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The San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative (COI), funded by the County of San Diego HHSA, and facilitated by us at the UC San Diego Center for Community Health, recently teamed up with the National City Sustainable Mobility Plan for a walk and park audit. We walked the routes around Las Palmas Elementary and through Butterfly Park to support our Safe Routes to Healthy Places (SRHP) project. 

We kicked off the park and walk audit with an opening from National City Interim City Manager Steve Manganiello. He shared recent improvements made throughout the city and expressed his hopes for further progress resulting from these audits. 

The COI Community Council selected Butterfly Park as a priority site to increase safe opportunities for physical activity. This audit was one of nine happening across the city to support the National City Sustainable Mobility Plan. By aligning our Safe Routes to Healthy Places project with the National City Sustainable Mobility Plan, we are seeing the true power of collective impact. When partners come together across shared projects, we amplify our resources and voices to create a much larger community impact. 

Our team joined a diverse group of partners to walk the neighborhood. Participants included National City residents, Community Council members, CalTrans staff, Kimley- Horn, Alta Planning + Design, and the team from the San Diego Natural History Museum overseeing the Anchoring Healing Through Nature project. We also welcomed representatives from the offices of County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre and State Senator Steve Padilla, who both represent the National City area, 

Together, we identified several opportunities for safety improvements. Participants pointed out holes in fencing, trash, and unsafe crosswalks. We also noted where sidewalks need repairs or widening to ensure accessibility for all neighbors. 

Rocina Lizarraga, a COI Community Council member and National City resident, shared why this park is so vital. She noted as part of the Kitchenistas from Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center they organized clean-ups, but the park lacks proper maintenance. Residents specifically hope to see accessible exercise equipment added to the space. 

The National City Sustainable Mobility Plan team will now compile results from all nine audits to present back to the community. As a next step, COI will bring these findings to the summer Government Domain meeting and coordinate with local partners on next steps to support improvements. 

We look forward to continuing our work with residents to ensure every neighborhood has safe spaces for play and exercise. To get involved or learn more about our work, please join the COI here: https://sdcoi.org/get-involved/