Safe Routes to School E-News
Issue #16: April 2007
Safe Routes to school E-News is a monthly email newsletter published by the Safe Routes to School Partnership, a growing network of more than 275 non-profit organizations, government agencies, and professional groups that are working to set goals, share best practices, secure funding, and provide detailed policy input to implementing agencies for advancing the Safe Routes to School national movement.
To receive future issues of E-News, email kathy@saferoutespartnership.org.
In this issue:
1. Michigan Hosts 1st Annual SRTS National Conference on Nov. 5-7, 2007
Register to attend and submit a presentation at www.saferoutesmichigan.org
2. SRTS State Network Project Update
Network Organizers now being selected in DC and 9 States
3. Giant Bicycles’ Safe Routes to School Bike to Benefit Partnership
Special edition bike available beginning May 16 at select Giant dealers
4. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commits $500 Million to Reverse Childhood Obesity
Goal is to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity by 2015
5. Use National Bike Month to Promote Safe Routes to School
Bike to School suggestions from the League of American Bicyclists
6. Register for BikeEd Conference, June 14-16, 2007
League of American Bicyclists’ bi-annual BikeEd event comes to Austin, Texas
7. Mississippi SRTS Program Fields First Applications
40 total applications received for $2.6 million in total funding
8. Alabama SRTS Program Holds First Advisory Board Meeting
ALDOT working with the University Center of Transportation for Alabama
9. Minnesota SRTS Program Announces 2007 Project Awards
111 applications received; 23 funded for $1.55 million
10. Shaping America’s Youth Survey Available Online
National initiative collecting information on nutrition and physical activity in
American children
1. Michigan Hosts 1st Annual SRTS National Conference on Nov. 5-7, 2007
Register to attend and submit a presentation at www.saferoutesmichigan.org
Save the date and make plans to attend the 1st National Safe Routes to School Conference: Creating, Building, and Sustaining Momentum, November 5-7, 2007. The conference is presented by the National Center for Safe Routes to School and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, and is being hosted by the Michigan Fitness Foundation. The conference will take place at the historic Dearborn Inn in Dearborn, MI. Everyone who’s interested in the health and safety of school children is encouraged to attend.
The Michigan Fitness Foundation is now soliciting presentation proposals for workshops, due by June 8th. To learn more about the conference, how to submit a presentation proposal, or for sponsorship information, visit the conference website at www.saferoutesmichigan.org.
2. SRTS State Network Project Update
Network Organizers now being selected in DC and 9 States
In March, our Safe Routes to School State Network Project was off to a running start with the selection of nine states (CA, GA, IL, KY, LA, NY, OK, TX, and VA) and the District of Columbia. We are currently reviewing applications from groups who have applied to be State Network Organizers in their state. Organizers will build networks that bring together leaders from diverse interests to make the state’s SRTS program as successful and far-reaching as possible.
We are currently building relationships with the SRTS Department of Transportation Coordinators in the nine states and DC who are responsible for managing the federal SRTS funds, and we will be meeting with them in May at their annual meeting in Denver. We are also researching groups who want to become active members of the network in their state, and are looking for State Network Organizer candidates from Louisiana and Oklahoma.
If you are interested in joining a network in one of these jurisdictions (CA, DC, GA, IL, KY, LA, NY, OK, TX, and VA), or know of an organization, agency or leader who would be a valuable network member, please contact Robert Ping the Partnership’s State Network Manager at (503) 289-0441, or robert@saferoutespartnership.org.
3. Giant Bicycles’ Safe Routes to School Bike to Benefit Partnership
Special edition bike available beginning May 16 at select Giant dealers
Giant Bicycles is producing a special edition Cypress bike, and for each sold, Giant will donate $20 to the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. The bike features the Safe Routes to School National Partnership logo on the frame, saddle, and water bottle. It also comes equipped with a taillight, seat bag, tire levers, cable lock, and patch kit. The special edition bike will be available at select Giant dealers starting May 16.
4. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commits $500 Million to Reverse Childhood Obesity
Goal is to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity by 2015
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced on April 4 that it will commit at least $500 million over the next five years to tackle one of the most urgent public health threats facing our nation: childhood obesity. This is the largest commitment by any foundation to this issue. The Foundation’s goal is to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States by 2015. Read the full press release and related articles.
In separate news, Active Living Research has posted a call for proposals. Active Living Research is a $12.5-million national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that stimulates and supports research to identify environmental factors and policies that influence physical activity. Research funded under this call for proposals (due May 16) will inform the Foundation’s efforts to reverse childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. See grant application details or contact Research Coordinator Chad Spoon at cspoon@projects.sdsu.edu.
5. Use National Bike Month to Promote Safe Routes to School
Bike to School suggestions from the League of American Bicyclists
As National Bike Month, this May is the perfect time to organize a Bike to School event, encouraging children to choose fresh air and fun over buses and carpools.
Showing parents that there are safe routes for children to bike to school is an important aspect of any Bike to School event. Bike "trains" from different parts of town-with parents leading them and picking up other students along the way to school -are a good way to get started. Distributing maps with safe routes highlighted allows other parents to try the routes themselves.
Once students and parents arrive at school by bike, have a festival waiting for them with healthy snacks and information on how biking to school helps them and the environment. Consider a contest where the classroom with the most biking students wins bikes bells, water bottles, or other bonus bike prizes.
The important message is that biking to school is fun, health, and feasible. Use National Bike Month to get the word out! Find out more about how you can get children biking to school during May at www.bikeleague.org.
6. Register for BikeEd Conference, June 14-16, 2007
League of American Bicyclists’ bi-annual BikeEd event comes to Austin, Texas
Cycling educators and decision makers are invited to join the League of American Bicyclists for their bi-annual BikeEd conference at the Omni Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas. This conference will bring together more than 200 national, state, and local bicycle safety educators and government agency staff to discuss best practices, opportunities, and challenges in bicycle education.
Austin promises to be an exciting location for three days of workshops, plenary presentations, and on-bike training opportunities. The Austin Cycling Association is participating as local host. For more information, please contact the League of American Bicyclists at (202) 822-1333 or bikeleague@bikeleague.org.
7. Mississippi SRTS Program Fields First Applications
40 total applications received for $2.6 million in total funding
After leading a carefully planned, state-wide media blitz in 2007, Mississippi Safe Routes to School Coordinator Cookie Leffler received 40 applications for the program’s inaugural grant cycle that closed March 1, 2007. Applications to the Mississippi SRTS program included 14 non-infrastructure planning requests, 3 state-wide non-infrastructure applications, and 26 implementation applications that combined both infrastructure and non-infrastructure elements. The request total was $8.5 million for $2.6 million in actual funding.
Requests for funding came from a wide range of local and state-wide applicants and included the departments of health and education, schools, city and county governments, non-profits, and a police department. Applicants represented rural, suburban, and urban communities from the northern, central, and southern parts of the state.
After an internal review and prioritization by a special selection committee, applications (which are required to have a comprehensive SRTS plan) will be presented to the Mississippi Transportation Commission for the final selection. Grant awards will be announced on July 1, 2007. In addition to the funding awards, grant recipients will also receive SRTS training from Leffler, who has completed the SRTS National Training course.
The next deadline for applications is anticipated as being March 1, 2008, in which an anticipated $1 million will be available for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects.
8. Alabama SRTS Program Holds First Advisory Board Meeting
University Center of Transportation for Alabama to plan SRTS program
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has contracted with the University Center of Transportation for Alabama (UTCA) to plan the Alabama SRTS program; Dr. Jay Lindly is the project coordinator at UTCA. ALDOT is also partnering with the Alabama Department of Education (ADOE) and the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH).
On March 7, 2007, ALDOT held the first advisory board planning meeting for the Alabama Safe Routes to School program. The advisory board, which includes the Alabama Bicycle Coalition (AlaBike), will aid UTCA in reviewing ADOE/ADPH proposals; proposing and reviewing policies; identifying and recruiting support organizations; and reviewing SRTS applications.
It was determined that ALDOT will dedicate 15% of SRTS funds for non-infrastructure projects, and applications will be accepted from governmental unites such as municipalities or counties. The proposed schedule for program implementation is: application guidelines posted August 2007; applications due November 2007; and project awards for January 2008.
9. Minnesota SRTS Program Announces 2007 Project Awards
111 applications received; 23 funded for $1.55 million
The Minnesota Safe Routes to School Program recently awarded $1.55 million in funding for ten non-infrastructure projects and thirteen infrastructure projects. The program received a total of 111 grant proposals for the program’s second round of SRTS funding grants.
The thirteen infrastructure projects were funded at more than $1.3 million. Projects included major sidewalk improvements and extensions, trail connections, lighting, and safety and driver feedback signage. The ten non-infrastructure projects received $225,515 in funding and included safety education programs, SRTS studies and planning projects, and bicycle/pedestrian curriculum implementation for a large school district.
The next deadline for applications is late August/early September in which about $4 million in funds for 2008-2009 will be available for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects. For more information about the Minnesota SRTS program, contact SRTS Coordinator Kristie Billiar at kristie.billiar@dot.state.mn.us.
10. Shaping America’s Youth Survey Available Online
National initiative collecting information on nutrition and physical activity in American children
Programs working in areas related to decreasing obesity and increasing physical activity in children are invited to participate in the online survey from Shaping America’s Youth (SAY). Already, more than 1,100 programs have completed the survey and provided information on populations, methods, funding, and outcomes. The information is available in SAY’s searchable national program registry.
Data from the SAY survey was used by the Institute of Medicine to assess the current status of interventions for its recent report Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up?. The survey, program registry, and a wide array of childhood obesity information and resources are available at www.shapingamericasyouth.org.
Help Grow the Partnership!
Joining the Partnership is free. Please encourage other organizations, schools, businesses, and government agencies to affiliate with the Safe Routes to School National Partnership at Bikes Belong.
Funding for the Safe Routes to School National Partnership has been generously provided by the Bikes Belong Coalition, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and partner affiliates.
For more information, contact:
Deb Hubsmith, Coordinator
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
saferoutes@bikesbelong.org
www.saferoutespartnership.org
(415) 454-7430