PACE of the Midlands, together with the University of South Carolina School of Public Health Prevention Research Center and the Carolina Pacific Community Foundation, will be sponsoring a conference entitled "Moving Forward: Reconvening of the Walkabilities Conference". The conference will be held Tuesday, February 9^th, 1999, at 7 p.m., Gallery 701 in Olympia.

Moving Forward is a conference designed to bring together individuals and organizations interested in improving the quality of life in the Columbia area through community planning and alternative transportation initiatives. One of the outputs of Moving Forward will be a community directory participants can use to get their projects--whether it’s sidewalks or safety or planning or parks--off the ground, by identifying other organizations and individuals with common interests and important resources to provide.

The conference is open to the public, and is intended for community activists, private citizens, organizations, and government agencies-- anyone interested in the following issues:

• Community design and development.
• Land use planning.
• Preventing suburban sprawl.
• Urban renewal.
• Rural preservation.
• Environmental impact analysis.
• Conservation, natural-area preservation.
• Park and trail creation.
• Safe facilities for kids to get to school.
• Traffic calming.
• Motorist safety education.
• Bike safety education.
• Bike & pedestrian law enforcement.
• Bike patrols.
• Alternative transportation.
• Sidewalks.
• Multi-use paths & greenways.
• Bike lanes.
• Other on-road modification for cyclists.
• Bike racks.
• Bus Transit & improvements.
• Rail Transit.

While the primary focus of the conference will be on the greater Columbia metro area, groups and individuals interested in similar initiatives in other areas throughout the state are encouraged to attend. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet state-level contacts and share experiences with other local organizations.

Format of the Conference

• Participants will be given the opportunity to make brief presentations of their goals & resources. Overhead and slide projectors will be provided - RSVP required in order to present.
• The conference will break into an informal briefing and networking period, so participants can meet one-on-one others who share common interests and goals.
• Participants will complete an information sheet to be included in the community directory, which will be finalized and distributed after the conference.

PACE (Pedestrian And Cyclist Expressways) of the Midlands is a non-partisan citizens’ advocacy group formed after the Walkabilities Conference & Town Meeting held in the fall of 1997. Currently PACE has about 40-50 members, predominantly from Richland and Lexington Counties. PACE’s goal is to make the Columbia area into a more human-scaled, bike & pedestrian friendly community. The primary function of PACE is to bring together citizen activists to identify and support initiatives related to PACE’s goals.

Some PACE activities thus far have included:

• Working with state and local government agencies on issues such as "Share the Road" signs, bike lanes, land conservation, and community planning.
• Sponsoring public awareness events such as "Bike to Work Day", and public outreach at community events such as Earth Day.
• Working with related organizations such as Palmetto Trails and Palmetto Cycling Coalition to coordinate efforts.

PACE of the Midlands meets the first Monday of the month at 7pm at Gallery 701 (Corner of Whaley & Huger Streets across from the old mill in Olympia) in Columbia, SC. The group meets on the 2^nd Monday if the first is a holiday. Meetings are open to the public.

Jennifer Fitz

PACE of the Midlands

803-796-7693 (home)

803-936-5905 (work)

jenniferfitz@sc.slr.com

Regina Fields

Program Consultant

USC School of Public Health Prevention Research Center

Columbia, SC 29208

803-777-4159 fax 803-777-9007

RMFields@sph.sc.edu