Embodying The Mission: Outreach
Civil and Environmental Engineering professor helps install new crosswalks near primary school in Alabama
By Dustin Duncan
Jeff LaMondia, a civil and environmental engineering professor, is once again helping Alabama communities address distinctive local active transportation needs.
In collaboration with Alabama Extension at Auburn University, LaMondia worked with community members and city leaders in Eutaw to install new crosswalks and restripe parking spots near Eutaw Primary School in Greene County.
Through the Live Well Alabama Thriving Communities program, LaMondia teams with Katie Funderburk, assistant director for federal nutrition programs; Ruth Brock, Thriving Communities program coordinator; and Mitch Carter, Thriving Communities specialist.
The program is supported by a five-year, $4.4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve access to safe and accessible physical activity. It empowers community coalitions to lead the charge for change.
In Eutaw, LaMondia collaborated with the community coalition for several months on an active transportation action plan to promote safe walking and bicycling through short-, medium- and long-term improvements. He said creating safer routes for students and parents on their way to school was among the community’s top priorities.
“We’re doing a lot of work with students, parents, school administrators, local leadership and community engineers to focus on improving routes for students to get to school safely by walking,” LaMondia said. “Most parents just drop their kids off now, but we’d like to flip that and encourage more walking and bicycling. However, one of the first steps is making it safe and inviting for residents to do so.”
LaMondia also used his background in transportation engineering to provide training on the importance of sidewalks and their impact on communities.
Researchers