We love being active, but would like to do it safely.

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Hey all! Sorry I have been MIA lately... School has been a little busy plus the sudden onset of having all three little loves at home full-time (more on that fun in a future blog post), writing here has taken a backseat. :( I haven't quit any writing, in fact just the opposite! I have been super busy with writing for my college classes which includes in my creative writing English class. It has been a lot of fun actually and has really made me dive deeper into some topics that I normally wouldn't have. So, I thought I'd post one of my submitted papers here in the blog (to give it some action) and to post some of my research on this (in my opinion) important topic: why Moapa Valley needs an actual walking path throughout the town. Now, before you get super uptight and upset, yes I did NOT go into financial costs of this type of endeavor. I merely looked at safety and the statistics along with it. I actually got a B on this paper and guess what? I am okay with that! B's get degrees! haha... The B was mostly due to grammar and formatting mistakes and fortunately, not content. :) So please, don't be a grammar nazi and read with an open mind... 

Enjoy! 

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            The old saying goes, “An apple a day will keep the doctor away.” However, there is a lot more to keeping the “doctor away” in regards to a person’s health and lifetime experiences. According to Harvard Health Publishing from the Harvard Medical School, a person should be physically active every day. However, in many rural communities across Nevada, there are not any safe routes to adopt this lifestyle. The small rural town of Moapa Valley is located in the same bustling county as Las Vegas, Nevada, however it is about 72 miles Northeast of the city and is considered rural. By creating a walking path in the rural town of Moapa Valley, the number of health risks would significantly lower for the residents. 

            Heart disease is the number one cause of death to Nevadans. Walking and other opportunities, such as biking or hiking are also ways to encourage exercise. However, to be able to access these opportunities are not always accessible to rural citizens. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention website states that people need to have a safe, convenient place to walk. By having a safe and convenient place to walk, this would encourage people to walk and be active more. If there were walking pathways that are near sites such as bus stops, this would encourage more walking and active behaviors. These types of behaviors would be helpful and be beneficial to decrease the risk of heart disease.

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            By creating a walkway that is friendly to all members of the Moapa Valley, would also increase economic benefits. This would add value to the local businesses because they will have more customers able to come to their business; this alone would increase investments to potential new businesses. There are other opportunities for other groups to be able to benefit from some sort of safe walking path within this rural community. There are 31 non-profit organizations within the Logandale township of Moapa Valley. By utilizing the pathway, the non-profits may think outside the box of fundraising by planning and implementing a variety of fun runs that encourage healthy activities that reach a broad audience that may not use the walkway daily.

            In many rural communities, public transit is not an option. Moapa Valley is the same. There are no public transit opportunities, there are not any buses, trains, or transit systems. This is another type of risk for the residents. Between the years of 2013 and 2017, there were 398 fatalities for pedestrians and 798 were seriously injured according to the Nevada Department of Public Safety website. By having a pathway within this community, it will prevent a variety of pedestrian accidents, which are very costly to communities and to people. The average cost of a vehicle accident that incurs a death is $1,190,000 according to the National Safety Council website. These types of accidents are not only devastating on communities but extremely costly to all involved. According to a publication by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the comprehensive costs associated with pedestrians and cyclists on the society were $86,559 millions of US dollars. This issue is not only affecting those who need pathways to be able to walk safely to places, but to all motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. Parents of small children like myself can relate to the fears caused by these types of statistics and would rather be safe than involved in any type of pedestrian and vehicle type of collision.

Both heart disease and road injury is listed as items in the “Top 10 global causes of death, 2000” on the World Health Organization website. Ischemic heart disease being the very first with the most lives lost, in the millions nearly seven million with road injuries causing another almost two million deaths each year

          

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            By developing a walking pathway between the communities, this would allow for ample opportunities for residents to increase exercise programs into their life along with decrease the number of accidents in pedestrian and motor vehicles. By creating this path, this leads to economic development and the maintenance of the pathway would be maintained by a set entity of the county. By creating a walking path in the rural town of Moapa Valley, the number of health risks would significantly lower for the residents. In order to be healthy, one of the most important habits is to exercise, by having a walking path in the Moapa Valley, this would decrease obesity levels and increase life expectancies.  

Works Cited

Blincoe, L. J., Miller, T. R., Zaloshnja, E., & Lawrence, B. A. (2015, May). The economic and societal impact of motor vehicle crashes, 2010. (Revised) (Report No. DOT HS 812 013). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Retrieved from https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812013

LeWine, Howard. “Living to 100 and beyond: the Right Genes plus a Healthy Lifestyle.” Harvard Health Blog, 11 Jan. 2012, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/living-to-100-and-beyond-the-right-genes-plus-a-healthy-lifestyle-201201114092. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/living-to-100-and-beyond-the-right-genes-plus-a-healthy-lifestyle-201201114092

Moapa Valley Trails Study- Final Report. Clark County, Nevada. December 2009. http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/comprehensive-planning/advanced-planning/Documents/MoapaValleyAppendices.pdf

“Work Injury Costs.” Injury Facts, injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/costs/work-injury-costs/. Retrieved from https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/costs/work-injury-costs/

“The Top 10 Causes of Death.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 24 May 2018, www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death.

“Be Pedestrian Safe – News & Events – Zero Fatalities: Drive Safe Nevada.” Zero Fatalities Nevada Website, zerofatalitiesnv.com/be-pedestrian-safe/. Retrieved from https://zerofatalitiesnv.com/be-pedestrian-safe/