WHAT IS IT?
The Active Transportation Academy is a four-day professional development course that equips engineers, planners, advocates, and elected officials with practical strategies to create safer, more connected communities through walking, biking, and micro-mobility.
The Academy’s goal is professional development and skill building, offering up to 29 hours of continuing education credits as needed while immersing participants in real-world learning. Ride the region’s active transportation network, engage with local leaders, and learn directly from community stakeholders how Northwest Arkansas became recognized as a premier cycling destination.
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Anyone interested in increasing their understanding of executing and implementing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and culture, including:
Civil Engineers
Planners
Trail / Mobility Coordinators
Elected / Public Officials
Parks and Recreation Staff
Active Transportation Advocates
School Administrators
Landscape Architects
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Technical details and best practices for designing and building safe, comfortable, and connected bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Understanding the role that an active transportation network can play in supporting sustainable land use, housing, and complementing multi-modal transportation networks and will be able to provide examples of its application.
Practical strategies and case studies for developing a bicycle and pedestrian-friendly culture that can increase usage and ridership.
Effective public engagement strategies that include a wide array of voices and perspectives.
Knowledge of the role that active transportation connectivity plays in increasing economic development and tourism.
Understanding of how active transportation can increase community health outcomes through the creation of safer neighborhoods, recreation, and a culture of activity.
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Bentonville, AR will be our base of operations, although we will be exploring multiple cities across the Northwest Arkansas region. This vibrant town has quickly grown to become a destination both for the sense of place that it promotes but also for biking. Bentonville acts as a hub for nightlife, arts and culture, as well as natural surface and paved trails.
NWA is home to over 400 miles (and growing) of natural surface trails connected by shared-use paved paths and other on-street infrastructure. While we will be primarily focused on the hard surface and on street portions of developing a connected community, you will surely want to sample some of this sweet single track while you’re here!
Check out this great resource on all things NWA:
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The Active Transportation Academy offers focused training that helps participants develop practical strategies to enhance mobility and strengthen community connections. Participants experience Northwest Arkansas firsthand by traveling its multimodal corridors and learning from regional leaders and partners at a program cost of $2,850.
Register before February 15th for $150 Off our Spring and Summer sessions!
Register before February 15th for $150 Off our Spring and Summer sessions!
HAVE QUESTIONS? LET’S TALK.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?
“Hands down, the best learning experience I have had in over twenty five years of professional practice.”
“The Academy completely transformed my perception of active transportation and how I interact with not only the physical spaces themselves but the people who are in positions to make positive impacts. It inspired a passion for bringing the right people to the table and provided me the awareness and relevant data needed to get the right conversations started. We now analyze how our sidewalks, bike lanes, cross walks and road ways impact the community and are encouraged to seek improvements.”
“The Academy opened my eyes to an alternative mode of transportation that can be accessed by everyone. It showed me a well-thought-out and implemented trail system can not only provide recreational and health benefits it can also provide a critical means of transportation to members of a community who may be facing economic challenges. By encouraging designs that serve all ages and all abilities while also emphasizing inclusivity, The Academy has engrained in me a duty to design trail systems that all may access safely and equally in order to fulfill a broad spectrum of needs.”
“The academy was an experience I could never compare to any other learning experience I have ever had.”
INTERESTED IN SCHOLARSHIPS?
Explore qualifications for the NW Arkansas & Arkansas / Mississippi Delta Region Scholarship program or the Kansas State University-Technical Assistance to Brownfields Scholarship program by clicking on the images below:
