BTA's Safe Routes leader moves on

[Robert Ping speaks at Sunnyside
School in SE Portland, 10/4/06.]

Robert Ping, the BTA’s Safe Routes to School Program Director, has accepted a position with the Bikes Belong Coalition.

He made the announcement to co-workers today and will transition to his new role of State Network Manager of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership in the next few weeks.

Ping — who was just named to the Safe Routes to School National Task Force — was hired to lead the BTA’s Safe Routes efforts in Spring of 2004.

While at the BTA, Ping led Portland’s rapidly growing Safe Routes effort that grew from 11 to 19 schools this year while adding several new staff members.

In addition to his local work, Ping worked with schools throughout Oregon to implement Safe Routes programs.

In 2005 Safe Routes to School received over $600 million in federal funding. Ping’s job will be to go into ten key states that are lagging behind in their Safe Routes efforts and help them effectively leverage those funds and get more kids walking and biking to school.

In his new position, Ping will work from a Portland office and report directly to Deb Hubsmith, the country’s leading Safe Routes to School expert and creator of the first pilot program in Marin California.

The BTA will certainly miss Robert, but this is an exciting opportunity and I wish him the best of luck. Congratulations Robert…I’ll see you in D.C.!