For 20 years, Diana Tarango has laced up her walking shoes and hit the sidewalk around Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights ( Los Angeles). But a while ago she noticed tree roots pushing up the sidewalk, making it uneven and hazardous. Meanwhile, Sofia Quinones, who tripped over an un-even sidewalk while jogging, found herself driving to other communities to go walking.

The condition of the sidewalk “was a health issue,” says Tarango. In the mostly Latino working-class city where there’s little open space and joining a gym is a luxury, Tarango, Quinones, and other residents feared the community’s diabetes and hypertension problems would get worse without a safe, comfortable place to walk.

So Tarango, Quinones, and other neighbors, community workers, and city officials formed the Evergreen Jogging Path Coalition. In 2003, the 500-member coalition celebrated a new, 1.25-mile rubberized jogging path that replaced the old, cracked sidewalk.

“With the level surface, we knew more children, more seniors, and even more mothers with strollers would be able to get some sort of regular exercise,” says Nick Pacheco, who represented the neighborhood on the Los Angeles City Council.

Walking is “a great activity that parents can do with their children. Children are more likely to be physically active if it’s something they can do with their family,” says Manal Aboelata, program manager at Prevention Institute, which compiled a report on 11 neighborhood fitness projects.

Coalition members share some of the keys to their success:

Don’t approach people with a problem. Instead, come up with a solution. When Tarango saw a jogging path in another community, she thought, “Why can’t we do a jogging path in Boyle Heights?”

Use what you’ve got. The coalition noticed people were already using the sidewalk around the cemetery. “This to me demonstrated such an incredible example of building on what’s already there,” says Aboelata.

Form a diverse coalition. Alliances between residents, community activists, and government agencies made the project a quick success, says Aboelata’s report. Vicky Macias, who owns a nutrition center a block from the jogging path, says she helped collect thousands of signatures on a petition that the group presented to the city.

“It takes a village to improve the community,” says Nadine Diaz, who, as an infant, was pushed in a stroller as her grandmother walked around the cemetery. “It took many, many people to volunteer their time and to advocate.”

The coalition also visited City Councilmember Pacheco and enlisted his help in securing $800,000 to build the path.

Be creative, especially in seeking funding. “Look at windows of opportunity for funding that are not the traditional path,” Pacheco advises. He helped the group apply for a state grant that funds projects using recycled products. (The jogging path is made from recycled tires.)

Don’t get discouraged. “Don’t leave it alone until it’s done,” says Macias.

“I get so happy to see it packed every evening with bicycles, people with strollers,” she adds. “What a nice way to spend time with your children! You’re keeping your health and you’re being a good example to them by taking them for regular walks instead of just sitting in front of the TV eating, gaining weight.”

Contact: Prevention Institute, Manal Aboelata, 323-296-5750, manal@preventioninstitute.org