Safe Routes to School E-News
Issue #31: July 2008
Safe Routes to School E-News is a monthly email newsletter published by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, a growing national network of more than 350 non-profit organizations, government agencies, and professional groups that are working to set goals, share best practices, secure funding, and provide detailed policy input to implementing agencies for advancing the Safe Routes to School national movement.
Please forward Safe Routes to School E-News to others who may be interested!
Don’t miss the Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s free 2008 Annual Meeting, being held in conjunction with Pro Walk/Pro Bike on September 2 in Seattle. Register today at http://www.bikewalk.org/2008conference/srts.html.
To receive future issues of E-News, email info@saferoutespartnership.org.
In this issue:
1. SRTS Welcomes New Steering Committee Members
Fresh experience and geographic perspective will bring value to the Partnership
2. School Bus Cuts and Rising Fuel Costs Provide Opportunities to Promote SRTS
Read the Washington Post article here
3. Registration Open for International Walk to School Day
Free registration for the October 8 event
4. CDC Releases Report Touting Safe Routes to School
Public health benefits for the larger community
5. FHWA SRTS Program Manager Staffing Change
Help us welcome Rebecca Crowe as we say goodbye to Tim Arnade
6. Active Living Research Conference – February 18-20, 2009
Seeking abstracts and award nominations
7. Safe Routes to School State Network Project Update
Action Plan updates and policy trainings
8. North Dakota SRTS Funding Awarded to Nine Communities
Next application cycle is expected to open end of August
9. Virginia’s SRTS Efforts Are Producing Results
Next call for applications expected late in Summer 2008
10. SRTS News Throughout the Country
Local and state SRTS program news links
1. SRTS Welcomes New Steering Committee Members
Fresh experience and geographic perspective will bring value to the Partnership
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is governed by a Steering Committee with national, state, and local perspectives on Safe Routes to School. The Partnership welcomes the following new Steering Committee organizations: Bicycle Alliance of Washington (Dave Janis), National Association of Regional Councils (Steve Petrehn), and Walk/Bike Nashville (Shannon Hornsby). The following Steering Committee organizations were nominated and selected to serve for another term on the Steering Committee: America Walks (Sue Newberry), Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (Melody Geraci), Michigan Fitness Foundation (Lee Kokinakis), and National Center for Bicycling and Walking (Sharon Roerty). The Steering Committee, a diverse group of up to 21 members, functions as the Partnership’s Board of Directors and holds decision-making responsibility for the Partnership.
To view a complete list of current Steering Committee organizations and their member representatives, click here.
2. School Bus Cuts and Rising Fuel Costs Provide Opportunities to Promote SRTS
Read the Washington Post article here
The Montgomery County, Maryland’s school system’s diesel bus fuel costs have more than doubled in four years, from $3.6 million in fiscal 2005 to a projected $7.9 million for fiscal 2009, which begins this month. It’s a hardship shared by the Fairfax County school system, with more than 1,500 buses; the Prince George’s County system, with 1,285 buses; and other area systems that transport tens of thousands of students.
On June 23, the Montgomery County school board gave Superintendent Jerry D. Weast emergency powers to make students walk farther to school, if need be, in the coming academic year. The proposal allows him to adjust walking distances after "expedited" public comment, possibly a few days rather than a month. Should fuel prices continue to rise, the school system could save money by raising maximum walking distances for students, because more walkers means fewer buses. Currently, elementary school students walk up to a mile, middle school students 1.5 miles and high school students two miles.
Higher fuel costs and resulting bus shortages provide a prime opportunity to reframe the issue at hand, and promote the positive benefits of Safe Routes to School, and siting schools within walking distance of homes. As more and more states and school districts will begin facing such issues it will be important to focus on the multiple community benefits that can be achieved by increasing the ability for children to be able to safety walk and bicycle to schools such as increasing physical activity and safety, reducing costs, and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Registration Open for International Walk to School Day
Free registration for the October 8 event
Walk to School Day is an international event, taking place October 8, 2008, where communities from over 40 countries join together to walk and bicycle to school.
SRTSNP encourages participants to take advantage of free registration, which is available to individuals or organizations holding a Walk to School event in the U.S. To register a Walk to School event, please visit www.walktoschool.org/register. Registered schools will be displayed on an interactive U.S. map on the U.S. Walk to School Web site, where neighboring communities, media, and other organizations will be able to view participating schools.
By registering, Walk to School organizers have access to a variety of downloadable materials produced by the National Center for SRTS, including certificates, templates for printing stickers and a frequent walker punch card. Registrants can also subscribe to receive a weekly Walk to School e-newsletter with tips and resources on holding a Walk to School event. For more information on Walk to School activities in the U.S., please visit www.walktoschool.org. To see photos from last year’s event, please visit www.iwalktoschool.org/photos/index.htm.
4. CDC Releases Report Touting Safe Routes to School
Public health benefits for the larger community
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report that examined the potential broader impact of SRTS programs on communities within 0.5 mile of schools. Click here to view the full report. A geographic information system was used to generate estimates of the land area within 0.5 mile of public schools in four U.S. Census-defined categories: 37 large urban areas, 428 small urban areas, 1088 metropolitan counties (counties in metropolitan statistical areas excluding the urban areas), and 2048 non-metropolitan counties. Population was estimated at the county level or at the U.S. Census-defined urban-area level using data from the 2000 U.S. Census.
In large urban areas, 39.0% of the land area was within 0.5 mile of a public school, and in small urban areas, 26.5% of the land area was within 0.5 mile of a public school. An estimated 65.5 million people in urban areas could benefit from SRTS projects. In non-urban areas, 1% or less of land is within 0.5 mile of a public school. The results suggested that SRTS projects in urban areas can improve the walking and bicycling environment for adults as well as for children, the target users, and that investment in SRTS can contribute to increased physical activity among both children and adults.
5. FHWA SRTS Program Manager Staffing Change
Help us welcome Rebecca Crowe as we say goodbye to Tim Arnade
After close to three years at the helm of the Safe Routes to School program management at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Tim Arnade is moving to FHWA’s Office of Policy as a key member of their congressional relations team. The new SRTS Program Manager, Rebecca Crowe, works out of FHWA’s Richmond, VA office and brings a wealth of federal aid and field experience to the job. Rebecca is a League Certified Instructor (LCI) for bicycling and was one of the first people to complete a SRTS training when the National Center first piloted their course. Many heartfelt thanks to Tim Arnade for all his hard work and dedication to bringing the SRTS program to where it is today, and welcome to Rebecca as she begins her work on this thriving national program.
6. Active Living Research Conference – February 18-20, 2009
Seeking abstracts and award nominations
Active Living Research (ALR), a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has announced a call for presentation and paper abstracts, and a call for award nominations for its 2009 Annual Conference. The theme of the conference is “Active Communities for Youth and Families: Creating Momentum for Change.” Abstracts on all topics related to active living policies and environments are welcome, and due July 30. The full call for Abstracts can be read here.
Also a part of the 2009 Annual Conference, the “Translating Research to Policy” award will recognize innovators who have successfully harnessed research to impact policy and environmental changes. The winner will be announced at the conference, February 18-20, 2009 in San Diego, CA. Read the full Call for Nominations here.
7. Safe Routes to School State Network Project Update
Action Plan updates and policy trainings
The SRTS State Network Project began in spring 2007, and each of the ten State Networks created a SRTS Action Plan. These plans identify and rank which state policies are the most important to enable children to walk or bicycle safely to schools in that state. Each State Network is now reviewing their Action Plans and will modify them based on first year accomplishments and challenges. During the review a particular policy subject may get ranked higher or lower; for instance, school siting has become a hot topic in several states, in part due to a recent school siting policy funding opportunity.
State Networks are also summarizing their first year accomplishments, which will be posted on the SRTS National Partnership website’s state pages this summer. The Partnership is also producing a detailed report on successes and lessons learned in each of the Network states. This report will be available on our website in September.
State Network leaders are also receiving monthly policy subject trainings from national experts, in order to become more informed about improving relevant policies such as school siting, complete streets, fine-based funding mechanisms and others.
8. North Dakota SRTS Funding Awarded to Nine Communities
Next application cycle is expected to open end of August
The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) announced that Governor John Hoeven recently approved $843,757 in funding for nine statewide projects under the Safe Routes to School program. Projects in North Dakota communities that will receive funding include: Burlington, Cavalier, Dickinson, Grafton, Grand Forks, Hankinson, Hettinger, Larimore and Minot. Funded projects include new trails, school signs and signals, sidewalks, crosswalks and non-infrastructure educational activities.
“The goal of the program is to provide funds to empower communities to make walking and bicycling to school a viable transportation option for elementary and middle school students,” said NDDOT Director Francis Ziegler.
Another cycle of applications for program funding will be solicited from the end of August through November. Approximately $1 million will be given to communities throughout the state. For more information, go to http://www.dot.nd.gov or contact Pam Wenger at 701-328-4787.
9. Virginia’s SRTS Efforts Are Producing Results
Next call for applications expected late in Summer 2008
Safe Routes to School efforts in Virginia are producing results. In the past two years, Virginia’s Department of Transportation (VDOT) has awarded approximately $3.5 million in grants to communities and schools across Virginia. The next call for applications is expected late this summer, and the Virginia SRTS State Network is assisting VDOT in helping to promote this program.
The Virginia SRTS State Network is one of the ten state network projects for the SRTS National Partnership and is managed by BikeWalk Virginia. The Virginia Network has been in place for a year now, and during this time span, new partnerships and programs have emerged. A great partnership has developed between the State Network and the Virginia Parent Teacher Association (PTA). This partnership is proving fruitful in building long-term and broad support for SRTS throughout Virginia. The State Network has been invited to present at the PTA leadership conference in the Summer 2008 with a panel of PTA leaders across Virginia touting the benefits and fun of established SRTS programs. Plans are in place to launch SRTS programs in school districts across the state in Fall 2008.
A year ago, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership was part of a coalition awarded funding from the Harvest Foundation in Martinsville/Henry County, Virginia. With support from the Partnership staff and the Virginia Network Organizer, the community celebrated a successful Walk to School Day in October 2007. When the program hired an education/outreach coordinator locally, the community quickly realized the benefits of an intensive SRTS program. Four local schools are participating in SRTS during this first year. Physical education teachers and community leaders have become certified to teach bicycle safety education through the Bike Smart program, parent surveys have been conducted, and nearly 60 children have received new bicycles over the past year through various incentive programs.
Finally, the City of Alexandria and Trips for Kids have partnered with the SRTS National Partnership and BikeWalk Virginia for a targeted effort to start SRTS at Mount Vernon Community School in Alexandria. This partnership is part of the Local School Project funded by Kaiser Permanente.
Work continues in Virginia to ensure the success of SRTS programs. If you are interested in more information, please contact the State Network Organizer, Stephanie Smith, or Sarah Weisiger, VDOT’s Safe Routes to School Coordinator.
10. SRTS News Throughout the Country
Local and state SRTS program news links
Safe Routes to School news around the country keeps growing! Updated regularly, see our new SRTS in the News media center for the latest in local, state, and national SRTS news.
Help Grow the Partnership!
Joining the Partnership is free. Please encourage other organizations, schools, businesses, and government agencies to join the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.
Funding for the Safe Routes to School National Partnership has been generously provided by the Bikes Belong Coalition, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Harvest Foundation, and partner affiliates.
For more information, contact:
Deb Hubsmith, Director
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
deb@saferoutespartnership.org
www.saferoutespartnership.org
(415) 454-7430