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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
In October of 2012, Lincoln School in Prescott became the first school in Yavapai County to implement a Walking School Bus program. According to this report from The Daily Courier, so far parents and students have given positive feedback about the program. In the article, Lincoln Principal Teresa Bruso said: "We are excited to offer this program...It's a great opportunity for students to build community and healthy lifestyles as the walk to school each day." A non-profit organization called Prescott Alternative Transportation (PAT) received a grant, which helped the program get started. A few months prior to starting the program the Arizona Department of Transportation sponsored a walking school bus, workshop taught by PedNet. The workshop helped equip PAT with the tools necessary ...
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programs across the nation are providing children the opportunity to participate in physical activity by walking to school, while also reducing vehicular emissions, and relieving cities of traffic congestion. The SRTS program was originally introduced as a Federal-Aid program of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) created by Section 1404 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Act (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005. With the passage of MAP-21, as of October 2012, federal funds specifically appropriated towards the SRTS program were no longer available to states. Still, states can still develop SRTS programs and seek support from the MAP-21's new transportation alternatives ...
The Livable Communities Act of 2011 (S. 1621, H.R. 3325) is a federal bill, authored by Senator Robert "Bob" Menendez of New Jersey, that would empower communities to develop livable and sustainable projects and provide grants to districts who plan to implement projects as part of comprehensive regional plans. The bill would give up to 75% of loans to eligible borrowers, for infrastructure development projects, used to support transit-oriented development. The first three sections of this bill include the table of contents, findings, and the purposes of the bill. Section four provides definitions for terms like comprehensive regional plan, healthy housing, livable community, and location efficient. Sections five through ten provide details on each component of the bill such as: The ...
According to this October 2012 article, from Safe Routes to School in California, a new law (AB 1915) will help improve infrastructure and programs to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety in underserved areas of California. The state policy introduced by Sen. Luis Alejo (D- California) allocates up to 10% of Safe Routes to School program funds towards infrastructure improvements, for school bus stops outside the vicinity of school. The bill serves as an act to amend Section 2333.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, for the state of California relating to transportation, and allows for more flexibility in how funds are spent. The article also cites the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health finding, that children in rural areas had a greater chance (42%) of being overweight or ...
According to this article, children in Taylor, Texas near Austin, have safer access to schools since the city was awarded $574,000 in Safe Routes to School infrastructure funds from the Texas Department of Transportation in 2008. The city strategically partnered with Taylor Independent School District to apply for funds to construct a sidewalk that would connect four schools: two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Once construction of the sidewalks are complete, the city anticipates that more children will be walking to school. While some components are funded by the state, federal funding is also available for these programs. Communities and school districts across Texas, have developed Safe Routes to School plans. Funding for Safe Routes programs exists for ...
In March of 2012, after two years of public debates and overcoming various challenges, the East Harlem Community Board finally approved plans to build protected bike lanes and pedestrian refuge islands. Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York City Council member for district 8, joined with city officials and members of the community to create a campaign to inform the public of the benefits protected bike lanes could bring to East Harlem. According to Mark-Viverito, residents from the predominantly Puerto Rican community of East Harlem suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases. Mark-Viverito speaks of that lack of bike lanes as a social justice issue. Protected bike lanes enhance safety by creating physical separation between moving traffic and bike lanes. ...
