Come Ride With the Safe Routes to School National Partnership in Downtown LA!

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership will be hosting a lunch time ride as part of our 2012 Staff Retreat.  We invite our Los Angeles and Southern California partners to join us for this fun jaunt around downtown Los Angeles.  We’ll tour the sights and stop at some classic Los Angeles Transportation Landmarks as we show off Los Angeles to our out of town National Partnership staffers such as Deb Hubsmith,  Robert Ping, Stephanie Weber and others.   We will break for lunch at location to be determined along the route.

The ride will be short (under 5 miles) and geared for a relaxing cruise through downtown.  Bring your own bicycle and helmet.

Meeting Point/Time

We will meet at Angels Knoll Park (adjacent to the base of Angel’s Flight) on Thursday 2/23.  The ride will last from 11:45 – 1:15.

Route Info

Here is our route.

RSVP

If you plan on coming please email rye@saferoutespartnership.org so we can let the restaurant know ahead of time.

Register now for the 2012 Complete Streets Conference in Los Angeles!

The second UCLA Complete Streets conference will present speakers from academia and practice to share observations and findings about recent accomplishments and explore new research and complete streets implementation examples.  As the support behind the complete streets movement continues to evolve, exemplary on-the-ground projects are steadily growing in strength and in numbers.  What are recent accomplishments that have made appearances on the horizon of this movement, how have these efforts fared in their objectives to redefine and repurpose streets as public spaces?  What are promising new approaches and strategies for implementing complete and living streets in California and in the U.S.?

Complete Streets for California 2012
Hosted by UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
March 2nd, 8am – 5pm
Kyoto Grand Hotel
120 South Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Click here for more information and to register

VCCOOL Collects over 1,200 Signatures for Active Transportation!

We would like to take a moment to recognize the heroic efforts of Rachel Morris the Executive Director of Ventura Climate Care Options Organized Locally (VCCOOL) for collecting more than 1,200 signatures supporting additional funding for active transportation in the Southern California Association of Government’s (SCAG) Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Community Strategy (RTP/SCS).  These signatures were submitted to SCAG as part of the public comment period on the RTP/SCS.

Walking and biking make up 21 percent of the trips (NHTS 2009) and 25 percent of the fatalities in the SCAG region (SCAG RTP/SCS).  The SCAG region also currently suffers from a 24 percent obesity rate, with some populations reaching 50 percent.  Despite this need for added funding for active transportation, the Draft 2012 RTP only allocates a little more than 1% of the funding to active transportation.  The Los Angeles Department of Public Health estimates that $40 billion is needed. VCCOOL’s letter request that SCAG increase the funding for active transportation to between 5%-8% of the total funding in the RTP.

This grass roots effort recieved the support of numerous active transportation advocacy groups, bicycle shops, health care professionals, and Safe Routes to Schools advocates.  For example, the Bicycle Kitchen in Los Angeles helped spread the word and helped bring in dozens of signatures.  Over 100 children from a local elementary school in Oxnard signed the petition in memory of a class mate who was struck by a car and killed while riding their bike to school.

The petition will be left up for additional signatures until April 4th when the SCAG General Assembly will take the final vote on the RTP/SCS.  Please sign on and show your support for bicycling and walking!

Caltrans District 7 Safe Routes to School Cycle 10 Workshop!

Photo Credit: Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Caltrans District 7  Invites You to Attend a Free Workshop

Ryan Snyder a Certified National Safe Routes to School Instructor will  explain what comprehensive Safe Routes to School programs are, and how to prepare a successful grant application.  Topics will include discussion of appropriate engineering improvements, the funding application process, and suggested strategies.

The Caltrans SRTS Cycle 10 “call for projects” is for $45 Million in projects for a two-year cycle of funds.   The application Deadline is March 30, 2012.  Cities that have projects they wish to submit should attend this workshop if they have any questions about the application process or would like assistance with their projects.

City of Los Angeles to hire Pedestrian Coordinator – Apply Now!

Did you know the City of Los Angeles has never had a pedestrian coordinator?  Well thanks to the leadership and vision of stakeholders throughout the city  – that will soon change!

Please see the attached invitation to apply for a pedestrian coordinator consultant position and at least one assistant pedestrian coordinator consultant position to lead and assist with the development of a Safe Routes to School Strategic Plan, for up to one year of contract.

The detailed instructions and work descriptions will be posted the first week of January at the Mayor’s Business Assistance Virtual Network (BAVN) website at: http://www.labavn.org/

Per the 2010 Alliance for Bicycling and Walking Benchmark report, large U.S. Cities average 3.9 bike/ped staff per million residents, LA City has a population of 3.7M,  so ideally should have a lot more than two people working on pedestrian issues , especially given the large pedestrian mode split and safety issues – but this is an exciting start!

Help spread the word and encourage those interested to apply! We are grateful for all the leaders, community members, policymakers and visionaries who have been championing these positions and for the exciting citywide Safe Routes to School plan these staffers will lead the way in creating.

Update Monday 1/9 – please note LA DOT will be have a informational meeting on these positions on Thursday Jan 12th – please click here for the details..

President of the United States Conference of Mayors Supports Federal Safe Routes to School Funding

Summer Night Lights, Lemon Grove Park 2010 photo credit: Antonio Villaraigosa on flickr

The Safe Routes to School California Network extends sincere congratulations to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who was just this week sworn in as the 69th President of the United State Conference of Mayors!

It’s especially exciting for Safe Routes to School efforts as the Mayor recently sent Senator Boxer a letter outlining his support for federal transportation funds for walking and bicycling projects in it he writes:

“The Future of Transportation in Los Angeles and California is multi-modal,” says the Mayor.

Walk to School Meeting at LAUSD

By Manuel Zavala, Community Outreach Intern

School involvement will strengthen the effects of public health campaigns for youth

Yesterday’s “Walk To School 2011″ informational meeting, presented by Los Angeles Unified School District and ultimately aimed at improving the health of our youth, turned out a variety of people ranging from health organizations to the public sector. Below are the highlights of the presentation:

It is a Public Issue

The biggest threat to children’s health is obesity. According to Rene Gonzalez, Assistant Superintendent of Student Health and Human Services at LAUSD, obesity is not just a private issue, it is an environmental and socio-political issue. Obesity is more abundant in certain areas — lack of availability of healthy food options and safe routes that encourage people to adopt unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle are major contributing factors. Promoting healthier lifestyles relies on public policy change.