Reducing Barriers for Disadvantaged Communities
In 2012, the MAP-21 transportation legislation made changes to the Federal Safe Routes to School program that added a required state or local match of up to 20 percent of project costs.
These changes introduced new challenges in funding Safe Routes to School projects, and could be particularly hard for many small, rural, and urban low-income communities. Through interviews conducted with 7 Safe Routes to School coordinators and in-depth profiles from California, Florida, New Jersey, and Ohio, this informational brief examines the changes in law, the need for Safe Routes to School projects in disadvantaged communities, and how some states are using creative approaches to supply the match.
