Major polls show that Americans want to live in places where it’s safe to walk and bicycle. The demand for walkable, livable communities has prompted many municipalities to make more investments in multi-modal transportation and adopt policies such as Complete Streets that institutionalize planning, design and construction for all types of road users.
This report explores environmental health and Safe Routes toSchool through a review of the relationship between environmental health and school travel, a discussion on measuring the environmental health impacts of school travel, and five examples of methods used by SRTS programs to estimate the impact of their activities on local air quality.
This week, both the House and Senate are considering their transportation appropriations (or funding) bills. Because most transportation funding is locked in through MAP-21, we don’t have to fight for funding every year like most programs. (See more on timing updates below)
These briefings sheets were developed with funding support from the National Center for Safe Routes to School. The briefing sheets are intended for use by transportation engineers and planners to support their active participation in the development and implementation of Safe Routes to School programs and activities.
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness month, which in recent decades has been the time to reflect on sobering statistics, like the fact that between 1971 and 2008, the rate of childhood obesity among children age 6 to 11 rose from 4.2 percent to 19.6 percent.
This document explains a process to help transportationprofessionals identify schools within a city, schooldistrict or other local jurisdiction that meritadditional review for specific pedestrianinfrastructure improvements based on safetyconsiderations.
Safe Routes to School Programs and activities have unique opportunities and needs in rural areas. At the Safe Routes Partnership Annual meeting in August, several advocates from rural areas shared their creative ideas to creating thriving programs in rural areas.
As part of the Regional Network Project, we are tasked with advocating for walking and bicycling at the regional level and specifically working with our local metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).
Safe Kids Worldwide released a report Walking Safely: A Report to the Nation that examines 15-year trends in child pedestrian injuries and deaths in the U.S. The report reveals that while walking safety has improved overall for children since 1995, there are still a staggering number of children hit by cars.
While we are only three weeks into 2014, there have already been several signs that transportation will be on the front burner this year with Congress and the federal government.
This report documents the growth of Complete Streets policy adoption and provides a standard analysis of the content of more than 200 written policies adopted before January 1, 2011, highlighting policies that come closest to incorporating ten key policy elements.
People don’t know I wear an “S” on my chest, because that’s how effective I believe shared use practices can be. Yep I said it “I’m a Shared Use –Super Hero." And like any super hero, we work with other caped crusaders. That’s why the spotlight this month is on Ohio’s efforts in the shared use world.
This document provides guidance for implementing and evaluating Complete Streets.
Two weeks ago, I sat listening intently with 700 other advocates at the National Bike Summit as we were addressed by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
NPLAN has surveyed existing law, conducted extensive legal research, and consulted with legal and policy experts to create these model laws (local ordinances and state statutes) and local and state/regional resolutions (which may be easier to pass, but are not binding) for Complete Streets.
Do you want to build a snowman?
This brief summarizes research on community access to school sport and recreation facilities outside of school hours, as well as studies that examine the shared use of school facilities and programs with other community groups or agencies.
Several months ago 
we wrote about the impending mid-summer bankruptcy facing our nation’s Highway Trust Fund – the primary source of funding for America’s highway and transit programs.
This resource helps practitioners to implement shared use agreements in their communities.
As recent incidents in communities across the country highlight, community safety and gun violence affect whether or not families can safely access opportunities for physical activity. As schools all over America reopen their doors, parents and children in many neighborhoods are talking together about balancing physical activity and safety, and the need for communities that support both.
We are talking about this with our partners in a Twitter Town Hall next week #Back2SaferSchools.