A local program that works with students with special educational needs is looking to various Safe Routes encouragement programs for inspiration and has created their very own program that works well for their students.  It’s a great example of how each school can find the way that works best for them to encourage students to get active, both in their daily lives and in their transportation choices.

Path Finder has initiated the “Path Finder Active Transport Honors” (PATH) program to encourage students to become more active.  They offer rewards and incentives to those students who commute to school under their own power.  However, they also note that many students live too far away to commute by walking or biking so in order to make things fair for them they reward fitness related behavior that they do on their own time.  Students can choose from a list of physical activities to do on their own, and then record those at school for rewards.

Path Finder serves students with autism and other challenges to learning and they see the importance of independent and active transportation for these students.  As the program coordinator notes in this excerpt from a letter to parents, creating habits early will help these students throughout their life:

“We feel that this program is especially important for students with autism and Asperger’s syndrome as it will help teach them how to live on their own and interact with their ever-changing environment. As you know, it can take a very long time for a student on the autism spectrum to make and break habits.  This is why it’s important that we begin teaching them healthy, self-sufficient practices and habits early.  After graduation they will be relying on themselves for transportation, and we feel it’s beneficial for them to practice and learn how to do so while still under our wing.”

Nice work “Finding the Path” that works best for your program Path Finder!

Yesterday was a multi-media day for the SRTS program. There was a “Top Story” on KMTR about our infrastructure grant and the Eugene School District 4J Board heard a presentation about our current projects. I’ll add the video clip after the jump since it starts automatically and runs on after the story (poor embedding!).
Later we’ll have a link to the presentation as well. read more…

Safe Routes to School is helping to support this “Safe Passages” and EyeToEye project:

A new safety plaza will be built by volunteers between the Churchill Skate Park and the “Cuidado” crosswalk on Baily Hill Road in May. The Plaza will have two benches, a message sign and a memorial plaque.
You are invited to attend a “Message Design” group meeting on Wednesday, March 10th at Churchill High School Library.

Come join skaters, students, graphic artists, and neighbors as we blend our Eye to Eye message with teen safe driving ideas. Come give your input! All are welcome.

Events after the March 10th design include:

A “Sod Removal Day” on May 8th and a “Form & Pour Day” on May 14th. Music and snacks will be provided for these events.

The Safety Plaza will be dedicated on Tuesday, June 8th at 3:30 p.m.

Get involved, make and impact, use your talents, and have some fun!

For more information call Marina Hajeck 541-338-3124 or Tom Schneider 541-729-1263

I took the text from the Active Transportation Fashion Show update and plugged it into Wordle. This is what I got:

We’re in the process of making some great plans for the Kidical Mass rides this year. This past Thursday we had a sunny, happy, and fun ride from our traditional meeting spot of Monroe Park over to one of the favorite ending spots, Prince Pücklers ice cream. Starting next month we’re branching out though! We’ll be moving to a new park each month and for several of the rides we already have some great things in store!

You can subscribe to the  Eugene Email Alerts to stay up-to-date on our meeting spots.

Here is a map showing the meeting points and some of the planned events:

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View Kidical Mass Rides 2010 in a larger map

The BTA Bike Safety Education Instructor position for Eugene is open and we need someone to lead the program to teach local students this important course. This program has a lot of great potential for growth and Safe Routes to School and GEARs is working with the BTA to expand it to a more robust and sustainable job. Contact Paul Adkins or Shane Rhodes for more detailed information or apply via the BTA Website:
read more…

Projects like this Pedestrian "Stutter Flash" sign will be part of the new SRTS improvements

The Eugene Safe Routes to School Program and the City of Eugene have just been awarded a $495,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the National Safe Routes to School program. During the 2008/2009 school year  7 schools worked with the Eugene SRTS Team and the City of Eugene to conduct parent surveys, student travel tallies, and action plans to determine the safety issues for students walking or biking to their school.  Through the action plans each school held a “walkabout” and identified specific barriers and concerns of parents, staff, and students.  Working with City staff the school SRTS committees worked to find the best solutions to create safe crossings, increase active transportation access, and build better bike parking infrastructure.  Here is the current list of schools and projects this grant will help to fund. Final design and engineering work will be completed during the spring of 2010. Stay tuned to the SRTS website for read more…

This past Saturday was the 4th Annual Eugene Walking and Biking Summit.  Hosted by the City of Eugene and supported by the City Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), Eugene Safe Routes to School and Travel Lane County this years event was the kick-off of the cities Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan process.  Besides having an input session for the plan there were also some great speakers, booths from area walking, biking, and healthy living organizations, and an Active Transportation Fashion Show.

The morning started with an Off the Waffle breakfast with DIY toppings and Full City Coffee provided by the City.  Once caffeinated and fueled up participants heard some inspiring words from Bill Nesper, the League of American Bicyclists “Bicycle Friendly Communities” Director.  He spoke about the BFC program and the importance of community involvement in raising a cities BFC rating.  At the end of 2009 Eugene was moved up from the Silver Level rating it has had since the end of 2004 to the Gold Level.  I think a good goal for us now would be to achieve the Platinum Level by the end of the next five years.   read more…