Since the passage of the new federal Transportation bill (MAP-21) on July 6, I have heard “Oh, isn’t Safe Routes to School dead?” 

The answer is a resounding NO!  

IT’S ALIVE!

While all states have a SRTS coordinator, few, if any, have been at it as long as Pat Pieratte with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). She just retired after 35 years with the department, serving six years as the SRTS coordinator. Before she left to go folk dancing in Croatia and Slovenia, there was a gathering to talk about her successes and wish her well.

If you can measure it, you can manage it. 

I often think of this business mantra each day as I step on the scale, track my calories and log every minute and mile of physical activity as I pursue a healthier lifestyle. (And apologies to my Facebook friends who are tiring of my new found apps and the postings to cheer me on!)

It may seem Safe Routes to School slows down in the summer because school is out. But, summer often brings movement on Safe Routes to School projects and awards. Every day I have news alerts flooding my inbox about:

The August 2009 issue of Parks and Recreation features National Policy & Legal Analysis Network’s (now called ChangeLab Solutions) Joint-Use Agreement resources in an article about using school recreational facilities as community facilities. Mississippi is one of the states that have now bought in and is now on the path to discovering and implementing healthy al

Since Congress released their new MAP-21 Transportation Bill two weeks ago, which eliminated dedicated funding for Safe Routes to School and leaves most of the decision making for active transportation up to states and locals, people have been asking me “what’s next?”