Thursday, May 28, 2009

Federal Safe Routes to School reauthorization

The current Federal Safe Routes to School Act expires at the end of the current fiscal year on September 1, 2009.

Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Burr (R-NC) , Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined together to introduce the Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act (S. 1156). This bill is currently in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

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The League of American Bicyclists has set up a web form to help you contact your Senators asking them to support the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program by co-sponsoring the legislation. Just type in your zip code to be directed to the appropriate message-either a thank you if your Senator(s) is already a cosponsor or a "please co-sponsor" message if they are not. A sample message is provided, but you're encouraged to personalize it with a sentence or two about your local SRTS needs and interests.

Federal Safe Routes to School background

S. 1156 expands funding for SRTS to $600 million per year, include high schools, simplify regulatory compliance to improve project delivery, and strengthen research and evaluation. All of these changes will make SRTS grants more widely available, and help more schools and communities across the country make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school and get into healthier, greener habits.

Click here for more information.

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