Safe Routes to Schools

E-Newsletter May 2014

www.saferoutestoschools.org

In This Issue

Bike to School Day

Family Biking Workshops

SR2S Mourns Congressman Oberstar

Miller Creek 50% Challenge

CalTrans Backs Innovative Street Designs

Federal Update

A Walking Suburb in Ohio

Family Biking Workshops

Learn to ride with the whole family.

June 6

July 19

More Information and Registration

Women onWheels

Women's Classes

May 29 Basic Bike Maintenance

May 31 Gearing and Hills

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Thank you to the students from the California Academy of Arts in San Francisco for creating fabulous documentary videos for SR2S.

Please access one of the videos on Facebook

42 Marin Schools Jam the Bike Racks

Thousands of students biked to school on National Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 7 with a record of 42 schools participating. Bike trains snaked their way through Marin streets as children and their parents joined millions across the nation to celebrate biking as a fun and environmentally friendly way to get to school. The Safe Routes to Schools program has made strides over the past decade getting children out of cars and walking and biking to campuses. Many schools reported hundreds of participants. The annual bike ride through Corte Madera was assisted by the Central Marin Police Authority which provided traffic control. Neil Cummins had 221 total riders 43 more than last year and Hall had 228 total riders, 64 more than last year. The event made the

front page of the Marin Independent Journal

Family Bicycling Fun Ride and Workshops

family biking

Take your kids on a bike ride and learn how to ride safely together. Sign up for Family Bicycling on Friday, June 16 at 3 pm and Saturday July 26 at 10 am. This engaging workshop is for parents and their children to learn safe bicycle riding skills. Topics covered will include rules of the road, on-the-bike skills and a family cargo bike demo. The day will culminate with a fun family bike ride.

This two-hour workshop will teach your family how to safely navigate streets with proper equipment and behavior.

These workshops are offered through a grant from the Air Quality Management District.

Advanced registration is required. For more information contact peggy@marinbike.org 456-3469 ext 8#

Safe Routes Mourns Former Congressman James Oberstar

It is with a very deep sadness and extremely heavy heart that the Safe Routes to School mourns the passing of 79-year-old Congressman James Oberstar, D-MN from 1974-2010, on Saturday.Congressman Oberstar served in Congress for 36 years, and as chairman and ranking member of the powerful Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for many years, he played a critical role in authorizing a national Safe Routes to School program. In her blog post, Safe Routes to School National Partnership founder Deb Hubsmith reflects on the life and legacy of Congressman Oberstar and the impact his work has on kids and families each and every day across the nation

Miller Creek Launches 50% Challenge

Miller Creek Middle School has made a major push to increase cycling and walking to school. The goal of the 50% Challenge is to raise awareness of the health benefits of active transportation and ultimately reduce the number of single-family vehicles on the road. Miller Creek has created a pledge drive, a recommended route map, and a list of solutions to commute challenges. Their hope is that at least 50% of the students will have walked or biked to school on any given day. The first two checks show they are moving in the right direction: 32.8% of Miller Creek Students walked or biked on April 10, and 38.3% of the students walked or biked the following week. read more

Caltrans Backs Innovative Street Design Guides to Promote Walking and Bicycling

In an effort to support the construction of more multimodal local streets and roads, Caltrans officially endorsed the National Association of City Transportation Officials' (NACTO) guidelines Urban Street Design Guide and Urban Bikeway Design Guide as valuable toolkits for designing and constructing safe, attractive local streets that include innovations such as buffered bicycle lanes and improved pedestrian walkways. Read More

Federal Update

National Partnership logo

Obama Administration Sends Transportation Bill to Capitol Hill As we continue to wait for action on a transportation bill in Congress - which may happen as soon as next week in the Senate - the Obama Administration put forward their own proposal earlier this week: the GROW AMERICA Act. The current transportation bill is set to expire this September and the Highway Trust Fund, which funds our nation's surface transportation programs, will run out as soon as August. The administration's bill would reauthorize our surface transportation programs for an additional four years at $302 billion, and includes several provisions we had specifically advocated for in the Transportation Alternatives Program.

How One Suburb Made School Buses Obsolete

When it comes to its schools, the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, Ohio, does things the old-fashioned way. The city doesn't have a bus system for its 5,800 students, because it doesn't need one. Its seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school are all within walking or biking distance of the children they serve.

In this short film from Streetfilms, planner Bryce Sylvester explains that there's never been a school bus system in the city. Read More