From our early successes in supporting the establishment of the Safe Routes to School movement to our more recent efforts increasing safe and equitable access to parks through Safe Routes to Parks, we know that our bodies were designed to move, yet many of our communities were created with intentional inequities that limit mobility. We believe change is necessary to achieve a vision of safe, active, equitable, and healthy communities – urban, suburban, and rural – for everyone. We have refreshed our identity, and we remain true to our core mission. We will continue to support you in this work every day.

While the current FAST Act won’t expire until September 2020, it takes a lot of time for Congress to hold hearings, negotiate, come up with bills, find funding, and get them passed and signed into law. Past transportation reauthorization bills have been plagued by delays and extensions, but the Senate in particular is off to a fast start this year.

In the first two months of the new Congress, one key issue making news is climate change. The transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, making up 28.5 percent of all emissions. Emissions from transportation have been increasing primarily due to people driving more and driving larger vehicles that are less fuel efficient. Often, emission reduction solutions focus on things like electrifying cars and transit or shifting to zero-emissions trucks.

Successful parks are markers of healthy communities; children play, families spend time together, people of all ages exercise and relax, and the environment adds to the beauty, security, and economic value of the neighborhood. On the other hand, neglected, poorly maintained, or badly designed parks have the opposite effect: families and young children stay away, illicit activities proliferate, and the property becomes a threatening or discouraging eyesore.