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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Down To Earth

Goodbye Safe Routes To School?

I've been talking a lot about Bike To Work Week but what about biking to school? Or merely walking to school? Safe Routes To School is a succesful, small federal program that Congress is currently threatening to terminate. My understanding is that it's not a budget saving strategy rather the funds will be directed towards more auto-centric infrastructure. The program was enacted in 2005 and it coordinates safe and healthy improvements across the country by making walking and biking to school more accessible for students and teachers.

Since 2005 in Washington state alone, Safe Routes To School has reached 168 schools, making walking and biking conditions safer for about 67,000 children. To achieve these improvements, approximately $29 million has been awarded to 90 projects from over $137 million in requests. The number of children biking and walking has increased by over 20 percent, with a measured increase in pedestrian and bicycle facilities and a reducation in motorist speeds.  

From Grist: Testifying to Congress about a pilot project, director Deb Hubsmith stated, “In only two years, we documented a 64 percent increase in the number of children walking, a 114 percent increase in the number of students biking, a 91 percent increase in the number of students carpooling, and a 39 percent decrease in the number of children arriving by private car carrying only one student.”

Children represent over 12 percent of pedestrian fatalities. And bicycle-related injuries send over a quarter million children to hospitals annually. But SRTS currently receives just 0.2 percent of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s safety budget — and even that tiny slice is now in jeopardy.

The Senate transportation bill, currently in a conference committee, would relegate SRTS funds to a shared pot called “additional activities.” Depending on the compromise bill’s final language, states may be allowed to shift bike and pedestrian funds to road construction or other priorities. House Republicans would prefer to go one step further, eliminating bike and pedestrian funding altogether.

Read the rest HERE and send a message to your representative HERE



Down To Earth

The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.