This #FeelGoodFriday, we want to celebrate our friends at the Rosedale Development Association (RDA)! RDA has been committed to the health and wellness of its community since it was established as the Rosedale Community Council in 1945. Over the last 70 years, RDA has engaged neighbors, businesses, and organizations to provide food assistance, repair homes, and foster healthy, sustainable community development. When BikeWalkKC first connected with RDA over five years ago, we were excited to support their mission to develop a thriving Rosedale neighborhood.
Bike to School Day 2018 with Frank Rushton Students
Our partnership with the RDA includes a number of initiatives centered around youth and community programming. Besides BLAST (Bicycle Lesson and Safety Training) and Earn-a-Bike classes at Rosedale schools and onsite at RDA, BikeWalkKC provides technical assistance with a number of active transportation programs and outreach events in Rosedale. This includes capacity building and training with RDA staff on bike safety and maintenance, as well as supporting the Wyandotte County Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program. With support from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS, we assist RDA with SRTS activations across Rosedale, with Walking School Bus programs and Walk/Bike to School Day events. When parents and teachers offered to take over those programs, we led training, observations, and a stipend program to introduce best practices to these new leaders. The parents and teachers are now inspiring others to establish more Safe Routes to School programs!
Bike to School Day 2018 with Noble Prentis Students
RDA has also committed to a number of programs and built-environment projects benefiting adults. They advocated for the first mile of bike lanes in Wyandotte County (the Southwest Boulevard lanes), and collaborated with Urban Trail Co. to build the Rozarks Nature Trails system. The RDA also offers a regular neighborhood walking club and celebrated Bike Month with bike-commuter stops and a Bike-In Movie!
Rosedale Development Association has been doing impressive work in KCK for decades, and the organization believes in the value of a vibrant, connected neighborhood. We are proud to work alongside an organization that is so thoroughly invested in its community and we look forward to continuing to partner with them. High fives to RDA!