Catcalling, leering, whistling, persistently asking for a woman’s name as she walks down the street – these are all forms of street harassment. Street harassment happens every day.  When people experience street harassment, they often shrug it off, unsure of how to respond and not wanting to make a big deal out of it. But street harassment is a form of harassment and can affect people’s comfort, stress, and behavior, whether they are conscious of it or not.

Bayard Rustin, the orchestrator behind the scenes of what we hail today as the civil rights movement, once said, “We need in every bay and community a group of angelic troublemakers.”  Today, I bore witness to one of those angelic troublemakers by the name of Olatunji (Oboi) Reed, Co-Founder of Slow Roll Chicago, as he was recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a 2015 White House Transportation Champion of Change.

“Walking is one of the most powerful tools we have to increase physical activity and emotional well-being for kids.” These are the words of U.S. Surgeon General Dr.

A new information brief, issued today by the National Center for Safe Routes to School and written by the Safe Routes Partnership, demonstrates how regional transportation planning authorities (or MPOs) can advance Safe Routes to School priorities using the relatively new Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

While just a few weeks ago, we were gearing up for the House to move a new transportation bill through the Committee and then the floor, action has once again been delayed.

Last week, the Surgeon General issued a powerful call to action urging all Americans to champion walking and walkable communities. By now hopefully you have heard this and are already putting efforts in place to align your school, nonprofit organization, or business with this game-changing ask.  I was gratified to be present in Washington, DC when Dr. Murthy made the announcement, and at the Safe Routes Partnership we are moving forward without hesitation.  

On September 17^th, the U.S. House Transportation Committee will be voting on the transportation bill.  One of the issues they’ll be debating is whether or not to continue the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), which is the main source of funding for Safe Routes to School, bicycling and walking. 

While members of Congress have been back in their districts meeting with constituents, House transportation committee staff has been huddled in Washington working on a transportation bill. You may recall that in July, the Senate completed action on its version of the transportation bill but the House instead pushed to extend current transportation law a few more months.