Resource Library

This month many children are heading back to school. Like many children and parents at this time of year, I am excitedly nervous -- excited about the beginning of a new school year, and slightly nervous about the challenges that lie ahead.

When I came to the Safe Routes Partnership more than a year and a half ago, I was encouraged by our founder Deb Hubsmith to do two things. First, find every way to raise the drum beat of equity in my work, and second, read profusely to gain best practices and tactics to push progress forward. 

This week, the Safe Routes Partnership published a new report, “North Carolina: Writing the Next Chapter of Its Transportation Legacy."  The report is being released as the newest NC General Assembly convenes in R

The Safe Routes Partnership is pleased to support the For Every Kid Coalition in the Pacific Northwest region. For Every Kid is a growing coalition calling for Safe Routes to School for every kid in the Metro-area; vocal support from cities and school districts is an outcome of key partners coming together to promote the benefits and work with communities and we have been an active part of the leadership of this effort.

Local leaders agree: creating safe options to walk, bike, or ride the bus to school is critical to improving the health of kids.

If you have been following our federal transportation updates for a while, this update may sound a bit like Groundhog’s Day.  Yet again, Congress has voted to extend the MAP-21 transportation law and yet again, lack of funding is the culprit.

This summer has been a busy one for transportation.  In addition to the late June committee consideration of the DRIVE Act, both the House and Senate are moving forward on transportation.

While members of Congress have been back in their districts meeting with constituents, House transportation committee staff has been huddled in Washington working on a transportation bill. You may recall that in July, the Senate completed action on its version of the transportation bill but the House instead pushed to extend current transportation law a few more months.

Bayard Rustin, the orchestrator behind the scenes of what we hail today as the civil rights movement, once said, “We need in every bay and community a group of angelic troublemakers.”  Today, I bore witness to one of those angelic troublemakers by the name of Olatunji (Oboi) Reed, Co-Founder of Slow Roll Chicago, as he was recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a 2015 White House Transportation Champion of Change.

To increase physical activity opportunities available through schools over the long term, we need to put it in writing – through policy.

The Alliance for Biking and Walking recently released its 2016 Benchmarking Report, a biennial update on walking and biking across the United States intended to promote access to data, measure progress, support policy and advocacy efforts, and connect to health initiatives. More than half of member organizations in the Alliance for Biking and Walking are involved in Safe Routes to School efforts.

While we could only give one Hubsmith award, we were impressed by all of the dedicated individuals who were nominated for an award. We’ll be profiling each of the nominees over the next few months and look forward to lifting up great work from all around the country.