Texas Bicycle Coalition staff members had a very successful week in late August and early September promoting the BikeTexas Safe Routes to School program in north and west Texas.

Executive Director Robin Stallings traveled to Amarillo, Fort Worth and Lubbock to train new Local Outreach Coordinators and meet with school and city officials.

All of the meetings were productive and are expected to lead to improved and expanded cooperative efforts.

Stallings visited Amarillo on Monday, August 29, to convey appreciation for support of the BikeTexas Safe Routes to School program. He and Local Outreach Coordinators Fernando Martinez and Joyce Cunningham met with Amarillo Mayor Debra McCartt. Mayor McCartt shared her vision for a bicycle-friendly Amarillo , and she discussed implementation of Phase 1 of the Amarillo bike plan. She offered cooperation with the BikeTexas Safe Routes to School Program and had excellent ideas about Texas Bicycle Coalition assisting to introduce new bike lanes to the elementary schools located in the Phase 1 bike plan.

Mayor McCartt also expressed enthusiastic reinforcement of the Coalition’s work by offering to participate in a Bike with the Mayor event, to be scheduled. When discussing the program, the Mayor agreed with the benefits and voiced “Let’s get it right.” Stallings, Martinez and Cunningham also visited with Larry Offerdahl, Amarillo ’s Director of Parks and Recreation, who reminded them that two of the current City Commissioners, Madison Scott and Paul Harpole, are supporters of Texas Bicycle Coalition efforts as both are frequent bike riders.

Denise Blanchard, Amarillo ISD Program Director, Community Partnerships, was instrumental in providing much-needed school PTA and PTO contact information, as well as acquiring the approval of Rod Schroder, Amarillo ISD Superintendent of Schools, to implement the program in Amarillo schools. Coalition staff also attended an Amarillo City Hall Bike Lanes meeting. Attendees expressed mutual cooperation to benefit the Amarillo area.

In Lubbock , Local Outreach Coordinators Sherman Phillips and Durwood Mayfield joined Stallings for a meeting on Tuesday, August 30, with school officials. They discussed the implementation of the BikeTexas Safe Routes to School Program into Lubbock ISD 4th and 5th grades this year with Lubbock ISD Health Services Coordinator Jane Tustin and Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Schools Larry Mullican.

After receiving a brief overview of the program, both officials were delighted to have the opportunity to incorporate the program in Lubbock schools this year. Teacher training for 4th and 5th grade physical education teachers will be scheduled in the near future. The Texas Bicycle Coalition staff was very pleased with the reception they received at the Lubbock ISD office, which included the opportunity to personally meet Superintendent of Schools Wayne Havens. Coalition staff is looking forward to working with the school district this year and in the years to come.

Stallings and Fort Worth Local Outreach Coordinators KC Jones and Elaine Williams introduced the BikeTexas Safe Routes to Schools program to the Fort Worth League of Neighborhood Associations’ General Meeting on Thursday, September 1. The special presenter for the program portion of the meeting was new Fort Worth ISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Melody Johnson. Stallings gave Johnson a commemorative Lance Armstrong license plate as a symbol of the Coalition’s partnership with Fort Worth on the Safe Routes to School program. More than a dozen neighborhood association presidents attended the meeting and connected with Coalition staff to begin a cooperative relationship. Earlier in the day, Stallings, Jones and Williams met with Fort Worth ISD Program Director, Health/Physical Education, Georgi Roberts to encourage and support the district’s continued involvement in BikeTexas Safe Routes to Schools. Both meetings in Fort Worth were extremely productive and successful.