As the city of Gulf Shores continues to prepare for the upcoming construction of a new pedestrian bridge, city council members have presented a proposal to create a safe pathways map to Gulf Shores City Schools in hopes of simultaneously increasing physical activity and improving safety.

Per presented documents from the March 4 city council work session meeting, traffic will be temporarily detoured through the Gulf Pines neighborhood for the duration of the bridge's construction.

"The Pedestrian Bridge detour plan, as well as the Canal Road Realignment Plan, will impact safe pedestrian and bicycle access to the existing Gulf Shores City School Campus," the document stated. "This project will help identify safe routes to school, accounting for both the temporary detour traffic, as well as the Canal reroute. A map will be developed that can be distributed to raise awareness of the ideal pathways to school, and an educational event will be held to not only highlight the map but also to identify ways we can all make healthier choices."

Lee Jones, director of planning and community development, said the project has been in the works for several years, drawing inspiration from a study conducted by Blue Zones LLC.

"This proposal has been in the works for quite some time, several years ago the concept of Blue Zones was brought up and started the conversation around 'how can we incorporate the findings of the Blue Zones study into our daily lives in Gulf Shores?'" Jones said.

According to Jones, if approved the safe pathways maps would be created in collaboration with the organization, which aims to create sustainable solutions to improve population health, and studies the correlation between daily movement, exercise and increased life longevity.

"We've focused on the 'move naturally' piece, and what the findings of this study have demonstrated is the people in blue zones have found a way to move naturally throughout the day," Jones said. "It's great to go to the gym every day and workout, but these people have access to their daily needs within walking and biking and they live in environments which encourage walking and biking for daily trips and activities."

Per presented documents, if approved the project is expected to cost approximately $19,986 and would be drawn from the city's 2024 budget.

"We're working really hard on making sure we have complete streets, and we have an environment where folks can get too destinations by foot or by bike," Jones said. "This pilot project is one where we can introduce ways to move naturally to the community."

Jones also said the project would increase safety for pedestrians in the Gulf Pines neighborhood and other local areas.

"With the realignment of Canal Road, as it moves south through the Gulf Pines neighborhood, one of our goals was to identify safe paths to school once that roadway is in for students within the Gulf Pines neighborhood, as well as Wedgewood and West Canal, as well as Fort Morgan or in the beach area," Jones said. "This project will analyze the existing conditions, the future conditions with future roadways and will develop a safe pathways to school map that we will work with the school system to get the word out there."

This motion was scheduled to be voted on at the March 11 city council meeting.