Pacific Northwest

Help encourage walking to school in Southwest Washington!

Communities across the nation are implementing Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs. SRTS programs improve safety conditions and increase the number of students walking to and from school.

Public transportation connects many communities in Oregon, provides options for travelers, and often serves as the only way for people to get where they need to go. The Oregon Public Transportation Plan (OPTP) will provide a statewide vision and policy foundation for decisions about public transportation in and between Oregon communities. This plan will not identify projects or local investments, but it will set priorities and policies to guide future decisions and investments by state and local agencies.

Nearly a quarter of Washington state eighth graders are overweight or obese and 14% of morning traffic is school-related… but both of these problems are being addressed through the Safe Routes to School program that has funded 136 projects in the past ten years! Check out this two-page infographic from Washington State DOT on the problems, opportunities, benefits, and success of Safe Routes to School programs in that state:

For some light Friday afternoon reading, I suggest you head on over to BikePortland and read my guest post on how to make Portland a better place for walking and bicycling for kids (and people of all ages).

How does the greater Portland-Metro region get to a place where we have safer streets? Where do we begin to build accessible routes — to transit, to jobs, to schools, to our community centers — for people of all ages and abilities to travel on foot?

In the Portland Metro region, Regional Travel Options (RTO) grants fund projects that help improve the transportation system through education and encouragement of travel choices to and from work or school, such as carpooling, riding transit, walking, and bicycling. These programs help the region in numerous ways by both improving mobility and reducing pollution from car trips.