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Who Walks to School Anymore?
A sad piece of data that points to the costs of
suburbanization and the cost to children's health: "The percentage of
children who walk or ride bikes has plummeted from 50 percent in 1969 to
15 percent in 2001, according to federal studies."
A pilot program started in Marin County, north of San
Francisco, in 2000, where at the time, surveys showed that 21 percent of
children at nine schools surveyed either walked or rode their bikes to
school. Two years later, that number was 38 percent, said Deb Hubsmith,
the national director of the program.
Read more in the New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/fashion/10suburbs.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1202913627-UndedlBJYEsvSorhC8AcpA
Walk to School Day:
Transportation Alternatives Middletown is interested in working on
the newly announced Walk to school day, and want to ensure that the
Middletown and its schools participate. Let us know if you want to help
us work on this issue.
The objective of this
federally funded initiative is to encourage more students in
elementary and middle schools (Grades K-8) to walk and bike to school, as opposed to other transportation
alternatives; thereby encouraging a more healthy lifestyle.
- Eligible
applicants are any state, local, and regional agencies or
any political subdivision (school boards, school districts,
etc.). Non-profit organizations can apply through a
political subdivision.
- Eligible
infrastructure projects for the Safe Routes to School
funding includes projects, such as sidewalks and crosswalks,
which provides safety for and/or encourages biking and
walking within 2 miles of primary and middle schools.
- As part of
the application process, eligible schools are required to
have a preexisting documented SRTS plan.
- The
project selection process will be driven by the following
elements referred to as the five E's, included in the SRTS
plan:
-
Engineering-identifying operational and physical
improvements to the infrastructure surrounding schools that
reduce speeds and potential conflicts with motor vehicle
traffic, and establish safer and fully accessible
crosswalks, walkways, and bikeways.
-
Education-teaching children about the broad range of
transportation choices, instructing them in important
lifelong bicycling and walking safety skills, and launching
driver safety campaigns in the vicinity of schools.
-
Enforcement-partnering with local law enforcement agencies
to ensure traffic laws are obeyed in the vicinity of schools
(including enforcement of speeds, yielding to pedestrians in
crosswalks, and proper walking and bicycling behaviors and
practices).
-
Encouragement-events and activities to promote walking and
bicycling (bike rodeos, walk to school days, etc.).
-
Evaluation-monitoring and documenting outcomes and trends
through the collection of data both before and after the intervention.
-
Application and guidelines are available on the SRTS
or through your respective Regional Planning Organization.
Applications are due to Regional Planning Organizations by
the end of May 2007.
- For more
information, please contact the Department's Safe Routes to
School Coordinator, Ms. Sharon Okoye, at (860) 594-2367 or
by e-mail
at
sharon.okoye@po.state.ct.us.

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