Mayor Sam Adams and Humboldt Elementary School teacher Patrisha Porter at Overlook Park in North Portland, showing kids that adults can have fun on bikes too.
-Slideshow below/Gallery-
(Photos © J. Maus)

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Screengrab from YouCut website.

House Republicans have listed the federal Safe Routes to School program as one of five examples of "wasteful spending" as part of their newly-launched "YouCut" campaign. The campaign puts five proposals out each week and asks the American people to vote on which ones they feel should be cut from the federal budget. (more...)

The Safe Routes to School program
is offered in nearly every school
in Portland.
(Photo © J. Maus)

This afternoon, Mayor Sam Adams and a host of Oregon state legislators will highlight the City of Portland's Safe Routes to Schools program with a bike ride through North and Northeast Portland. The ride will go from Humboldt Elementary School, to Overlook Park, and then back to the school.

According to PBOT spokesperson Dan Anderson, Adams will be joined by Senator Chip Shields, and Representatives Lew Frederick and Michael Dembrow. Humboldt Principal Willie Poinsette, fourth grade students, and PBOT staff will also take part. The electeds will learn about the program and see recent transportation improvements near the school first-hand. (more...)

[This story was written by BikePortland contributor and Beach School parent, Chris Sullivan]

The Bike Fairy greeted kids
at Beach School on Friday.
(Photos: Chris Sullivan)

A few years ago, bikes were forbidden at Beach School in North Portland. Here's a snip from the school's 2002-03 family handbook:

"Bicycles, Skateboards, Roller Skates, etc... Due to the safety factor and other problems that occur at school over scooters, skateboards, Walkmans, roller skates, radios, toys, bicycles, etc., we are asking that students not bring these items to school."

Last Friday morning the school hosted the culminating event of Walk + Bike to School month -- a walk and bike train with over 100 kids, parents, staff, and neighbors. It stretched for four blocks. (more...)

A good sign.
(Photos © J. Maus)

This morning on my way to the office, a sign at the corner of North Michigan and Alberta caught my eye; it read "Beach Bike Train meet up spot - 8:30 - Join Us." It was about 8:25, so I decided to wait around and see if anyone showed up.

A few minutes later I saw a line of kids and parents pedaling toward the spot. One of them was Laurie Paulsen, a Beach parent who I'd met last summer at a nearby farmer's market.

As kids (and kid-like parents) zoomed in circles around a parking lot waiting for others to show up, I chatted with her for a minute. (more...)

Newly installed bike shelter at Boise-Eliot.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation is putting a roof over the bike parking at four local schools. The work is being done through PBOT's Safe Routes to Schools program and construction is set to be completed by the end of April.

One of the new shelters, at Boise-Eliot Elementary School in north Portland is already installed. The three other schools that will get what PBOT calls "bike shelters" are Sacramento Elementary, Lewis Elementary, and Kelly Elementary. These schools prioritized covered bike parking in a detailed engineering report they (and 23 other schools) received through the SRTS program. (more...)

New funds will install crosswalks and other improvements.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has just announced that their Safe Routes to School program has received a $495,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation to build engineering improvements at seven local elementary and K-8 schools.

In a press release, PBOT Safe Routes program coordinator Gabe Graff said:

“We are excited and proud to have been selected for this funding... By bringing in this funding, Portland’s Safe Routes to School program will help make walking and biking a more realistic, safer option."

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Michelle Obama could help bring
Safe Routes to Schools to the table.
(Photo: White House on Flickr)

America has a long legacy of First Ladies who have used their diplomatic profile to further specific causes, so I was very pleased to learn that Michelle Obama's focus would be obesity.

Anyone who has spent time in the bike advocacy world knows that the obesity epidemic is often thrown around as a key reason why our country needs to put a higher priority on biking. So, is the First Lady's focus on obesity and "healthy families" something to get excited about? (more...)

Families join a PBOT traffic engineer
for a walkabout outside Trillium
Charter School on N. Interstate Ave.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation does a lot more than than just build bike infrastructure. They also have one of the best Safe Routes to Schools programs in the country and they do a bunch of free, bike-related outreach all year. Below are four events that you should take advantage of this month:

Safe Routes Discussions and Trainings

Wednesday January 13th from 10:00-11:30am
Panel Discussion: Promoting Active Transportation at School
East Portland Community Police Center (737 SE 106th Ave)
Come engage in lively conversation and hear from three experienced school champions about successes and lessons learned in promoting walking and biking at their schools.

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Kids learn the ropes during a bike
safety class in
Southeast Portland.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Safe Routes National Partnership has just released a new report detailing how five communities around the country -- including Portland -- have used Safe Routes to Schools programs to create safer walking and biking environments.

Titled Safe Routes to School: Putting Traffic Safety First (PDF), the report details how communities from Florida to California are participating in encouragement programs and making safety improvements that are affordable yet have "profound effects on keeping children safe while also improving physical health and the environment." (more...)

Bike parking at Franklin
High School in Southeast Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer announced a new bill yesterday that would expand the existing Safe Routes to Schools program to high schools. The Safe Routes to High Schools Act would enable high schools to vie for federal grants that would help them build walking and biking facilities for students.

The goal of the bill is to improve the health of our nation's teenagers, make traffic around schools safer, and provide a less expensive way for kids to get to school.

A one-pager on the bill states that the obesity rate for kids between the ages of 12 and 19 have more than tripled in the past fifteen years, with 17.6% of high school age kids now classified as obese. Another statistic that provided impetus for this proposed legislation is a Centers for Disease Control estimate that 25% of traffic within three miles of a school comes from parents dropping off or picking up their children. (more...)

The morning scene at Trillium Charter School in North Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

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We need more like him.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Yesterday the Safe Routes to School National Partnership launched their "Dear Congress: Why Safe Routes to School is Important" campaign. The intention of this grassroots lobbying effort is to send a clear message to members of Congress that their constituents care deeply about getting more kids to walk and bike to school.

The National Partnership hopes to generate thousands of letters by September 24th that they will then bundle up and share with members of the House and Senate.

In a statement announcing the new campaign, Partnership staffers acknowledged that the timing of a new federal transportation bill is uncertain, but added that, "It is absolutely the time to make sure that we have all the ammunition necessary to continue the fight to strengthen and expand the federal Safe Routes to School program in the next bill... we can do this through your stories."
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Kids pedal cars around a "traffic garden" in Utrecht, Netherlands.
(Photo © J. Maus)

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Signs don't work as well as crosswalks.
(Photo © J. Maus)

It's common at advocacy-oriented conferences to hear the latest horrible stats about how bad things are and how it's up to the great work of advocates to charge into a new era and change the world.

At the Safe Routes to School National Conference being held in downtown Portland this week, attendees just got all fired up from a keynote by Richard Jackson, and M.D. and Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA.
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Robert Ping from the Safe
Routes to School National
Partnership.
File photo
(Photos © J. Maus)

Robert Ping, the State Network Coordinator for the Safe Routes to School National Partnership shared a startling bit of information during his presentation at the Safe Routes to School Conference today.

In communities throughout America, students are being told they are not allowed to bike to school.

"It's pervasive throughout the country and we're hearing about it more and more," he said. The problem, according to Ping, is that many school principals and administrators feel that biking and walking to school is simply unsafe. They are concerned about being held liable for anything that happens during the trip to and/or from school. (more...)

We need more like him.
(Photo © J. Maus)

This week, Portland is playing host to the Safe Routes to School National Conference. The event is hosted by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) and they report that over 500 attendees have registered.

Attendees include biking and walking advocates, health care providers, city planners, transportation experts and a host of other professionals and practitioners. The goal is to get inspired, share best practices, and focus efforts on getting more kids to school under their own power.

In addition to three days of panel discussions, presentations and mobile workshops, the event is anchored by keynotes from major players in the bicycling and health advocacy world. (more...)

We'll have a lot more coverage of this exciting upcoming event in the weeks to come. For now, here's the official press release from conference host, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA):

The 2nd Safe Routes to School National Conference will be held in Portland on August 19th-21st, bringing stakeholders from across North America together to champion walking and biking to school safely. Themed “Two Steps Ahead,” the conference will highlight how Safe Routes to School programs across the country are changing the habits of an entire generation of children and keeping thousands of families ahead of health, traffic safety, and environmental concerns. (more...)

How can the city say no to
a face like this?
-Slideshow below-
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last Friday, about 100 people -- most of them families with kids in tow -- rode to City Hall as part of a special edition of the BTA's monthly Kidical Mass ride. The goal was to raise awareness about the city's budget that currently threatens to lop off about 40% of funding for Safe Routes to Schools programs and is non-committal in terms of funding for promised new bike boulevards.

Riders met up at three locations throughout the city before coming together for a rally and hot cocoa on the steps of City Hall.

At the rally, people held signs that said, "Safe Routes to School is Kids on Bikes", "Funding Safe Routes = Healthy Families", and "Portland Needs Safe Routes!". The BTA's Michelle Poyourow took to the mic and urged the crowd to keep tabs on upcoming opportunities to weigh in on the the budget (the Mayor releases his version on April 28th) and to contact City Commissioners and urge them to fund bike projects and programs. (more...)

A politician's worst nightmare.
Kidical Mass storming City Hall.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) plans to use their monthly "Kidical Mass" ride as way to send a clear message to City Council about their upcoming budget: Find more money for the city's Safer Routes to Schools program.

Hoping it is seen as, "a show of force for the Portland City Council," the BTA wants to bring attention to a 40% reduction in the Safe Routes program that's currently being proposed by the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation. The 40% dip is the result of PBOT holding back "one-time" funds (given out from surpluses in the city's General Fund) it has enjoyed over the past two years. (more...)