Safe Routes to School E-News
Issue #154: January 2019

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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  1. Putting Equity into Action: Advancing Equitable Access to Parks
  2. Safe Routes to School Conference Proposals
  3. Thank You to Outgoing Board Chair Risa Wilkerson
  4. Join our Jan. 31 Webinar on Local Active Transportation Financing Initiatives
  5. What's Next for Walking and Biking?
  6. News and Information

1. Putting Equity into Action: Advancing Equitable Access to Parks

Everyone deserves safe and easy access to parks, but not all people and neighborhoods have that opportunity. Wondering how to advance equitable access to parks? Five new fact sheets from the Safe Routes Partnership share ideas and examples of strategies to advance equity in each stage of your Safe Routes to Parks efforts. These fact sheets can support you to explore what it means to meaningfully engage community residents, assess community priorities, develop a tailored community plan that reflects a community’s goals, bring a community plan to action, and incorporate equitable Safe Routes to Parks efforts into the fabric of a community.

2. Now Accepting Proposals for the Safe Routes to School Conference

The Safe Routes Partnership is now accepting program proposals for the 6th Safe Routes to School Conference, to be held November 12-14, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. The conference will bring together hundreds of Safe Routes to School and active transportation professionals to exchange ideas and share knowledge in a culturally vibrant city that is best explored by foot, bike, and public transportation.

Proposals will be accepted for panels, presentations, hands-on workshops or trainings, round table discussions, and other formats. Proposals should align with one of these conference themes:

  • What’s Next for Safe Routes to School and Active Transportation?
  • Context Matters: Safe Routes to School in YOUR Community
  • Funding and Sustainability: Keep your Program Walking and Rolling
  • Safe Routes Everywhere

Proposals will be accepted until February 22, 2019. Click here to learn more and submit a proposal.

3. Thank You to Outgoing Board Chair Risa Wilkerson

The Safe Routes Partnership would like to recognize the service and leadership of outgoing Board Chair Risa Wilkerson, who is stepping down after supporting the Safe Routes Partnership for over a decade. During her tenure, first as a Steering Committee volunteer and eventually as Board Chair, Risa provided leadership and vision as the organization evolved from a program of PeopleForBikes to an independent, sustainable non-profit. Risa and the board have navigated abundance and scarcity, health and sickness, and success and failure, approaching each of these challenges and opportunities with a decisive commitment to continuing forward progress. Thank you, Risa!

4. Join our Jan. 31 Webinar on Local Active Transportation Financing Initiatives

Investing in Health: Local Active Transportation Financing Initiatives
January 31, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific/2:00 p.m. Eastern

Local active transportation financing pays for the programs and street improvements that we need to bike and walk safely, addressing the inadequacies of our incomplete biking and walking networks. In this webinar, we’ll provide an overview of why active transportation financing matters and what types of financing approaches are working for local governments. We’ll feature speakers from BikeWalkKC of Kansas City, Missouri, and Investing in Place, Los Angeles, who will share lessons from their exciting and inspiring local active transportation financing success stories.

5. What's Next for Walking and Biking?

We recently sat down with the leaders of three national active transportation advocacy organizations to discuss the current climate of mobility advocacy, opportunities to collaborate, and what comes next. In this joint interview, Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, Cass Isidro, executive director of the Safe Routes Partnership, and Kate Kraft, executive director of America Walks, weigh in on the benefits of collaboration and the future of biking and walking advocates working together.

6. News and Events