Back in May, we asked you to take action against the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) proposed “system performance measures” that would have measured the speed of cars and trucks in seven different ways, while devoting no measures at all to people walking, bicycling, and taking transit.
The US DOT recently enacted a rule that will require states and metropolitan planning organizations to set targets for bicycle and pedestrian safety. Targeted and effective interventions will be needed to achieve desired progress in reducing fatalities and injuries.
After the wrap-up of the 2016 Safe Routes to School Conference in Columbus, OH, we’ve been getting a lot of inquiries about when the next conference will take place. Thanks again to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission for hosting an informative, inspiring, and fun gathering that has generated even more interest and excitement around bringing together advocates and practitioners from across the country for information-sharing and networking.
The majority of Americans live in urban or suburban areas, though around 15 percent of Americans live in nonmetropolitan regions, which make up 72 percent of US land. Although the proportion of Americans who are rural residents has recently declined, these communities still comprise 46.1 million Americans (USDA, 2015). When it comes to health outcomes, researchers have identified inequities in rural areas, including higher rates of obesity compared with urban residents and differing levels of physical activity by geographic region (Yousefian et al., 2009; Hansen and Harley, 2015).
Look both ways. Wear your helmet. We’ve all heard these maxims about safety, and probably shared them a time or two.
Aside from distance to school, safety is a leading factor for both adults and children in the decision to participate in physical activity and walk or bike to school (Nasar, 2015; Zhou et al., 2009). However, adopting those individual protective behaviors will not provide an easy solution. This blog post will unpack three reasons why the concept of safety, particularly in the context of safe travel to school, can be challenging to conceptualize and achieve.