PORT TOWNSEND — The inaugural Parkways — Walk, Bike, Play will lead participants on a free 3.5-mile adventure (walk, bike, play) through the streets and trails of Port Townsend on Sunday.
Starting from Mountain View Commons (between police station entrance and the pool) at 11 a.m., folks will gather for conversation, networking and free coffee.
After a brief opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m., the adventure begins, said Danny Milholland of Thunderbull Productions.
Traveling on foot and wheels to neighborhoods, parks and community assets, participants will enjoy open houses, lawn games, and community art projects along the way — all culminating in a community feed of salmon clam chowder prepared by Chef Arran Stark.
“The purpose of Parkways is to strengthen our community wellness and sense of place through reclaiming our streets and promoting healthy living, collaboration within neighborhoods and access to community resources,” said John Nowak, co-executive director of the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
Participating event locations include Mountain View Commons, the Port Townsend Public Library, the Food Co-op, Admiralty Audubon, The Upper Kah Tai Creek Neighborhood and the San Juan Discovery Community Development.
“We hope to inspire conversation about the overall health of our community and specifically how we can inspire more community activities like the Parkways event to help our residents be more active and less socially isolated,” Nowak said.
CHIP has been under way for about four and one-half years. It started with a community health assessment, completed in 2014, which took a broad look at the health data available for the community.
It was used to help a team of stakeholders make choices about setting priorities in the development of a health improvement plan. The resulting priorities are mental health and chemical dependency; immunizations; access to care; and chronic disease prevention and management.
After identifying them, work teams were formed to create structured frameworks to address these specific issues. The frameworks then became the basis for the Community Health Improvement Plan, which was approved by a joint board comprised of members of the Jefferson County Board of Health and the Jefferson Healthcare commissioners.
To see the plan, go to tinyurl.com/PDN-chipplan.
For more about Parkways, see thunderbullproductions.com/walk-bike-play.html.
