Everywhere You Look
October is such a great time of year.Everywhere I look lately, no matter what city or town I am visiting, I see more children and families walking and bicycling to school, the park, other destinations and just for fun.
Update from the South Dakota Safe Routes to School Program
Residents of Centerville, SD, gathered in the warm prairie sunshine on a Saturday in September to celebrate completion of the first phase of a Safe Routes to School project. New sidewalks, curb and gutter, ADA curb ramps and traffic signs now make walking to school safer for school kids of all ages in this rural eastern South Dakota community of 882 people. New Safe Routes to School-funded programs to encourage walking to school are boosting the number of who do just that.
Update from the Mississippi Safe Routes to School Program
Mississippi has certainly been busy with Safe Routes to School initiatives. For starters, they have awarded a total of 39 projects representing 31 communities and 87 schools. They have also had four statewide projects. In the most recent cycles, they awarded $2.5 million involving 12 communities, 26 schools and three statewide partners. The most recent awards were announced in September 2012, which brings their total amount awarded to date to $10.9 million.
Happy Walk and Bike to School Month!
October is my favorite time of year. Fall has finally arrived, as well as the state fair in the great state of Texas. One other huge reason I love the month of October is that Wednesday, October 3 is Walk and Bike to School Day.
Joint Use – Breaking Out All Over
As we have often discussed, joint use (or shared use) agreements are one of the Safe Routes Partnership’s three primary policy priorities from our Robert Wood Johnson funding. What is really exciting is how we frequently hear more about how much is going on in our seven network states. Here is a sampling:
You Complete Me
There is a scene, from a once famous movie where this guy busts through the door to expel his undying affection for a woman. She completes him, and he wants to make sure she knows it.
I’m no Tom Cruise, but I want you to know: You complete me.
So Many Resources, So Little Time: Announcing a New Library of Resources
Co-authored with Kathy Cooke, network coordinator - One of the most common interests shared by staff at the Safe Routes Partnership is a love of books. Reading books, belonging to book clubs, haunting book stores when we're not working -- you name it.
Striving for Safe Streets for Moms and Children
During the opening plenary session at ProWalk/ProBike in Long Beach, Suja Lowenthal, PhD, a council member from Long Beach, addressed the attendees. She’s a passionate advocate, sharing many ideals so many of us do, but I strongly agreed when she declared that our communities are not bike-friendly until mothers with children feel comfortable taking to the streets. That is such an imp
Is Bicycling Social Media?
Seeing all the bicyclists and their interactions at Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place, in my home town of Seattle, and many other places I travel makes me wonder. Is bicycling a non-electronic version of social media?
ProWalkProBike: ProNewJersey
New Jersey’s Zealous Nuts: The 2012 ProWalkProBike: Pro Place conference brought together hundreds of “zealous nuts” who are dedicated to people walking and bicycling more often. Fred Kent, founder of Project for Public Spaces, opened the c