International Bike & Walk to School day is coming up on Wednesday, October 8.This is a special day to promote safe walking
and bicycling throughout the year.If
you are interested in organizing such an event at a school of your choice,
our website www.BikeTexas.org provides
you the information and tools on how to have a successful event.May is Bike & Walk to School Month, so now
is the time to plan your event!
Go to Programs/Education/Bike Texas Safe Routes to School
for a world of information.Especially
helpful is the section “Frequently Asked Questions”.This section has all the tools you need to
put on the event: Flyers, Posters, School Newsletter and Loud Speaker Announcements,
Bike Safety Handouts, Team Leader Invitation and Checklist and FUNdamental Activities
to make the day fun.
In order to help promote Texas' Safe Routes to School Program, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced that it will provide schools in Texas with reflective pull zippers to distribute to students. To receive the incentive, schools must register for the International Walk to School Day on October 8th, 2008, an event where communities from over 40 countries join together to walk and bicycle to school.
Bittersweet results for TBC as State awards local school SR2S Grants, rejects TBC Statewide Proposal.
Nearly ten years of key TBC involvement in the effort to bring federal transportation dollars to Texas and other state departments of transportation (DOTs) for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program resulted in both success and disappointment for TBC last month.
The Texas Transportation Commission (TCC) approved 245 local Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant applications from across the state for a total of nearly 25 million dollars on September 27. A Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund (TBCEF) grant application to expand the three-year-old BikeTexas Safe Routes to School pilot program to a statewide level was not selected for funding by the Commission.
"We are very pleased that significant funding for Safe Routes to School has finally become available for Texas communities." said Executive Director Robin Stallings. "We are proud to have been very involved in efforts since 1998 to establish the framework and funding for Safe Routes to School nationwide. We are, of course, extremely disappointed that the TCC declined to fund our application to implement a statewide program in Texas."
Decline in Bicycling and Walking = Obesity Epidemic
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Washington, D.C. – August 29, 2007 – According to a report released today by the Thunderhead Alliance, the dust settling on Americans’ parked bikes is likely linked to our expanding waist lines. Bicycling and Walking in the U.S., Thunderhead’s first biennial Benchmarking Report, shows that bicycling and walking have been in decline in the U.S. since the 1960s.
At the same time there has been a surge in adults and children who are obese. The report compares, for the first time ever, bicycling and walking levels, investment in bicycling and walking, and public health. The most striking findings reveal major disparities between cycling and walking levels, traffic fatalities, and federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects.
According to Thunderhead’s Executive Director, Sue Knaup, “Most public health advocates already preach the benefits of biking and walking. This report clearly demonstrates that cities and states with the highest rates of cycling and walking almost always have the lowest levels of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.”
Launches New Web Site to Promote Walking and Bicycling
Boulder, CO - As children across the country prepare for the start of school, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership is taking steps to make their trip to school a healthier activity.
Today, the Partnership launched a new web site, www.saferoutespartnership.org, to help parents, schools, local and state governments, and advocacy groups implement programs that will encourage more kids to walk and bike to and from school.
The $612 million federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program, which was approved by the U.S. Congress in 2005, provides funding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia to support education and enforcement programs and to help communities improve infrastructure such as building sidewalks and bike paths.
International Bike & Walk to School day is coming up on Wednesday, October 8.
TxDOT
