring City Planning course. SDSU-LA will conduct community engagement sessions, hold on-site assessments of the built environment, analyze their fi ndings, and present a fi nal set of realistic recommendations to the stakeholders of the selected community.

The full description and application can be found online at HealthySD.gov under the Funding Opportunities tab at the top of the page, or at goodandhealthysd.org/ grants.

The deadline for communities to submit applications is Feb. 4, 2022 by 5 p.m. (CST). COVID-19 safety measures will be followed throughout the community engagement process. ■