The United Way of Central Alabama started work on Safe Routes to School as part of a pilot where community members identified student safety and walkability high on their list of priorities. After funding in 2012 through RWJF Healthy Kids Healthy Communities and the CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiatives, they rolled out a walking school bus program and support other bicycle and pedestrian education and advocacy efforts.
After waiting until nearly halfway through FY2018 to set spending levels, Congress is out of the gate quickly on the FY19 appropriations process. The process of setting spending levels is easier this year, because the FY18 spending package included a two-year agreement on funding levels that were significantly more generous than what the Trump administration had proposed. As an example, the transportation-housing spending max spending level for FY19 is more than $1 billion higher than the FY18 cap, w
Since Safe Routes to School’s inception in Montgomery County, Maryland, the movement has expanded dramatically. Over the years, SRTS has been thrust into the limelight with successful work ranging from bike/ped safety projects to get students involved in the Walk Your Way Program to the YOLO high school education campaign.
The US Department of Transportation has announced that the long-standing TIGER program, in which USDOT awards up to $25 million apiece to multimodal transportation projects across the country, has been renamed the BUILD program. The renaming of TIGER signals USDOT’s intention to put the Trump administration’s stamp on it.