Safe Routes to School E-News
Issue #143: January 2018
Safe Routes to School E-News is a monthly email newsletter published by the Safe Routes Partnership. We are also on Facebook and Twitter. Join us!
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Safe Routes to School January Enews:
- Jump Starting Safe Routes to School in 2018
- Voices for Healthy Kids 2017 Progress Report
- Congress Kicked the Can to January
- New Report Quantifies the Cost Savings and Economic Benefits of Active Transportation
- Safe Routes to Parks Program Launched by Safe Routes Partnership
- PeopleForBikes 2017 Top 10 Bikeways List at Your Fingertips
- Safe Routes to School Full Steam Ahead in the Southwest
Jump Starting Safe Routes to School in 2018
If you are in need of fresh ideas to jump start and expand your local Safe Routes to School program in the new year, look no further! These webinars and many more are free and available to you:
- Where the Duct Tape Meets the Road: Using Pop-Ups to Promote Safe Routes to School
- Step by Step: How to Start a Walking School Bus Program
Voices for Healthy Kids 2017 Progress Report
Just released: Voices for Healthy Kids, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has released Making Each Day Healthier for All Children: 2017 Progress Report. The report highlights progress in the advocacy movement, including policy wins and a behindthe-scenes look at campaigns to increase health equity, improve access to healthy foods and physical activity, and improve the places where families live, learn, work, and play. Read the report: http://bit.ly/2017ProgressReport
Congress Kicked the Can to January
Before adjourning for the holidays, Congress completed work on the tax bill but punted the decisions on federal spending levels to January. Learn more about the final impact of the tax bill on transportation, unfortunate reductions in the Prevention Fund, and renewed interest in an infrastructure package in our latest federal policy blog.
New Report Quantifies the Cost Savings and Economic Benefits of Active Transportation
A new report from the Safe Routes Partnership looks at the cost savings and economic benefits of investments in active transportation and Safe Routes to School—including medical cost savings from improving safety, reducing the costs of obesity due to increased physical activity, and increases in economic benefits such as increased rents or property values, tourism revenue, and more jobs. Use the data and findings from this report to help make the case for greater investments in active transportation and Safe Routes to School!
Safe Routes to Parks Program Launched by Safe Routes Partnership
The JPB Foundation has provided a two-year, $800,000 grant to the Safe Routes Partnership (Safe Routes Partnership) to fund the Safe Routes to Parks program. The program will provide training, coaching and technical assistance to support the development of action plans to improve safe and equitable park access in a total of 20 diverse communities across the nation. Nationally available resources will also be developed to advance the work and virtually support other communities seeking to implement the Safe Routes to Parks framework locally.
“The Safe Routes Partnership has been focused on healthy communities and safe routes since its founding,” said Cass Isidro, executive director of the Safe Routes Partnership. “We are thankful for The JPB Foundation’s generous support of the Safe Routes to Parks program, and look forward to engaging local communities to support them in addressing barriers to park access, ensuring the most under-served communities have safe access to the numerous benefits of parks.” A competitive application process for the program will open in March 2018.
PeopleForBikes 2017 Top 10 Bikeways List at Your Fingertips
PeopleForBikes works to make bicycling safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities. The evidence from other countries and our own past suggests cities that connect networks well of paved streets and continuous low-stress bike routes will see big payoffs. As protected bike lanes, off-street paths and neighborhood bikeways link up, they’re letting bikes and autos gracefully coexist and complement each other for the first time in U.S. history. Check out PeopleForBikes 2017 Top 10 Bikeways list – hopefully there is one near you!
Safe Routes to School Full Steam Ahead in the Southwest
Safe Routes to School has grown leaps and bounds in the Phoenix area since the inception of the program. Read more about how they are leveraging local sales tax funding for safety improvements here.