| Mayor Darwin Hindman, Columbia, Missouri |
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Hindman also worked closely with the 6,000-member community-based organization PedNet to develop a master bicycle/pedestrian plan—after which the mayor adopted new street construction standards that helped make walking and biking easier and safer. To encourage more activity among school-age children, the major helped lead a $3.5 million ballot initiative to raise funds to build sidewalks around schools, to improve walkability and enhance student safety. Columbia also implemented an innovative Walking School Bus program, where groups of children walk to school, accompanied by adult volunteers. Hindman is not only dedicated to promoting active living in Columbia but also has shown an unwavering commitment to preserving and expanding the state’s parks and trails. He is an active member and spokesperson of the grassroots organization Friends of the Missouri-Kansas-Tennessee (MKT) trail and is the current president of the Missouri Rails to Trails Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the expansion of rails-to-trails conversions in Missouri.The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) also has awarded grants to several healthy eating and active living initiatives in Columbia. The most recent grant was awarded by RWJF’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities national program. For more information, please call (573) 874-7539 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Videos featuring Darwin Hindman: |
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Mayor Darwin Hindman has transformed Columbia, Mo., from a town dependant on automobiles to a model for active living.