|
Tweet,
tweet!
MassRIDES is now on Twitter!
Follow us at twitter.com/massrides for short, timely updates about
the Safe Routes to School Program and all of our services.
|
|
Meet our
team!
We have two new additions to the
MassRIDES Safe Routes to School team!
Catherine King has transitioned from our worksite
team to assisting Safe Routes to School partners in
the southeast.
Anna Isaacson joined the team in July and is an
avid bicyclist. She will be assisting Safe Routes Partners in
central and western Massachusetts.
Learn more about Anna and
Catherine
|
|
Celebrate
Car-Free
Day!
September 22,
2010
Massachusetts joins over 1,000
cities in 40 countries around the globe to celebrate World Car-Free
Day on September 22, 2010.
World Car-Free Day began in
Europe and has quickly spread to communities globally as a way to
promote the environmental, financial, community, and health
benefits of using public transportation, carpooling, bicycling,
walking, and teleworking.
|
|
MA
Safe Routes to School Update
As of September, 2010, the
Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program works with 307
elementary and middle schools representing over 140,000 students in
111 municipalities statewide. The program educates students,
parents, and community members on the values of walking and
bicycling to school. The program also offers schools technical
assistance for designing, implementing, marketing and evaluating
initiatives tailored to the school's needs and priorities.
The Massachusetts Safe Routes to School program is administered by
MassRIDES on behalf of the Massachusetts Department of
Transportation. To learn more about participating, visit Mass.gov/MassDOT/SafeRoutes.
|
|
Register for 2010 International Walk to School
Day
Massachusetts Safe Routes to School
partner schools all across the Commonwealth will participate in
International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.
During October, International Walk to School Month, students from
over 40 countries will join together to walk and bicycle to
school.
Celebrating International Walk to School Day can be as easy as
announcing the event in the morning announcements or can include
walking school buses, crosswalk handouts, color themes, and other
encouragement activities.
Register your event to receive free
incentives.
Once registered, you will have access to an online ordering
site so you can reserve incentive prizes for participating
students, including stickers, bookmarks, pencils, and zipper
pulls*. Please note, new items are coming in daily, so the site may
indicate a low quantity of items available. No worry, just place
your order and we will ship your items out as soon as they are
available, and before International Walk to School Day.
Participating schools can also register at www.walktoschool.org to access
a variety of downloadable materials for International Walk to
School, including certificates, templates for printing stickers,
and a frequent walker punch card. Registrants can also subscribe to
the weekly Walk to School e-newsletter with tips and resources for
holding a Walk to School event.
*Maximum order quanties apply:
Bookmarks and stickers: 400 per order
Zipper pulls and pencils: 250 per order
|
|
Lights, Camera,
Action!
Safe Routes to
School partners - it's time to strut your
stuff!
Send us a video about how your school,
classroom, or community practices Safe Routes to School. The winner
will be featured on our homepage at www.commute.com, and in our next Safe Routes to School
newsletter.
Videos should be 3 - 5 minutes
and illustrate the ways your school or community makes biking and
walking to school fun, safe, and a part of your daily
routine.
To enter:
-
-
Submit by mail
to MassRIDES,
10 Park Plaza, Suite 2180,
Boston, MA 02116
Entries must be received
by Friday, October 29, 2010.
One entry per person, please. Participants
agree that MassRIDES
can use the work submitted in future marketing
promotions and on www.commute.com.
Winners will
be announced on November 15, 2010.
|
|
SRTS
Spotlight:
Walk
and Bike to School Day, May 5, 2010
Thomson
Elementary School, North Andover:
Governor Deval Patrick proclaimed
May 5, 2010 Massachusetts Walk and Bicycle to School
Day.
The Safe Routes to School team
visited Thomson Elementary School in North Andover
to present the Governor's proclamation, where dozens of
students bicycled and walked to school in celebration of the
event.
Maquan School,
Hanson
Over 200 students and 50 parents celebrated in Hanson at the
Maquan School, with a walking school bus from Camp
Kiwanee. "The weather could not have been more perfect,"
said Maquan School Principal Donna Murphy. "Hopefully, this will
encourage families to walk more often. We are looking forward to
this being an annual event."
Glover School,
Milton
 Children at Glover School in
Milton celebrated Walk and Bike to School Day by walking, biking,
carpooling and riding the bus. Some even showed up on scooters and
skateboards. Over 60 percent of students
participated.
The Milton School District has made a
commitment to having pedestrian and bicycle safety training as part
of the elementary PE curriculum. The elementary Physical Education
instructors have recieved training in pedestrian and bicycle safety
for children through the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School
program and have begun conducting pedestrian and bicycle safety
training for 2nd and 4th graders.
Job Lane School, Bedford
The Job Lane School reached their Walk and
Bike to School Day goal with 100 students bicycling to school! ( Check out Principal Ackerman's
blog post and video about the event). Plus over 90 walkers
participated. " We
had a great turnout for the walk to school day today,"
said Coordinator Kim Ryan. "We also had our 2nd grade Pedestrian
Training and everything went wonderfully." |
Jackson Street School Infrastructure
Improvements Complete
Students,
parents, and city and school officials gathered to celebrate the
completion of access and safety improvements around the Jackson
Street School in Northampton with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on
September 13. MassDOT Highway Administrator Luisa Paiewonsky gave
the keynote address, and Congressman Richard Neal, State
Representative Peter Kocot, and Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins
addressed attendees.
The project,
which was funded through Massachusetts Works and the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, represents the first school access
and safety improvement in Massachusetts that has been completed
based on the recommendations of the Safe Routes to School
program.
Several measures to slow vehicle
traffic, manage street crossings, and improve sidewalk conditions
were implemented. Specific enhancements include constructing raised
crosswalks leading to the school, narrowing the school driveway to
reduce turning radius at the curb, reconstructing sidewalks between
a heavily used bikeway and the school, and constructing a ramp from
the bikeway to the reconstructed sidewalk.
|
|
