This month many children are heading back to school. Like many children and parents at this time of year, I am excitedly nervous -- excited about the beginning of a new school year, and slightly nervous about the challenges that lie ahead.
As many Americans are enjoying their summer vacations, it’s a good time to look at studies on the tourism and economic benefits that bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure can generate. While this may not seem immediately relevant to our day-to-day work of making schools and neighborhoods safer for walking and bicycling, policymakers can be strongly influenced by economic arguments.
"It is just not safe to let my child walk or ride their bike to school." So said respondents from the initial survey that the PTA of Linwood Elementary in Milwaukie, Oregon, sent out last spring. They didn’t know that 'Safe Routes to School' – with capital letters – existed. But they knew something was not right, and they wanted to fix it.
After only a handful of hearings in the Senate and House this year focusing on a long term fix for our nation’s surface transportation needs, Congress sent a clear message last week to all those who hoped for long-term action: let’s talk next year!
Here’s how it all went down:
As recent incidents in communities across the country highlight, community safety and gun violence affect whether or not families can safely access opportunities for physical activity. As schools all over America reopen their doors, parents and children in many neighborhoods are talking together about balancing physical activity and safety, and the need for communities that support both.
We are talking about this with our partners in a Twitter Town Hall next week #Back2SaferSchools.
August may be slow here in Washington D.C., but the coming several months are a great time for you at home to highlight the changes Safe Routes to School are making in your community.