Tour of Missouri

International Walk to School Day is October 5th, 2011, and Walk to School Month is the entire month of October. You can have your own local Walk to School Day any time during October (or really--any time you like!).

A simple way you can help promote Walk to School Day in your community is by asking your local mayor, city council, county council, or school board to officially declare Walk to School Day by a resolution or proclamation.

Just contact your city council representative or mayor and ask--the following samples make it easy:

• Sample Walk to School Month proclamation (for mayors and other executives; Word Doc format)
• Sample Walk to School Month resolution (for city councils, school boards, or other councils, boards, and commissions; Word Doc format)

Text of sample proclamation:

File: 

International Walk to School Day sample proclamation

International Walk to School Day sample resolution

The Riverfront Times gave some great coverage to the political battle that ended in the loss of the Tour of Missouri.Read more

Today the Safe Routes to School National Partnership released an update on progress in Congress in renewing the federal transportation funding.  Congress passes an overall transportation bill every six years that sets the direction and outline for transportation funding and policy.

The renewal legislation was due in 2008--but here we are in 2011 and renewal is still in the uncertain future.The difficulty is that over the past few years the federal fuel tax--which is not linked to inflation and so loses 2-3% in buying power each year--has stopped producing enough money to fund the federal transportation program.

That leaves legislators in a quandary--they must either raise taxes to recover some or all of the lost buying power, or slash funding to a point far lower than it has been in recent U.S. history.

The situation is similar to--but, because of revenue shortfalls, even more dire--than with the renewal of the previous federal transportation bill, known as SAFETEA-LU.  That bill was due for renewal in 2002 but not taken up and passed by Congress until 2005.

Some perspective on developments in bicycling from around the U.S. and the world:

Bay Area, California: Streets getting a makeover, with more room for biking and walking, less for cars

The Mercury News reports:

Ever since Dwight Eisenhower moved into the White House six decades ago and gave a green light to the interstate highway system, the car has been king.

But today there is a new focus, one drawing howls of protest from some motorists but cheers of relief from pedestrians and bicyclists. Across the Bay Area and California, cities are removing or narrowing lanes and redesigning hundreds of streets to add bike lanes, speed up transit and improve pedestrian safety.

Dr. Amy Eyler, Washington University in St. Louis, has done some really exciting research into how schools around Missouri are able to share their facilities with the greater community.  What policies are in place, what are the challenges, how can the Missouri Safe Routes to School Network and individuals around the state help?

Recently Dr. Eyler presented a webinar summarizing her research to the Missouri Safe Routes to School Network. Now you can watch a recording of the webinar at your convenience, or download Dr. Eyler's powerpoint presentation:

File: 

MOSRTS_joint-use-research-powerpoint-amy-eyler-2011-04-05.pdf

Roundup of recent bicycle, pedestrian, and trail news from around Missouri:

Southwest:

Click here to contact your Members of Congress.

Today the Chair of the US House Transportation Committee shared his vision for the future of federal transportation funding, and it does not include dedicated bicycle and pedestrian money that has been crucial for hundreds of projects that help the economy across Missouri.