November 2017

Safe Routes to School E-News
Issue #141: November 2017

Safe Routes to School E-News is a monthly email newsletter published by the Safe Routes Partnership. We are also on Facebook and Twitter. Join us!

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  1. Most States Make Big Moves on TAP; Some Squander TAP Funds
  2. News from the Field
  3. Michigan and Southern Nevada, Fired Up For Fall!
  4. Join PeopleForBikes for Free Today
  5. Partners in Safety Webinar – November 16
  6. New Resource Alert! Safe Routes to Healthy Food
  7. #MoveEquity: Fines, Fees and Equitable Traffic Enforcement – Oh My!
  8. Bicycle Friendly State Ranking Released

Most states make big moves on TAP; some squander TAP funds

The numbers are in for state DOT usage of the Transportation Alternatives program (TAP).  Between July and September 2017, the large majority of states moved forward on hundreds of Safe Routes to School, biking and walking projects.  Unfortunately, 12 states either let funding expire after failing to use it for four years, or transferred more funding away from TAP into road and bridge projects—nearly $50 million in squandered funds that could have improved safety for kids and families walking and biking.  Read our federal policy blog to see how your state performed.


New Guidebook Helps Oregon School Leaders Understand Safe Routes to School

Produced in partnership with the Oregon departments of health, education and transportation, Get Oregon Kids Moving is a new guidebook intended to help school officials and health practitioners understand how and why to engage in Safe Routes to School.  The Safe Routes Partnership will be highlighting the guide at education and health convenings over the next year throughout Oregon to jumpstart more Safe Routes to School efforts.


Michigan and Southern Nevada, Fired Up For Fall!

The Safe Routes Partnership sends a big thank you to over 6,000 Fire Up Your Feet (FUYF) participants in Michigan and 5,000 in Southern Nevada this fall. The FUYF Fall Activity Challenge is the Safe Routes Partnership’s encouragement program, providing cash awards to schools that track physical activity.

 

In communities where there is often less infrastructure and students do not have safe access to walk or bike to school, FUYF provides an opportunity to get active now through a physical activity challenge. Students can start to learn the benefits of physical activity and begin their journey towards becoming healthy and active adults.


Join PeopleForBikes for Free Today!

PeopleForBikes gets more people riding bikes more often and makes bicycling better for everyone across the U.S.​ Join (for free!) today and be part of 1.2 million people for safe, fun and accessible riding coast to coast.​


Partners in Safety Webinar – November 16

On Thursday, November 16, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern, the Safe Routes Partnership is hosting a free webinar:
 
Vision Zero and Safe Routes to School: Partners in Safety
 

In this webinar, hear from leaders of the Vision Zero and Safe Routes to School movements about key aspects of their approach, and why advocates for each movement can benefit from working with the other.  And, learn more about Washington DC’s creative approaches to implementing Vision Zero in a way that complements and advances Safe Routes to School too. Register here.


New Resource Alert! Safe Routes to Healthy Food: Strategies for Local Governments

Almost 20 percent of people in the United States experience significant transportation barriers to accessing healthy foods. The Safe Routes Partnership’s Safe Routes to Healthy Food task force has been working to figure out how local governments can make it easier and safer to walk, bike and take transit to grocery stores. Minor tweaks to existing policies and practices can make a big difference in real peoples' lives. Check out strategies cities can use to support safe walking and biking to healthy foods.

 

The fact sheet offers examples from cities, towns and counties across the country, and shares policy solutions that will support communities as they create or strengthen the transportation connections between neighborhoods and grocery stores.


#MoveEquity: Fines, Fees, and Equitable Traffic Enforcement – Oh My!

If you couldn’t join the #MoveEquity conversation last month on Twitter, you can still read the feed of stories and resources on engaging families!

As advocates, we believe everyone, regardless of race, age, or ability, should have the right to safe and affordable travel, free of harassment – by foot, bike or transit. However, people in low-income and communities of color are unfairly targeted and criminalized, whether driving, biking, or walking. On top of this unfair, targeted enforcement, fines and fees put financial distress on those who must choose between paying the ticket and feeding their families.

Thanks to all who participated; it was a lively and informative chat!


Bicycle Friendly State Ranking Released

The League of American Bicyclist’s recently released their 2017 Bicycle Friendly State ranking. Not only can you see where your state is placed in the rankings, but also charts and maps of the data used to arrive at the rankings.

Registration for the 19th National Bike Summit - March 5–7, 2018 in Washington, DC – is now open. Don’t miss your chance to unite for the bicycle movement.