New Safe Routes to School Senate Bill Sets Stage for Next Federal Transportation Bill

The federal Safe Routes to School program was first created in 2005 through the SAFETEA-LU transportation bill and is authorized through 2009. The program funds infrastructure improvements (such as sidewalks, pathways, bike lanes, and safe crossings) and education, law enforcement, and promotion campaigns to make it safer and more common for children to walk and bicycle to and from school in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The program is up for reauthorization by Congress as part of the next surface transportation bill, which will be under discussion this summer.

The new Safe Routes to School bill proposes to build on successes around the country and strengthen and expand the federal program in several ways:
· Triple funding for the program, from the FY2009 level of $183 million to $600 million per year to meet the high demand and need for the program;
· Expand eligibility to include high schools and to allow a state to spend a portion of its funds to address bus stop safety and improved access in more rural communities;
· Improve project delivery and reduce overhead by addressing regulatory burdens; and
· Add a research and evaluation component.

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Deb Hubsmith, Director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership remarked, "We are grateful to Senators Harkin, Burr, Sanders, Merkley, and Collins for introducing the Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to build additional support within the Senate. By growing and enhancing the federal Safe Routes to School program, we will reduce traffic and pollution, improve children's health, and create safer and healthier schools and communities throughout the nation."

In 1969 nearly half of U.S children walked or bicycled to schools, but today less than 15% get to school under their own power. This decrease in active transport to school coincided with an alarming increase in childhood obesity. During the past four decades the obesity rate for children ages 6 to 11 has more than quadrupled (from 4.2 to 17 percent), and the obesity rate for adolescents ages 12 to 19 has more than tripled (from 4.6 to 17.6 percent). In addition, communities throughout the U.S. report that as much as 21 percent of morning traffic can be parents driving their children to schools.

The following national organizations have already expressed support for the legislation:
· AARP
· Alliance for Biking and Walking
· America Bikes
· American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
· American Heart Association
· American Public Health Association
· American Society of Landscape Architects
· American Trails
· Campaign to End Obesity
· Center for Health and Learning
· Child Safety Solutions, Inc.
· Humana
· Keep Kids Alive Drive 25
· League of American Bicyclists
· Mobility Education Foundation
· National Association for Sport and Physical Education
· National Center for Bicycling & Walking
· National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
· National Complete Streets Coalition
· National Parent Teacher Association
· National Recreation and Park Association
· National Wildlife Federation
· Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
· Safe Kids USA
· Safe Routes to School National Partnership
· Smart Growth America
· State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association
· Trailnet
· Transportation for America
· YMCA of the USA