The Safe Routes Partnership is pleased to announce that Kaiser Permanente is awarding a two-year grant of $1.26 million to advance Safe Routes to School initiatives and policy nationwide and in specific regions.
The 2018 WSDOT Active Transportation Division call for projects for the Safe Routes to School and Pedestrian/Bicyclist Programs is now open, with more than $37 million in funding available for the 2019-2021 biennium beginning July 2019. Applications are due in late April and early May.
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.
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:
New research from the National Center for Safe Routes to School shows more kindergarten to grade 8 (K-8) students are walking to and from school across the country.
Washington state is building traffic safety partnerships throughout the state to align priorities and leverage resources to improve traffic safety. The Target Zero Plan is the result of this work and represents Washington’s strategic roadmap for eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by the year 2030. The Target Zero Plan provides a comprehensive framework with specific priorities, goals, and strategies.
School Districts in Washington, take note. Cascade Bicycle Club and Feet First are offering a mini grant program to get more kids moving more. Let them support your efforts to increase the number of children bicycling and walking to school — funding is available to 25 schools or school districts across WA toward this goal.
Applications Due: currently accepting applications on a rolling basis. (Note work must be completed by June 1, 2017.)
The Safe Routes Partnership is shocked and saddened by the news that, across the nation, traffic crash injuries and fatalities are up significantly this year. By disturbing comparison, in the first half of 2016, the number of people killed by traffic crashes in the US equals
Vision Zero shares many goals with Safe Routes to School. Vision Zero originated from Sweden in 1997 with the assertion that all traffic deaths and severe injuries are preventable. Sweden’s Vision Zero work was based on an old philosophy with a new twist: “it should no longer be the child that should adapt to traffic conditions, but the traffic conditions that should be adapted – as far as possible – to children.”
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| Safe Routes to School Pacific Northwest |
