The Strategic Alliance for Health, a local group formed through the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians grant to support healthy lifestyles, will petition the City of St. Ignace to adopt “complete streets” principles in street design, building, and repairs, said Jeanette O'Rourke, a group leader and a worker in health education for the tribe.

The idea behind such policies is to put plans in place to promote the building of pedestrian pathways, sidewalks, and other infrastructure. Mrs. O'Rourke said the plan could initially be in the form of a resolution and eventually become a city ordinance,

The group does not want the city to commit to spending money on such improvements, Mrs. O'Rourke said, but a commitment to take pedestrian needs into account when repairing roads could help the city and other groups secure extra funding for improvements like sidewalks and bicycle paths.

“Sometimes those grant dollars come around,” she said. “We just want to make sure the city is prepared.”

For instance, if the city tears apart a street to make sewer improvements, there may be grant money available to build new sidewalks or create pedestrian paths when rebuilding the street, Mrs. O'Rourke said.

The group's goal, she said, is to convince St. Ignace City Council to pass a resolution in support of a “complete streets” plan by October 1, and would then eventually look for a city ordinance to be developed upholding those pedestrian-friendly principles.

“The resolution would be a first step in support for, or recommending, that an ordinance be passed to support non-motorized transportation,” Mrs. O'Rourke said.