AMES, Iowa – Fresh air, exercise and a safe environment for our kids – what could be better? October marks International Walk to School Month, and the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is doing its part to promote healthy, safe transportation alternatives for our kids by administering the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program.
Safe Routes to School, a federal program included in the 2005 reauthorization of transportation funding, provides $612 million in funding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia to help communities improve infrastructure, such as sidewalks and bike paths, and to support education, encouragement and enforcement programs that make it safer and easier for children to walk and bicycle to school.
A report issued by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership earlier this week titled, Safe Routes to School: 2007 State of the States, tracks the states’ progress on the implementation of the federal program. While Iowa’s approved projects are still in the implementation phase, Iowa was noted as having met all criteria set forth by the federal government, including the hiring of a DOT SRTS coordinator, establishing an advisory committee, releasing application guidelines for SRTS projects, and selecting those projects for funding.
Kathy Ridnour, the Iowa DOT’s SRTS coordinator, said she is pleased with the number of applications submitted and quality of the proposed projects. “Last year the Iowa DOT received 97 SRTS project applications, and 21 were selected for funding,” she said. “This year we received 68 applications and are working to evaluate the applications and will likely award funding in February 2008.”
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is a fast-growing network of more than 300 organizations and professional groups working to set goals, share best practices, secure funding, and inform agencies that implement Safe Routes to School programs. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s mission is to serve a diverse national community of organizations that advocates for and promotes the practice of safe bicycling and walking to and from schools throughout the United States.
Their full report can be found at:
http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/media/file/rpt_SRTSstates2007.pdf
