Safe Routes to School
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. When MAP21 came along, Arizona DOT subcontracted the Safe Routes to School and Transportation Alternatives programs to MPOs and Councils of governments, which kept the ball rolling in the right direction. Phoenix has steamrolled ahead with a dedicated employee who works with 75 schools every year in the spring and fall with various pedestrian and biking events, including some law enforcement education. This work reaches tens of thousands of students each year.
Congress Kicked the Can to January
There was a pile-up of legislative priorities in December, and Congress ended up getting a tax bill through but punted action on spending levels, the DACA immigration policy, and stabilizing the health insurance market to 2018. This means that January is now full of deadlines.
Success in Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation Public Health works with 14 counties in tribal jurisdictions in northeastern Oklahoma. A community transformation grant from the CDC allowed their work to expand into Safe Routes to School roughly five years ago, laid out specifically as an objective in their community work plan. They work with local community coalitions to align their work plans, keeping Safe Routes to School part of the conversation at all levels where they are involved. They have also been able to introduce SRTS into rural areas that have infrastructure challenges due to access issues.
Launching Strong Safe Routes to School Programs with a Friendly Push: Cities and Schools Come Together to Address their Safe Routes to School
As the weather began to warm in spring 2017, something else was heating up too – the Safe Routes Partnership’s new Safe Routes to School Launch Program! With five cities participating in the 2017 pilot year, the intensive program helped communities move to a new level of safety and support for students walking and biking to school. The Safe Routes to School Launch Program is a joint project of the Safe Routes Partnership (Safe Routes Partnership) and UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC), designe
Most states make big moves on TAP; some squander TAP funds
We have been beating the drum for several months now to encourage states to fully spend their Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds before the critical deadline of September 30, 2017, when any unused FY2014 funds would expire after four years.