Regional investments in health, fitness pay dividends, study shows

Northwest Arkansas residents are more physically active than people in other parts of the state, but still lag behind national averages for physical activity, according to data from national surveys.

Misty Murphy, trails coordinator at the Northwest Arkansas Council, said a range of public and private organizations are making a coordinated effort to improve activity by building public facilities to get people off their couches, outdoors and active.

“As adults, I think we forget what that feeling is like just to get on a bike, playing.”

Misty Murphy, Northwest Arkansas Council Regional Trail Coordinator

The crown jewel in the effort is the 37-mile, $37 million Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway, which is expected to fully open in May. The Greenway was made possible with a federal grant and about $15 million in grants from the Walton Family Foundation to a regional planning group and cities along the trail.

"We are very fortunate to live in a region where all of the partners are at the table and committed to building healthier communities," Murphy said.

Fayetteville and Bentonville embraced trails before the Razorback Greenway was a concept, and the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission worked to spread trails regionally, she said.

The Walton Family Foundation and Endeavor Foundation support initiatives surrounding healthy recreation and transportation opportunities, as well as access to healthy food.

The school districts are embracing programs like adding bikes to schools, making sure students have access to a healthy breakfast and engaging with the community as a whole, she said. Businesses are also encouraging employees to be more healthy.

In addition to the trails, cities have built skate parks, bike parks, soccer, baseball and softball complexes, aquatic parks and pools, ice rinks, golf courses, fitness centers, basketball courts and other amenities as well as encouraging active transportation.

"There is a commitment on the part of cities to make themselves more walkable and livable," Murphy said.

She said a key to making the projects accessible to all is that many are free to use.

"Let's give people places to do these things near their homes. I love it because it brings them more in touch with their neighbors," Murphy said. "I don't care if they're riding or walking. I saw a woman out the other day walking barefoot, that's the great thing about the trails we have, they're accessible and equitable. They don't require an initial investment on your part to have a better life."

Solid Framework

The greenway is the spine of the region's trail system, and cities are connecting trails to it, creating an even bigger, more usable regional system.

Northwest Arkansas' urban corridor had about 30 miles of paved trails in 2010, now there's more than 100 miles, Murphy said. Add to that some 150 miles of soft surface trails, most of which are or eventually will be connected to the greenway.

Two trail counters, one in Bentonville and one in Fayetteville, recorded more than 200,000 users from May through September 2014.

Danny Dotson, a retired banker who lives in south Springdale, and his wife bought bikes last year. They ride the trails in Fayetteville and Springdale. Dotson said he wanted to keep his weight down and, having a bad hip, he wasn't interested in walking.

"Probably a year-and-a-half ago I made more fun of the trail system -- who the heck would want to use them and what a waste of money it was -- and then, after I've gotten on them, I just really enjoy them," Dotson said. "We live so close when the weather is nice we just ride every day."

Dotson said he had a hip replaced in November and timed the surgery to be back on the bike by spring. He jokes that at 65, there's not much else he can do.

"It's too expensive to play golf and my brother-in-law sold his boat," Dotson laughed.

Paxton Roberts, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks, an umbrella group of cycling organizations and clubs, said the development of the shared-use paved trail system in Northwest Arkansas has probably been the single biggest factor in creating a more healthy, active region.

"I think a good example is Fayetteville, they had one of the earliest shared-use paved trails in the region, and we immediately saw people using those trails for everyday recreation," Roberts said.

"You really see a good mix of people out there exercising and using it to get from point A to point B. I've lived in Fayetteville for 20 years, and it's just amazing to see the transition, people just being more inclined to be outdoors and being more active."

Bentonville also has embraced trails and that has changed the face of the community, Roberts said.

"You look at Bentonville, 10 years ago and you didn't see anybody riding a bike. It has really transformed that community in a really short amount of time as far as the number of people just being outdoors and being active," he said. "When I go up to Bentonville to ride the trails between Bentonville and Bella Vista, I am just amazed at the number of people that are on that trail every day, and it's all different types of people, all different ages."

Roberts said the availability of the trail systems is driving up membership in all sorts of clubs and organizations that use them.

"I think the biggest increase as far as users has been people that have not been active previously," Roberts said. "I know the bike shops have been selling more bikes, a lot to first-time buyers coming in. The running shops that I have talked to, they're selling more running shoes to get people out on the trails running. As far as the BCO, we're currently in the process of a big membership drive and trying to reach people that may not have been tied into the biking community before."

Courts and Fields

Cities are investing in multimillion dollar regional sports complexes and regional parks full of outdoor amenities.

Fayetteville is about to build a 200-acre regional park in the southwest part of town. Construction on the first phase, southwest of the Cato Springs interchange on Interstate 49, is expected to begin this spring.

Phase I includes six soccer fields, three baseball diamonds, a great lawn, playground, more than 470 parking spaces and associated infrastructure. Subsequent phases will feature more baseball diamonds; softball fields; basketball, tennis and sand volleyball courts; and, a water feature or "splash pad."

The University of Arkansas is building new intramural fields on 51 acres near the regional park. Thirty university club teams play soccer, lacrosse, rugby, cricket and other team sports. The university also runs dozens of intramural leagues including basketball, flag football, softball and dodge ball.

Bentonville is building a $16.1 million, 80,000-square-foot facility in the southwest part of the city that will have an aquatic center with a family leisure pool and a 25-yard competitive pool, a fitness center, dance and aerobics studio, gymnasium and an indoor running track.

The building sits on nine acres of the 35-acre site. The remaining 24 acres will be used for Citizens Park, which will include multipurpose fields and an outdoor amphitheater.

The Walton Family Foundation donated $2 million to the project. The Bentonville Public Schools, Walmart Foundation, Community Care Foundation and the city's Advertising and Promotion Commission gave $1 million each. The city paid for the rest with money saved and bond money.

Lowell recently agreed to partner on a 220,000-square-foot complex just off Interstate 49 on West Monroe Avenue that will house basketball and volleyball courts, indoor soccer fields, an Olympic-size pool and therapy center. The facility will be built and leased by Life Wellness USA, an Alabama company. During the weekdays, the center will cater to the community and on weekends host regional and national sports tournaments.

Farmington opened a $1.2 million softball complex, which has four fields for youth leagues, one for multipurpose use and a sixth for high school play, in 2012 after residents voted to approve it. Part of the money was donated by individuals and businesses, some came from a state grant and the bulk was from a city sales tax dedicated to the purpose.

Rogers' regional sports park opened a year later and hosts softball tournaments and league play. The $6.7 million complex has four softball/baseball fields and an aquatic center.

Springdale has been adding trailheads to access the Razorback Greenway and is undertaking an addition at C.L. "Charlie" and Willie George Park. Four baseball fields with synthetic turf, three lighted tennis courts, six soccer fields, three of which will be lighted, a lighted football field, a splash pad, playground equipment and a dog park are in the works.

Weighty Issues

Benton County ranked first and Washington County second as healthiest among the state's 75 counties last year in County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

The rankings program helps communities identify and implement solutions for people to be healthy in schools, workplaces and neighborhoods. The rankings look at a variety of measures, such as high school graduation rates, access to healthy foods, rates of smoking, obesity and teen births.

The 2014 State Indicator Report on Physical Activity, published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found about half of adults and less than one-third of youth in the country meet federal aerobic physical activity guidelines.

"People who are physically active generally live longer and have a lower risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, some cancers and obesity," according to the centers report.

In Arkansas, 30.9 percent of adults reported having no leisure time physical activity, compared to 25.4 percent nationally, according to the report. For youth, 19.9 percent in Arkansas reported having no leisure time physical activity, compared to 15.2 percent nationally, according to the report.

Regional planners say their work on trails, bike lanes and pedestrian friendly facilities using federal money are technically more about commuting and daily life activities, but they acknowledge the recreational aspects.

"That's why with the greenway there was so much effort put into not just connecting parks and lakes, but schools, places to work, museums, places to shop, the University of Arkansas and the spur over to the community college," said John McLarty, of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission.

NW News on 03/29/2015

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