Farmers’ market on Friendship Square in downtown Moscow, ID. Photo via the Moscow Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Nancy Chaney of Moscow, ID, is working to help residents be healthier AND better connected to the broader region, and she sees smart growth strategies as a way to achieve both those goals at the same time.
“We pride ourselves on being a walkable, bikable community in the midst of rolling wheat fields, dried peas, and lentils,” Chaney says. “Smart growth means connecting people in the physical and social sense. It includes gathering places and public centers like Friendship Square in the heart of our downtown. And smart growth means providing for all residents regardless of their preferred mode of transportation—bicycles, strollers, wheelchairs. Smart growth gives Moscow’s residents this flexibility to choose whether to be in a motorized vehicle or to walk to a doctor’s appointment. Smart growth is about how people and place are interrelated.”
Mayor Chaney is a charter member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council. Since taking office in 2006, Mayor Chaney has undertaken a number of smart growth initiatives that support Moscow’s ambitious vision. In 2009 the City passed a comprehensive plan to guide decisions about land use, transportation, adequate and affordable housing, livable neighborhoods, public facilities and services, and economic development.
Under Chaney’s tenure Moscow has invested in new transportation options that better connect downtown with neighborhoods and job centers. A new intermodal transit center near downtown and the University of Idaho provides a number of easy alternatives to driving to a walkable place. The transit center is served by interstate buses, taxis, and a free local bus (SMART Transit), which is both wheelchair accessible and cyclist-friendly.
Mayor Chaney has also been part of Moscow’s Active Living Task Force, a federal grant-funded program to support active living policies and implementation. Among the projects made possible by the Task Force was iCount, a program to collect statistics about cycling and walking in Moscow. As past President and current Executive Board Member of the Association of Idaho Cities, she seized an opportunity to spread the message of smart growth’s effectiveness throughout the state. “In all of her roles with the Association of Idaho Cities, Mayor Chaney has worked hard to seek out and explain examples of best practices in land use and planning,” said Ken Harward, Executive Director of the Association.
Mayor Chaney celebrating Let’s Move! at the White House earlier this summer.
“Mayor Chaney has been a real champion of improving walking and bicycling facilities and safety,” said Elaine Clegg, a fellow member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council and Project Coordinator at Idaho Smart Growth. “These features have helped keep downtown Moscow really healthy economically.”
These accomplishments have garnered Moscow national attention. First Lady Michele Obama’s Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties initiative honored Mayor Chaney and Moscow as examples for the nation to follow for active, health communities.
“Let’s Move! is not just about healthy kids,” Chaney says, “It’s also about engaging families in a community.”
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council >>