Safe Routes to School says vote YES on Measure W!

**amalisa** · 10-12-2010 12:45 PM

Dear Sonoma County Safe Routes to School Supporters,

Last Wednesday, October 6th, Sonoma County celebrated International Walk and Roll to School Day. It was a great success, with over 70 schools and more than 10,000 students participating countywide! Each year it seems that through education and encouragement we get closer to the simpler days when greater numbers of kids walked and biked to school every day. Our goal is to continue our success and increase the number of Sonoma County children who walk or bicycle to school. We can accomplish this together by funding projects and programs that improve safety and convenience.

Safe Routes to Schools and the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition would like to draw your attention to Measure W, the Transportation Improvement Measure on the November 2nd ballot. Measure W would increase the Vehicle Registration Fee by $10, generating approximately $5 million per year that will stay right here in Sonoma County, $600,000 of which will go directly to Safe Routes to School.

Our 16 schools with federally-funded, short-term Safe Routes to School pilot programs have generated a lot of interest and success, but Sonoma County has 179 public schools in over 40 school districts. The next phase of our outreach must be wider, and we cannot count on continued federal funding. Local funds will be necessary to accomplish our long-term goals in Sonoma County.

Not only will Measure W provide local funding for Safe Routes to School, it will also relieve traffic congestion, repair roads, and encourage the use of public transportation—all of which will further empower children (and adults!) to walk and bike safely. Measure W funds will incorporate the “complete streets” practice that makes local roads safe for all modes, including bicyclists and pedestrians, and accommodates transit.

Thirty years ago, over 50% of children living within a 2-mile radius of school walked or bicycled to school. Today, that number has dropped to less than 15%. In addition, back then, 5% of children between the ages of 6 to 11 were considered to be overweight or obese, and today, that number has climbed to over 15%. These statistics point to a rise in preventable childhood diseases, worsening air quality and congestion around schools, and missed opportunities for children to grow into self-reliant, independent adults.

Here at Safe Routes to School, we believe that we can use modern programs to return to the healthier, safer, and simpler days that many of us, as parents, remember from our own childhoods. Establishing a secure and reasonable source of local funding will greatly increase our ability to make this scenario come true.

Please refer to the attached expenditure plan from the Sonoma County Transportation Authority for more detailed information on Measure W.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW1x...layer_embedded

Safe Routes to School
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
Office: 707.545.0153, fax: 707.573-0147
Mail: PO Box 3088, Santa Rosa, CA 95402-3088
Office: 750 Mendocino Ave. Suite 6, Santa Rosa CA
www.sonomasaferoutes.org
www.bikesonoma.org

**Tars** · 10-12-2010 05:02 PM

$600,000 is only 12% of $5,000,000. Where does the other 88% of the money go?

**amalisa** · 10-13-2010 09:14 PM

The rest of the $ goes into other forms of alternative transportation support. It is divided into two sections 1) public transit. To build and create a large and diverse enough public transportation system that it truely becomes a convinent and accessible way to travel. 2) Improving the alternative transportation systems we already have in place, this includes building bike lanes and paths, road improvements, pot hole filling, pedestrian walk ways, improved signage around schools and other high risk/ use pedestrian ways etc.