RiverWay South is designed to work with communities within the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint (ACF) watershed to preserve, protect and promote the unique heritage of the watershed while infusing new economic life into those communities struggling to survive. Although three states and three rivers are involved, ACF represents one magnificent river system.

We are working with counties in the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Apalachicola watershed to stimulate economies through cultural heritage tourism and by supporting and encouraging river excursions and recreation on the river. RiverWay South is a not for profit organization funded by a USDA Rural Business Opportunity Grant.

Completed in April 2008, the Five Mile Creek Trail Location Study represents a culmination of existing, planned and proposed bicycle and pedestrian transportation corridors along the waterway and its tributaries. The primary objective was to identify a seamless network of interconnected greenway facilities that could potentially link key destinations such as schools, neighborhoods, towncenters, parks and other green space. The report was drafted by Tom Maxwell (Senior Environmental Planner) with input from the Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership and other members of the community. Francesca Gross (Partnership Coordinator) also played a key role in editing the report as well as collecting and providing input from the Partnership. The report has been posted on the Partnership's website at www.cawaco.org/fivemilecreek/resources/recreation/index.html.  For questions or more information contact Tom Maxwell at tmaxwell@rpcgb.org or Francesca Gross at fgross@rpcgb.org

With business signs, more is not necessarily better. Oversized signs and signage "clutter" can have a negative impact on how downtown and its businessesare perceived.

"It also becomes very expensive and cost-prohibitive, for the start-up business to have to pay $10,000 or $15,000 on a sign, just to get minimal recognition on the street," says Scott Day of Urban Development Services. Other common business signage problems are signs not properly positioned for the public to see them, and store windows that are jam-packed with signage.

"Too many signs say too many things," Day says. "It becomes visual white noise. People don't want to take the time to sort through it all. A lot of main street retail corridors suffer from information overload."

from: www.DowntownDevelopment.com/dpr.php

Celebrate the achievements of planning this October during National Community Planning Month. This year's theme is Green Communities.

Each year APA, its members, chapters, divisions, and professional institute sponsor National Community Planning Month to raise the visibility of the important role of planners and planning in communities across the U.S.

Help elevate the role of planning in your community. Host a planning department or planning commission open house, talk to kids in schools about a career in planning, present a library display about planning and planners, sponsor a neighborhood tour to highlight how planning helps the community.

http://www.planning.org/ncpm/

APA's flagship program celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Places are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow.

APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be -- not only to visit, but to live and work every day. America's truly great streets, neighborhoods and public spaces are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement.

http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/index.htm

Each October, hundreds of children, parents, teachers and community leaders across Alabama walk to school to celebrate International Walk to School Day.  It is an energizing event, reminding parents and children alike of the simple joy of walking and biking to school.  It also serves as an opportunity to focus on the importance of physical activity, safety, air quality and a more walkable community.  This is why Walk to School events can be a great way to jumpstart a Safe Routes to School Program in your community.  For more information about this event visit http://www.walktoschool.org/.

A report by David Barron on National Public Radio examines an issue Scenic America has been working on for years: the battle between communities who want to plant and maintain trees and the billboard companies who want motorists to have unadulterated views of their signs.

While the practice of billboard companies destroying the public's trees is an issue all across the country, in this story Barron focuses on a swath of trees on a highway near Orlando, Florida. The piece includes commentary from Bill Jonson, a Scenic America board member and President of Citizens for a Scenic Florida.
Listen to the story here.

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Welcome & Introductions
Tom Maxwell, Regional Planning Commission | Dalton Smith, Region 2020

8:30 – 9:30 am Breakfast with Presentations
Greenprinting for Growth, Amy Condon, Trust for Public Land
Chattanooga Greenways Program
Rick Wood, Trust for Public Land

9:30- 10:00 am Heart of Alabama: A Gateway to Greenspace
Tom Maxwell, Regional Planning Commission

10:00 - 10:15 am Break

10:15 – 10:45 am Metro Birmingham Land Conservation In Action
Brian Rushing, Freshwater Land Trust

10:45 – 11:30 am Metro Atlanta Greenways – Past, Present & Future
Ed McBrayer, PATH Foundation

11:30 – 12:15 pm Preserving the Visual Qualities of Parkways & Byways
Kevin Fry, Scenic America

12:15 – 1:30 pm Lunch with Presentation
Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities
Edward T. McMahon, Urban Land Institute

1:30 – 3:00 pm Roundtable Discussion with Presenters

Brochure and Registration Information:
2008_BC_brochure.pdf

Alabama Trail Plan and Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan Public Workshop
Monday, September 8, 2008. 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Alabama Power Clanton Conference Center

As a part of the Alabama Trail Plan and the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, a public workshop will be held to present information, to obtain citizen comments and to propose suggestions for future trails and outdoor recreation needs.

The trail and recreation workshop is being conducted by the South Central Alabama Development Commission (SCADC) under a contract with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). The workshop is open to the public and interested persons are encouraged to attend. If you require special accommodations, please send an e-mail to scadcplanning@adss.alabama.gov with your request. Persons unable to attend a meeting may review material after September 8, 2008 at www.trails.alabama.gov and are requested to submit written comments by September 19, 2008 to: Trail Plan, SCADC, 5900 Carmichael Place, Montgomery, AL 36117. This is a free workshop, however, space is limited.

Workshop Agenda
10:00 AM Overview
State of Alabama Outdoor Recreation Needs and Goals By Region

State of Alabama Proposed Trail System Concept

11:00 AM User Group Work Sessions

12:00 PM Lunch On Your Own

1:00 PM User Group Work Sessions

2:00 PM Review Results of User Group Work Sessions

User Groups:

• Outdoor Recreation Hiking
• Biking Canoe
• ATV/OHV Equestrian
• Special Interest

For More Information, Go To www.trails.alabama.gov
Questions? E-mail scadcplanning@adss.alabama.gov

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
Register by Phone:
South Central Alabama
Development Commission
334-244-6903, ext. 120

Register By E-mail:
scadcplanning@adss.alabama.gov
Provide your name, organization, address,
phone number and user group preference.

Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)

Public meetings will be held in four locations across the state next week:
 
July 28.....Monte Sano State Park (Huntsville).....9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
July 29.....Cheaha State Park (Near Talladega).....9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
July 31.....The Waters (Pike Road).....9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
August 1.....5 Rivers Delta Center (Spanish Fort).....9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
 
If you have not already done so, please RSVP by noon on Friday, July 25th to scadcplanning@bellsouth.net.
 
To view the meeting postcard with topic information and directions to the meeting locations, visit www.trails.alabama.gov.

The Livable Streets Network, a website devoted to promoting sustainable cities through sensible urban planning, design, and transportation policy, has launched a wiki for online users. The wiki allows users to browse reference articles, edit or supplement existing articles, or post new articles of their own. The wiki presently has roughly 150 articles, covering topics such as promoting biker and pedestrian safety, cities with innovating planning strategies, and unique mass-transit systems. To get started with the wiki, visit www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki.