Kahoka Takes Advantage of Local Resource
The City of
The intended outcome of the
trail system was to increase physical activity and decrease the risk for heart
disease by providing a free, safe, pleasant outdoor environment for people to
walk, run or bike. The trail system also
linked the community, so people were able to go from place to place without
using a car. The Coalition also worked
to make the trail safe, providing appropriate signage to give motorists or
pedestrians the right of way.
The changes began in 1999 and
were completed in 2002. This project
will be an on-going project according to the City of
Current activities, as of
2005, include the completion of a Department of Natural Resources grant awarded
to the City of
The Park’s path is currently
in Phase IV and consists of a ¼ mile chat loop trail completed in July 2002, 4’
wide with 5” deep chat with less that 1% slope.
Currently the Coalitions want to enhance the trail so that it is 8’ wide
with an asphalt surface (this would extend the use from only walkers and
joggers to include bikes, scooters, inline skates, and wheelchairs. Also, it helps for easy maintenance in the
winter months.
Local volunteers in Kahoka
have collected $6,500 in donations from local businesses to purchase playground
equipment for children ages 1-5 years.
The equipment will be placed in the center of the trail loop around the
Park so parents can walk on the trail while their children play. The equipment will be erected by volunteers
and members of the FFA from
Environmental Change Initiation
Heart disease is the number
one leading cause of death in
The History:
Phase I: (July ’99)
Barrier identified as “lack of safe and accessible outdoor exercise
areas”. Plan is for Clark County
Physical Activity Coalition to have a walking path, clearly marked and
accessible by September 2000.
Phase II: Small repairs
made to shoulders and sidewalks along identified trail; and pedestrian
awareness signs placed throughout city.
Phase III: December 2000
Coalition received grant to expand trail into
Phase IV: Development
of the O-Mak-O-Hak trail (1/4 mile extension to
existing 2.3 mile trail), estimated completion in September 2004
Phase V: Creation of
CARE Trail (around CARE Complex)
Phase VI: Expansion of
Kahoka Trail to connect CARE and O-Mak-O-Hak Trails
Phase VII:
Phase VIII: Kahoka Trail
and Athens Trail connection
Phase IX: Athens Trail
to IA line
Phase X: Merging of
Clark Trails and IA Trails
Public Health Agency
Roles
The MHDSP Program provided
the funding for the project. The MHDSP
Program also provided the community inventory assessment form, training, and
technical assistance for the administration of the inventory tool, planning and
implementation of the plan. Once the
implementation plan was finalized the MHDSP Program provided additional funding
for the three (3) years of implementation of the project.
The Health Promotion Unit
provided funding for a Health Educator who was responsible for administering
the community inventory assessment and coordination for the trail project.
Major Partners
Major partners include the
DHSS Missouri Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, DHSS Health
Promotion Unit, Clark County Health Department, Clark County Trails Coalition,
City of
Official Support
State Senator John Cauthorn, Kahoka Mayor Butler, and David Shoush, NE Mo Regional Planning Agency supported this
initiative.
Results from the
Environmental Change
The Heart Disease and Stroke
Prevention Program is currently completing qualitative evaluation using
ethnographic interviews to determine the impact, outcome, and sustainability of
the change. At the local level, measures
of impact and sustainability include the creation of walking groups and annual
awareness activities. The adjoining
county also created a trails group.
Lessons Learned
The non-traditional
partnerships formed during this project were essential for the completion of
this project. The success of the project
has increased physical activity habits for community members, and stimulated
additional environmental changes designed to promote physical activities. People in nearby communities were motivated
by the success in
Opposition
Neither county experienced opposition; in fact it was
really the opposite. From the notes
taken from the residents, per interviews by the interns, everyone was extremely
excited about the grants and the possibility of having the means to improve
physical activity in their communities.
Submitted By
Linda L. Powell
Missouri Department of Health
and Senior Services
573-522-2865
573-522-2898 FAX