The City of Pineville & the Pineville Main Street program, and local businesses participated in CEDIK’s Business Retention and Expansion program in the spring of 2017. The results shed light on perceptions that limited parking was negatively impacting local business performance. This information coupled with general overall negative health outcomes in the community led directly to a partnership with CEDIK, the Bell County Health Department and the Bell County Extension Office to propose Walk Pineville in the spring of 2018. Together the partners developed a proposal to utilize point of prompt decision making signage (wayfinding) in concert with existing and planned health promotion programming to shift perceptions of parking distances and promote healthy life choices.

The Walk Pineville program was awarded a Community Engagement Mini Grant of $2500 from the University of Kentucky’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science.  The city of Pineville and its partners will be able to launch this evidence based program to increase physical activity and help shift perceptions around parking limitations in the city.

Pineville Walks incorporates point of prompt signage throughout downtown replicating similar efforts around the country shifting way-finding signage downtown from mileage to walking time or other health conscious statistics (steps, calories burned, etc.). Jacob Roane, Pineville Kentucky Main Street Manager, recently spoke about Pineville’s experience participating in CEDIK’s Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program and what has transpired since at the winter 2018 Promise Zone Downtown Revitalization Convening in Barbourville. Jacob emphasized how supportive and engaged local leadership and successful partnerships have underpinned the city’s success and how the BRE process provided a way for the local business community to be heard. With the support of CEDIK the City of Pineville will now be launching this new program throughout the late summer and fall of 2018.