Latino Health Access planning a Wellness Corridor in Downtown Santa Ana

Wellness Corridor, from Council Member Michele Martinez’ Newsletter

Latino Health Access (LHA), one of Santa Ana’s most successful non-profits, mission is to assist in improving the quality of life and health of the most marginalized members of the community. Since 1993, LHA has provided quality preventive services and educational programs that enable such individuals to take responsibility and fully participate in decisions affecting their health. LHA has been highly effective in reducing health disparities among Orange County’s severely under-served, underinsured Latino community. Now, LHA is embarking in a new endeavor, promoting the creation of a Wellness Corridor in Central Santa Ana.

The Wellness Corridor is a project that Council Member Michele Martinez fully support as it addresses the health issues of Central Santa Ana’s residents by encouraging active lifestyles, healthy eating options, engages residents and businesses—adding resources for all while building community. The Wellness Corridor will promote active healthier living by using non-traditional open spaces to create urban fitness walking and biking routes with supporting amenities and exercise stations which will be located at the organization’s park currently under development and scheduled for completion summer of 2012.

The location of the Wellness Corridor project area is proposed to be located in downtown Santa Ana. It includes the city’s civic center, the pedestrian-oriented downtown retail business district, a high-density residential neighborhood and an industrial zone. Specifically, the corridor covers the area bounded by Ross Street to the west and Garfield Street approximately one mile to the east, and includes the areas to the north and south of the corridor along 3rd and 4th Streets. The Wellness Corridor proposes to include a safe walking and biking circuit route of approximately two miles in length using the public sidewalks and streets (for a parallel walking and bike route) along 3rd and 4th Streets, with interval stops for access to bathrooms, water and the Latino Health Access Park and Community Center at the mid-point of this circuit route.

The project would engage 150 businesses as partners to create a healthier city and encourages the business community to participate in the conceptualization and implementation of a wellness corridor, providing services and information to pedestrians, offering ideas/resources, creating a healthier workplace. This project is representative of projects that Council Member Martinez supports – those that improve and add to the policies and development in the city that help create a healthier Santa Ana.

For more information on the Wellness Corridor project, please call Dolores Gonzalez-Hayes, Director of Policy, at Latino Health Access (714) 542-7792.  Click here for information regarding the new park being built by Latino Health Access, in Santa Ana’s 92701 zip code – which had no parks.