Santa Monica’s Bike It! Day grows, inspires

September 22, 2011 1 Comment

Localizing the Walk to School Day efforts in Southern California

Photo Credit: Gary Kavanagh, of Gary Rides Bikes on Flickr

Bike It Day 2010: Additional bike parking provided by the City and LACBC, and a temporary bike lane was created with cones leading to campus Samohi's East entrance.

Just four short years ago, an effort to reduce Santa Monica High School’s carbon footprint, the Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA) started Bike It! Day. On Bike It! Day, which falls on Wednesday, October 5th this year, SSA challenges the students of the Santa Monica School District to “leave the car at home” and seek other methods of transportation to and from school. Biking, walking, skateboarding, and using public transit are all encouraged. The most recent Bike It! Days produced tremendous results. What began with less than 100 participants at the high school in 2007, turned into 3,300 participants across the district, which was more than 30 percent of the total enrollment. Of that number, 700 students biked to school.

Since Bike It! Day’s inception, the number of people who bike to school every day has increased to the point where more bike racks were needed to accommodate the increase. Upwards of 120 students bike to school each day in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SM-MUSD) — but just a few years ago the racks were sparsely filled with around twenty bikes on a good day. Now, Bike It!/Walk It! Day has proved to be extremely beneficial to the SM-MUSD community, not only bringing together schools, parents, students, administration, and local businesses, but also as an effort in combating global warming, one bike at a time. Read more of this post

Filed under Events, News by Policy, Public Participation, Walk & Bike to School Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

National Partnership Conference Registration Ends Aug. 5th

July 28, 2011 1 Comment

If you’re thinking about joining more than 500 advocates and leaders for the 3rd Safe Routes to School National Conference, we encourage you to register online by Friday, August 5, 2011, which is the date that on-line registration closes. This anticipated event is taking place August 16–18 in Minneapolis, MN, so register online today for only $350! After August 5 there will be an opportunity for walk-in registration on-site at the same rate.

Excitement is building for the Safe Routes to School National Conference, and with good reason. Here are some of the exciting details you’ll find at saferoutesconference.org:

  • In-depth descriptions of mobile workshops and the opportunity to pre-register to secure your spot
  • An updated conference agenda, with full details about topic sessions, mixer sessions and breakout sessions
  • National and international keynote speakers, including:
  • Victor Mendez, administrator, Federal Highway Administration
  • Paul Osborne, director, Sustrans, (the UK’s leading sustainable transport nonprofit to help increase walking and bicycling)
  • Former U.S. Representative James Oberstar, father of the Safe Routes to School movement
  • Jamie Bussel, MPH, program officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • Deb Hubsmith, director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
  • Lauren Marchetti, director, National Center for Safe Routes to School
  • Kimberly White, youth bicycling advocate and keynote speaker at January’s Youth Bike Summit
  • John Robert Smith, president and CEO, Reconnecting America and co-chair of Transportation for America
  • Sue Wollan Fan, president, Catalyst Community Partners

If you are in Minneapolis on Monday, August 15, you won’t want to miss out on the Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s free Annual Meeting, taking place from 1-5pm. The theme is “Building the Movement”. You can register for the Annual Meeting at the same time that you register for the conference. We are also hosting a Safe Routes Social from 5-6:30pm, directly after our Annual Meeting. This will be a great opportunity to network with other Safe Routes to School enthusiasts from across the country.

Check out the Safe Routes to School National Conference on Facebook by visiting the new conference tab on our Facebook page.

Be sure to include the hashtag – #SRTSconf – in your tweets leading up to and throughout the Safe Routes to School National Conference. And, if you don’t already, follow the Safe Routes to School National Partnership on Twitter.

We look forward to seeing you in Minneapolis!

Filed under Events, Get Involved

New Printable Platform Document for Summer SCAG Meetings

July 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Download the Printable Platform to take to your SCAG Public Workshop

In preparation for SCAG’s upcoming public workshops (beginning today — don’t miss your local meeting), we’ve highlighted the key points of the Southern California Active Transportation Platform and merged them into a printable one page PDF document. The Printable Platform is intended to be helpful in the Summer RTP workshops, We encourage you to print and bring it to your meeting, as well as share it with your local SCAG regional council member.

Dolores Park Community Meeting. Photo credit: Dolores Park Works on Flickr


Questions to Ask:
- Who is your SCAG Representative and how can you contact him/her directly?
- Are the schools in my community involved in walking and biking programs and to what degree?
- How can I get involved?

Key Sections:
- Improved Planning and Policies
- Improved Data Collection
- Increased Investment
- Education and Promotion

We welcome support and additional endorsersat any time — the more voices in support of walkable and bikeable communities in the SCAG region, the more our elected officials will listen and respond.

To find out more email us at california@saferoutespartnership.org, call us at 213-221-7179, or visit us at http://saferoutescalifornia.wordpress.com.

Filed under Data Collection and Evaluation, News by Policy, News by SoCal County, Public Participation Tagged with , , ,

June 24: ‘The Architecture of Transportation’ Design Symposium

June 13, 2011 Leave a comment

11 AIA|LA Design Conference promotes healthier built environment, maximized investments

"The Architecture of Transportation" Design SymposiumFriday, June 24, 2011 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
provides 6.0 AIA HSW & SD learning units

Please CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

“The Architecture of Transportation” design symposium PRESENTED BY PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF will serve as a forum to discuss innovative ideas about how to build transportation systems that support and strengthen healthier, more functional and more livable neighborhoods.

During the symposium, we will highlight the various aspects of what makes a complete community and apply these definitions of context in an effort to re-define the performance criteria we expect from our transit-oriented districts, in specific, and from our overall transportation infrastructure in general. Community activists, academics, business leaders, policy makers, planners, urban designers and architects will share insight and perspective on what immediate next-steps are essential to reach our common goals. The speakers will outline pathways for how we can maximize our investment and, at the same time, inspire healthier and more active lifestyles.
Read more of this post

Filed under Best Practices, Events, Get Involved, News by Policy

State Group working to improve Bicycle Safety – looking for new members

May 24, 2011 4 Comments

Caltrans Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP): Challenge Area 13

Challenge Area 13 is a team working together to address bicycling safety. This is an effort coordinated and led by Caltrans, as is part of the Agency’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Among the many tasks of this committee is addressing issues relating to Safe Routes to School efforts. The committee would benefit from more members and greater participation, we are helping Caltrans get the word out on this group and are encouraging people to consider joining.

Photo Credit: Ubrayj02 via flickr

The group is currently scheduled to meet every other month for the remainder of the year. The meetings are held in Sacramento (Veterans Affairs Building), but are also held via conference call.

June 15  9:30am – 11:30am
August 10  9:30am – 11:30am
October 19   9:30am – 11:30am

Wondering what the group is working on? See their summary of Suggested New Action Items. Read more of this post

Filed under Events, Safety Tagged with , ,

Safe Routes National Partnership takes CLIF’s 2 Mile Challenge

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Presenting the RED TEAM!

Dear Friends,

CLIF 2 Mile ChallengeThe Safe Routes to School National Partnership (National Partnership) is pleased to be a part of the CLIF 2 Mile Challenge as the 2011 RED TEAM. And we need your help! Sign up under the RED TEAM, log your bike trips, and you’ll earn valuable points that will help the National Partnership win a share of $100,000!

The 2 Mile Challenge highlights CLIF Bar’s commitment to bicycle advocacy and the fight against climate change, inspiring thousands to avoid 100,000 car trips and awarding $100,000 total in grants to three national nonprofits — we are joined by the Alliance for Biking and Walking and 350.org, as well as grants to grassroots initiatives across the country. Read more of this post

Filed under Best Practices, Events, Grants, News by Policy Tagged with , , ,

SCAG to Create Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR)

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Notice of Preparation calls for comments on scope and content of PEIR in terms of 2012 RTP

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is seeking input from local, state and federal agencies as well as other interested parties on issues relevant to the 2012 Regional Transportation Plan — good news for organizations who are invested in the future of walking and biking in Southern California. Earlier this month, SCAG released a formal Notice of Preparation (NOP) that outlines the intent to prepare a Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR). This report will be in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and will also include a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS).

The NOP will allow for input into the scope and content of the environmental information that will be evaluated in the PEIR regarding the 2012 RTP.

Two scoping meetings will be held at SCAG’s Main Office on Thursday, May 26. Session 1 will be held from 2-4 p.m. and Session 2 from 4-6 p.m:

SCAG Board Room*
818 West Seventh Street, 12th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017-3435

*Videoconferencing will be available from SCAG’s regional offices in Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties (see last page of NOP for addresses).

Due to the time limits mandated by state law, your response to the NOP must be sent no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the notice (comment period ends June 8, 2011). Please send your response to Christine Fernandez, Senior Regional Planner, by visiting the SCAG website or via email (include a return address and the name of a contact person in your agency).

Filed under Events, Funding, News by Policy, News by SoCal County Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

$102M Federal Funding Opportunity for Prevention Efforts

May 17, 2011 Leave a comment

Community Transformation Grants to promote health and equity: Informational Call May 25th

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the availability of $102 million in Community Transformation Grants (CTG) for up to 75 projects aimed at reducing chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes. Created as part of the Prevention Fund in the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), these grants aim to reduce health disparities in areas that are disproportionately impacted by preventable health conditions.
Read more of this post

Filed under Equity, Grants, Health

Santa Monica Bike It! Day Hits the Streets on June 1st

May 17, 2011 1 Comment

Spring streets demand more cycling, scootering and walking on school routes

Students, parents and other members of the Santa Monica and Malibu school district are invited to join in on the upcoming Bike It! Walk It! Day on Wednesday June 1st. Last October’s district-wide event got over 3200 (30 percent) of the district’s students walking, biking and taking the bus to school. On the 1st of June, all SMMUSD schools will be participating in BikeIt! Walk It! Day, even Santa Monica College!

Resources are available on www.bikeitday.com to help make your Bike It! Walk It! Day a positive experience:

  • Maps showing routes to each school
  • Handout with tips on riding your bike in traffic
  • When people ride bikes, great things happen
  • Bike Trains explained

Read more of this post

Filed under Events Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Pedestrian-Bicycle Collision Maps Now Available

May 5, 2011 Leave a comment

New Safe Routes to School Collision Maps Released

If you haven’t already heard, California Active Communities within the California Department of Public Health has partnered with the University of California, Berkeley’s SafeTREC to develop interactive geospatial PDF planning maps for each city and county in California. These maps can be used as an informational resource to assist with Safe Routes to School planning and determining which communities may best accommodate joint use of school facilities. These pedestrian and bicycle collision maps can also be utilized with SafeTREC’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) for comprehensive analysis of pedestrian and bicycle collisions around schools. Read more of this post

Filed under Data Collection and Evaluation, News by Policy, Safety Tagged with , , , , , ,

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