Even as an adult, as soon as August begins to slip into early fall, I can feel the echoes of my childhood back-to-school excitement. It was an optimistic beginning—I could show up and be the best version of myself with a perspective as fresh as my new notebooks. I have the same feeling now, that it’s a good time to review my habits as I soak up the beautiful weather. The new habit I’m trying to form is going for a walk in my neighborhood before starting work from my home office.

I love hearing from our Safe Routes to School and active transportation community with questions about what’s happening on Capitol Hill and with federal policy. Here are some of the questions I got this month while Congress was on recess – and answers to those questions.

What federal funding programs are open that I can apply for to improve walking and bicycling?

This blog post was collaboratively written by Marisa Jones (Safe Routes Partnership), Caron Whitaker (League of American Bicyclists), and Mende Yangden (National Resources Defense Council).

At the close of the third quarter of 2023, a few things stand out when we review the quarterly State of the States spreadsheet tracking states’ implementation of the Transportation Alternatives Program. For starters, states are doing a great job obligating funds. In quarter 3, which ended on June 30, 2023, states obligated over $255 million in projects that support walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School.

This year, we’re thrilled to be teaming up with four local communities in Pennsylvania to make accessing parks safe, convenient, and equitable for people walking and biking. As we celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month this July, we want to uplift this year’s theme, “where community grows” from our partners at the National Recreation and Parks Association by sharing a couple of highlights from our Safe Routes to Parks Pennsylvania Activating Communities.

What is required for long-term change? Our Safe Routes to Parks Activating Communities program is all about making changes, big and small, to make park access safe, convenient, and equitable for people walking and biking. However, we know that making changes to a sidewalk or holding one community engagement meeting isn’t going to have as long-term of an effect if we don’t zoom out to see the whole system that created unsafe routes or inequities in the first place.

After a federal policy blog hiatus due to parental leave, we’re back with a roundup of what’s been happening and what to watch for on federal policy related to Safe Routes to School, walking, and bicycling.

Transportation Alternatives Program Implementation

Safe Routes Partnership releases our Making Strides state report cards every two years, providing an at-a-glance snapshot of how states are doing in their support of walking, rolling, and active kids and communities. Following the release of the latest report cards in June 2022, we received numerous great questions from state agency representatives, walking and rolling advocates, and community health champions. We’ve collected a few of the most commonly asked questions here.

This blog was written by Amy Johnson, GIS Intern, and Portland Community College student.

Thinking of my childhood trips to the park brings me right back to the feeling of the sun on my face and summer days when all I was worried about was not missing the neighborhood ice cream truck.  As a kid, I would go to several nearby parks with my grandparents after school or on weekends on foot, bicycle, or skates. Living in Queens, New York meant I had sidewalks to walk or roll, and depending on the destination of my park of choice, a few high-traffic intersections that required the assistance of a guardian.