Contact:
Margo Pedroso
Deputy Director, Safe Routes Partnership
margo@saferoutespartnship.org
301-292-1043
Lauren Marchetti
Director, National Center for Safe Routes to School
Marchetti@claire.hsrc.un.cedu
919-962-7412
In 2012, the Map-21 transportation legislation made changes to the Federal Safe Routes to School program that added a required state or local match of up to 20 percent of project costs. These changes introduced new challenges in funding Safe Routes to School projects, and could be particularly hard for many small, rural, and urban low-income communities.
Through interviews conducted with 7 Safe Routes to School coordinators and in-depth profiles from California, Florida, New Jersey, and Ohio, this informational brief examines the changes in law, the need for Safe Routes to School projects in disadvantaged communities, and how some states are using creative approaches to supply the match.
The Safe Routes Partnership is a nonprofit organization that improves the quality of life for kids and communities by promoting active, healthy lifestyles and safe infrastructure that supports bicycling and walking. We advance policy change; catalyze support for safe, active and healthy communities with a network of more than 700 partner organizations; and share our deep expertise at national, state and local levels with those who are helping to propel our mission forward. Founded in 2005, the Safe Routes Partnership’s mission is to advance safe walking and bicycling to and from schools, and in daily life, to improve the health and well-being of America’s children and to foster the creation of livable, sustainable communities.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School assists communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school. The Center strives to equip Safe Routes to School programs with the knowledge and technical information to implement safe and successful strategies. The National Center for Safe Routes to School is maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.