Colorado Safe Routes to School Bill becomes law

On June 5th, Colorado's Safe Routes to School Bill automatically became law without Governor Owens' signature. Bicycle Colorado is now working with the DOT to help craft the Safe Routes program and make funding available to Safe Routes projects as soon as possible. The program will help alleviate the safety concerns of parents about letting their children bike and walk to school by providing for installation and improvement of bicycle/pedestrian trails and pathways, crossings, and paved shoulders along roads around schools. Safe Routes to School will also help supply safety signs, safety education programs, implement traffic-calming programs, and even divert traffic to turn dangerous streets into safe streets and reduce the number of pedestrians/bicyclists hurt by cars. Safe Routes also uses innovative programs like a "Walking or Biking School Bus," in which an adult chaperone travels daily along a set route through a neighborhood, allowing children to walk or bike together in a group. For more information, visit BicycleColorado.org.