Safe Routes to School

Robert Ping, the director of the BTA’s Safe Routes to School program has been busy with his “walk and bike school bus” concept.
He recently met with the president of the Oregon Parent Teachers Association (PTA), Anita Olsen. She thought the idea (and Robert) was “interesting”. Here’s an excerpt from comments she made on […]

[Robert Ping]

Robert Ping, the BTA’s Safe Routes to School Program Director, has been named to the national Safe Routes to School Task Force.
This task force is made up of representatives from various Federal agencies and leaders in health, transportation, and education and reports directly to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
This select group […]

A Walk and Bike School Bus works just like a regular yellow school bus…but without the bus! Parents and/or other adult volunteer ‘drivers’ lead a group of students to and from school on foot or bike. The “Bus” travels along a predetermined route, picking up participants along the way at designated “bus stops.”
Sounds like fun […]

[James Oberstar at theNational Bike Summit]

[From the League of American Bicyclists Newsletter]
The National Center for Safe Routes to School has announced it will establish an annual award in the name of Congressman James L. Oberstar.
Oberstar has fought for transportation issues for over 30 years and has been a major champion for Safe Routes to School. […]

Yesterday was International Walk and Bike to School Day and 25 schools from all over Portland took part in the event.
I caught up with some of the action at Sunnyside School in southeast Portland and I was thrilled and inspired to see so many kids walking and biking to school. Sunnyside […]

[Scene from last year’s event]

Next week 89 schools across Oregon will participate in International Walk + Bike to School Day. The purpose of the event is to educate kids, parents, and teachers about the benefits of walking and biking to school.
In Portland, 24 schools are signed up to join in the festivities. According […]

The City of Portland’s Safe Routes to School program has released their first year-end report.
[Download a copy of the Safe Routes to School Year 1 Report (PDF, 1.3MB)]
The federally funded program, which is managed through a partnership between the City of Portland Office of Transportation and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, will more than […]

[Screenshot from video.]

The League of American Bicyclists has released a four-minute video that gives an overview of the national Safe Routes to School program.
To see the video, visit this page on the League’s website.
The clip was created through a grant and is designed to offer a “succinct, attractive and non-technical promotional piece” that explains what […]

Last month, the City of Portland awarded two fifth-grade classes at Lewis Elementary a special Golden Sneaker Award. The award came after the kids showed outstanding achievement in the City’s pilot walk and bike to school program.
These energetic kids logged over 5,000 miles of walking and biking over the past year. They did […]

[Lewis Elementary School.]

On Thursday, April 20, kids throughout Portland will begin walking and biking to and from school in Walk + Bike “School Buses”. Demonstration ‘buses’ will be walking and biking from Lewis Elementary on Thursday, April 20, and walking from Forest Park Elementary on Friday, April 21.
The Walk+ Bike School Bus is being […]