State initiates Safe Routes to School Program
In
September North Carolina kicked off its Safe Routes to School (SRTS) initiative
that over the next five years will bring $15 million in federal money to
the state to build walking and bicycling trails to elementary and middle
schools with hopes of making a dent in childhood obesity rates.
SRTS advocates offer these figures: � Today fewer than 15 percent of schoolchildren walk or bike to school compared to 50 percent estimated in 1969. � Up to 20 to 30 percent of morning traffic is generated by parents driving their children to school with the following health implications: � Over the last 25 years, air pollution has been linked to a 74% increase in asthma rates among children ages 5-14 and a 160% increase in children up to age 4. � Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1970. North Carolina’s allocation is part of the $612 million for the national SRTS program included in the transportation bill passed by Congress in August. SRTS stipulates that 70 to 90 percent of the money be spent on infrastructure. “NCDOT’s Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation looks forward to working with local partners, including NCRT, to identify eligible trail projects that will create safe, healthful opportunities for children to walk or bike to |
school,” said
Tom Norman, director of the division. "We also need advocacy groups like
NCRT to encourage local officials to locate new school construction closer
to the places where people live so that walking and biking will be more
feasible than it often is currently.”
Workshops are now underway across the state to familiarize school systems, planning departments and communities about SRTS and the application process. SRTS workshops help communities develop programs based on their unique situations while providing strategies and resources for a plan. The workshops last one day and are held during the week. Earlier this year the Transylvania County School system was skittish about participating in SRTS because of possible legal and safety problems. After researching the questions, the school system’s board unanimously approved participation in August. Randy Ronning, administrator of California’s SRTS program, said over the last six years 500 SRTS projects involving about $140 million have been funded in California. He said he had “never heard of a single lawsuit that connects the SRTS to an action or inaction of a school, school district, city or county.” A NCDOT summary of the SRTS program can be found at https://www.ncdot.org/programs/saferoutes/ |
Safe Routes to School
(SRTS) was recently moved from Office of the Secretary NC Dept of Transportation
to the department’s Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian. Tom Norman,
the Division’s director, responded to questions posed by “Little Toot”
about SRTS.
Q: The application process
has yet to be solidified. By what date do you expect to release the first
grants?
Q: Any preliminary indications
as to how many schools districts or counties will apply between now and
January ’08?
Q: What will this program
look like by January ’08 in terms of participation?
Q: The grants call for
70-90 percent to be spent on infrastructure. We assume this will entail
coordination with local departments of planning. Describe the dynamic/working
process you anticipate between local planning departments and school systems.
Q: What specific role
can NCRT play in Safe Routes to Schools vis a vis communication, technical
advice, etc.?
For further information about
the Safe Routes to School initiative, contact Sarah Worth O’Brien, interim
Safe Routes to School coordinator, NCDOT - Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian
Transportation, 919-515-8703, skworth@ncsu.edu
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