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Saludable Green is Go



Saludable Omaha, a Latino Health Movement created by youth activists, began to see the affects that obesity was having within South High School. In the 2011-2012 school year student leaders from the Saludable Omaha Movement decided to address the issue of the lack of nutrition knowledge that affected student’s ability to make healthy choices at lunchtime. In order to educate students about foods being served, Saludable Omaha students began a Green is Go marketing campaign. This campaign highlights the healthy foods, while also drawing attention to foods that have less nutritional value, that can be found in their cafeteria. Saludable Omaha students brought in a nutritionist to assist them in finding accurate facts and information about the food being served in the school cafeteria. ...

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The San Antonio Bike Plan 2011



The San Antonio Bike Plan was adopted as part of the City’s master plan in the fall of 2011. The plan has already influenced and contributed to other initiatives such as the Complete Streets Ordinance (2011), SA 2020, the Downtown Transportation Study, and the 2012-2017 $596 Million Bond Program, passed by voters in May of 2012. The San Antonio Bike Plan has also been recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects for the Texas Chapter Merit. Resources Maps of San Antonio's existing bike infrastructure. View the full City of San Antonio Bike Plan and additional resources. The San Antonio Bikes GIS Mapping ...

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Houston City Council Approves Safe Passing Ordinance



In May 2013, the Houston city council approved a Safe Passing Ordinance, which aims to make streets safe for vulnerable road users (pedestrians, runners, physically disabled person, stranded motorist, highway construction workers, maintenance workers, tow truck operator, cyclists, etc.) The ordinance requires ordinary vehicles to remain at least three feet away and commercial trucks to remain six feet away from vulnerable road users. Learn more about the ordinance from this Houston Chronicle news ...

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San Antonio Raises Awareness of Safe Passing Ordinance



In February of 2010, the City of San Antonio, Texas enacted a Safe Passing Ordinance. Because pedestrians and cyclists are considered vulnerable road users this law serves to enhance road safety. It also serves to promote San Antonio's goal for making the city a Bike Friendly Community with more walkable streets and neighborhoods. Although, the ordinance was passed in 2010, cyclists are still concerned that the law is not being properly enforced. In order to better enforce the ordinance, in 2012, members from the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), San Antonio Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), BikeTexas, and the Tri-sition Area bike shop gathered with other concerned individuals to discuss what measures should be taken. The group decided to have undercover police ...

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San Antonio Councilman Proposes Strategies for Safe Access to Schools



Due to concerns over the safety of infrastructure near schools, District 1 Councilman Diego M. Bernal of San Antonio, Texas has proposed a plan for repairing sidewalks and lighting around schools. The new plan to implement new funding strategies, would require collaboration between city officials, CPS Energy, and San Antonio school districts. Read Councilman Bernal's Council Consideration Request for Safe Access to ...

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Safe Routes to School Helps Start A Bike and Walk-to-School Program in Austin, TX



By 2007, a total of 8 elementary & 2 middle schools in Austin had participated in Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs. Participating schools were given a 2.5 year non-infrastructure grant from the Texas Department of Transportation. Later in 2011, Zavala elementary, a predominantly Latino urban & low income school, was one of 25 schools to receive a $1,000 mini-grant. The mini-grant allowed students to receive 4 weeks of bicycle training. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xgOuVvWFtw With the help of SRTS, Zavala elementary school was able to increase the number of children who rode bikes to school from 6 to 90. This slideshow presentation provides information on how Safe Routes to School provided children in at Zavala elementary support for biking and walking school bus ...

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Safe Routes to School, El Paso Texas



El Paso children living in a predominantly Latino neighborhood were given the opportunity to walk to school with improved safety, thanks to a Safe Routes to School Program implemented at Rosa Guerrero Elementary. In 2007, The City of El Paso was awarded a $10,000 SRTS grant to develop a program for Rosa Guerrero Elementary School. Through the grant, the city of El Paso was able able hire a consultant, promote the SRTS program, and add signage to enhance the safety of areas near the school. Safety signage and increased driver awareness allowed the community to feel safer about allowing their children to walk to school and since the program at Rosa Guerrero was implemented test scores and student behavior at the school has improved. Read the full story ...

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Parent Establishes Districtwide ‘bike-friendly’ Policy & Starts SRTS Program in Fairfax Virginia County



Children attending Wolftrap elementary school are now allowed to bike to school, thanks in part to the diligent efforts of bike enthusiast and parent Jeff Anderson. Anderson established a Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS) at Wolftrap elementary and convinced the principal to install bike racks for students. Later he helped abolish an existing school policy which prevented children from biking to school and supported the creation of a new policy that would encourage children to bike to school. See Jeff Anderson's presentation on how he changed school policy and brought biking to school possible for his children. Jeff fostered support from various organizations including the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB), and TrailsforYouth.org to bring change to his kids' ...

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Safe Routes to School Program Makes Walk-to-School Day a Success at Phoenix Schools



The city of Phoenix, Arizona is making the roads safer for pedestrians and encouraging children to walk to school, by implementing Safe Routes to School programs. Each year around 3-5% of students in Phoenix adopt a form of active transportation to school. Check out this video from 2011, that shows how Walk to School Day is encouraging communities in Phoenix to become more physically active. https://youtu.be/aYMB5KRG9Vs In 2012, 30-40 Walk to School Day events were hosted in Phoenix, over a six week period, making it the city with the greatest number of events in the country. Don Cross is the School Safety Coordinator with the Street Transportation Department in Phoenix, who also coordinates the Safe Routes to School program in Phoenix. Check out this Q&A with Don Cross to learn ...

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