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Montgomery County Health Council seeks commissioner input for neighborhood walkability audit
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Summary
The Montgomery County Health Council briefed commissioners on a proposed walk audit to assess route safety and access to schools, shops and public services and requested input on routes to evaluate.
Karen Reynolds, chair of the Montgomery County Health Council, briefed the commission on a proposed community-led walkability audit and asked commissioners for route suggestions and other input at the Sept. 8 meeting.
Reynolds said the council is part of the Tennessee Department of Health's network of county health councils and partners locally with the Montgomery County Health Department, Austin Peay State University and other organizations. She described the walk audit as an observational process to evaluate whether walking routes are useful, safe, comfortable and interesting, citing urban-planning guidance and AARP score sheets the council plans to use.
"For a walk to be successful, it must be useful, safe, comfortable, interesting," Reynolds said, summarizing the audit’s guiding criteria. She presented local health statistics during her remarks: the council’s materials state that 43 percent of adults in the county are obese compared with 33 percent in other cities cited by the presenter, and that 22 percent of adults report frequent mental distress. Reynolds cited health benefits linked to walking — lower heart disease and diabetes risk — and said the audit would examine connections to schools, transit stops and grocery stores, as well as sidewalks and crosswalks.
The council requested commissioners’ suggestions for routes that are important to residents, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods and areas near schools or bus stops. Reynolds noted Austin Peay State University has committed to conducting a walk audit between September and November and asked commissioners to identify additional neighborhood routes for the audit team.
No vote or formal action was taken; commissioners and staff were invited to provide input and route suggestions to the health council.
