Courtesy town of Arlington, Massachusetts
By Heather Beasley Doyle
instead of driving—by 2030. Last year,
Massachusetts communicated the serious-
ness of such stated intentions by passing
a Transportation Bond Bill allocating
$377 million to create, build, repair or
improve multi-use pedestrian and bicycle
pathways. “This is really pushing, I think,
the envelope at MassDOT,” says Stephen
Woelfel, director of strategic planning in
the MassDOT Office of Transportation
Planning. “We’re interesting in that we’re
really integrated,” he adds, noting that
Massachusetts’ mode shift goal is the first
of its kind in the country on a state level.
With MassDOT doing its part to
encourage physical activity, in 2009 the
commonwealth’s Department of Public
Health tackled
the obesity prob-
lem head-on in
14 communi-
ties through a
new program,
Mass in Motion
(MiM). Funded
by a shifting
combination
of state funds,
CDC grants and
money from fed-
eral and private
coffers, MiM is
now a presence
in 60 municipal-
ities throughout
Massachusetts.
One of the
14 original MiM
communities is New Bedford, a coastal city
60 miles south of Boston with a population
of 95,000 and a thriving fishing industry.
New Bedford became an MiM site thanks
to above-average obesity, diabetes and high
blood pressure rates. The city’s median
household income is just $35,999; the state
median is $66,866. Many townspeople live
in poverty, according to MiMNew Bedford
Director Kim Ferreira.
New Bedford’s MiM program remains
strong. Over the past six years, the program
has sparked many positive changes in health
behaviors. Ferreira radiates enthusiasm
Massachusetts
Momentum in
Courtesy mass in motion new bedford
Trails like the Minuteman Bikeway are
playing a primary role in Massachusetts’
statewide mode shift initiative to get more
people walking and biking instead of driving.
rails
to
trails
u
fall.15
17
