Maitland City Talk

Central Florida partners to become a Vitality City!

On June 9, leaders of five communities within Orange County partnered together to pitch our cities as a Vitality City. Collectively, Baldwin Park, College Park, Eatonville, Maitland, and Winter Park represent a population of about 100,000 people that has qualified to be considered a Vitality Zone by Healthways-Blue Zones Vitality City Quest.

A Vitality City is one in which the Healthways-Blue Zones team works with local governments and community leaders for as many as two years to design and implement large and small-scale environment and policy changes that will result in a healthier community whose residents will enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

Winter Park Mayor Ken Bradley, Eatonville Mayor Bruce Mount, Orlando City Commissioner Robert Stuart and myself joined together to provide the Blue Zones team an unprecedented five-community tour to show just how much our communities will benefit from being designated a Vitality Zone.

We toured areas of our communities that were well-connected in terms of bike and pedestrian pathways, and also showed where the opportunities for connectivity existed when SunRail becomes a reality. We toured school zones, showing where kids and families could participate in walking to school with one another rather than riding a school bus every day. And we showed how our many lakes and parks were an integral part of the quality of life every resident enjoys.

Vitality Zones have been effective in many parts of the world. From Italy to Okinawa to Albert Lea, Minn., Vitality Zones have resulted in many documented benefits to the areas that have been fortunate to have been selected to participate.

In Albert Lea, Newsweek reported that health care costs dropped for the first time in a decade; absenteeism dropped up to 20 perecent for key employers; and the average life expectancy for participants rose by 3.1 years, while their risk for heart disease, diabetes and depression dropped commensurately.

Collectively, our communities are known as the Central Florida Vitality Zone. The Central Florida Vitality Zone is one of three areas across the country that is a finalist. All factors considered, we stand a good chance of making the final cut sometime in July.

If we are successful, our local proposal partners, Florida Hospital and Winter Park Health Foundation, will work with national level sponsors along with Central Florida-area foundations and corporate sponsors to fund the project over the two-year period.

Since the city of Maitland connects two other key cities, Winter Park and Eatonville, the benefits of connecting our communities just through bikeways and pathways represents an opportunity to create a much healthier lifestyle by allowing all residents access to other communities in a much easier and safer way, ultimately reducing our dependency on the automobile along the way.

As mayor of the city of Maitland, I look forward to being an integral part of making the Central Florida Vitality Zone a reality. Please join me in working with our local and national partners to make our community a healthier place to live. For more information, visit www.vitality-city.com.