What better way to ring in the 2013 New Year than to reflect on what we are thankful for and resolve to improve.

It is important to assess where we are, where we have been and where we are going. This time of year naturally leads us to those thoughts. At the risk of being cliché, I welcome the opportunity to think about what worked well with the Greater Washington, DC network in 2012 and what we might do differently in 2013.

Every child deserves the opportunity to get themselves to and from school. Besides being able to chase frogs or play with their friends, there are many benefits to being able to have that activity in their day. 

In 2005, North Carolina began a new era in how it viewed bicycles and pedestrians on its roadways. North Carolina Department of Transportation welcomed Safe Routes to School funding and created a specialty license plate that allowed its residents to show their support for bicycle and roadway safety.

Rhode Island has awarded Safe Routes to School projects in two rounds which includes more than $6 million in funding For Round 1, ten Safe Routes to School programs in seven cities and towns involving 30 schools have been awarded. At this time, they are in various stages from “in process of being implemented” to completion. For Round 2, twelve programs in ten cities and towns involving 16 schools have been awarded and all are in the process of being implemented (infrastructure and non-infrastructure).