Safe Routes to School

On another record-breaking Walk and Roll to School Day, Mayor Ed Lee and other city officials held a press conference to tout recently-completed pedestrian safety measures on streets surrounding Bessie Carmichael Elementary in SoMa, and three schools in the Avenues. Almost 90 schools and 14,000 children citywide were estimated to have participated in the event -- over 85 percent of SF Unified School District students.

California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed Senate Bill 1151, which would have raised fines for traffic violations in school zones. The legislation, authored by Senator Anthony Canella (R-Ceres), was co-sponsored by the Safe Routes to School National Coalition, transportation advocates TransForm, and the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program. The bill was designed to reduce traffic violations near schools, and money raised from the fine increases would have been earmarked for programs that encourage walking and biking.

The SFMTA has installed new bike lanes and traffic calming measures on Ortega Street in the Outer Sunset, bringing a safer commute for parents and students in time for the start of the school year. Ortega runs along Sunset Elementary School and AP Giannini Middle School, which occupy the four blocks between 37th and 41st Avenues.

A coalition of bike and pedestrian advocates are inviting organizations to sign on to a letter [PDF] asking the state legislature to recommend allocating $50 million of the state's cap-and-trade revenue towards the Active Transportation Program. Currently, none of the $850 million in cap-and-trade funds are allocated specifically for walking and bicycling in this year's budget.

A record-breaking 13,000 students at 76 SF schools reportedly participated in International Walk and Roll to School Day yesterday, including over a hundred little ones who formed a "walking school bus" at E.R. Taylor Elementary, where city officials held a press event.

The budget proposed yesterday by Governor Jerry Brown and state lawmakers includes a new "Active Transportation Program" that would increase overall funding for walking and biking improvements but may put California's Safe Routes to Schools program at risk.

It's Bike to School Week. That's right -- the burgeoning event is no longer confined to a single day.

This is the first in a series of stories on East Palo Alto’s proposed bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing.

Brent Butler was leading a bicycle rodeo in East Palo Alto for the city’s first Streets Alive event last year when he realized just how many children were there without bikes.