Alameda County SR2S Blog
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures, and in accordance with Alameda County Public Health Department recommendations, we are cancelling all Safe Routes to Schools events until further notice. This includes travel hand tallies. Moving forward, SR2S planning will continue to reflect guidance from elected officials and public health experts. We will be sure to communicate any change in event status as soon as new decisions are made. In the meantime, we wanted to share a few of the Centers for Disease Control’s tips for stopping the coronavirus’s spread: – Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Do your kids or students get at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily? Are they learning about and eating nutritious foods at school? Do they have time to take breaks, practice mindfulness, and explore their imaginations? If your school could use more opportunities to engage kids in healthy behaviors, then check out the Action for Healthy Kids 2020-2021 grants! Deadline to apply is April 3, 2020.
Do you have an idea for a protected bikeway, electronic bicycle locker, or bicycle rack project in your school community? The Vehicle Trip Reduction Grant Program is accepting applications for Bicycle Facility category projects. Eligible applications (those from public agencies) will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until funding is exhausted. Visit the Vehicle Trip Reduction Grant Program web page for additional information or contact Chengfeng Wang, Air Quality Program Manager, at cwang@baaqmd.gov or 415-749-8647.
Registration for the 2020 Golden Sneaker Contest just wrapped up, we can’t wait to see who wins this year’s Golden Sneaker trophies. The event will take place from Feb. 24 to March 6. Please feel free to review the 2020 Golden Sneaker Toolkit to get familiar with contest specifics, and be sure to send a representative to February’s Task Force meeting, where we’ll hand out promotional materials. Dates for the meeting will be announced soon, so keep an eye on this page for updates.
Cocoa for Carpools continues through the end of February. This student‐led event for high schoolers encourages carpooling to reduce traffic congestion and harmful pollution around schools. So far, we’ve held six Cocoa for Carpools events with approximately 763 students participating! We’re anticipating eight more events over the next few weeks. Click here to learn more, and contact your site coordinator to learn how to join.
2020 Youth for the Environment and Sustainability (YES) Conference The Spare the Air Youth YES Conference is back—bigger and better than ever! This FREE conference for high school and middle school students is a great opportunity to organize for climate action and share your ideas for climate solutions and active transportation. You can also make new friends from around the Bay Area and enjoy free food and giveaways. Date: Saturday, March 28, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Location: El Camino High School, 1320 Mission Road (across the street from the South San Francisco BART Station) in South San
Now accepting applications! The Volkswagen (VW) Mitigation Trust Fund for Zero-Emission Transit, School, and Shuttle Buses The VW Mitigation Trust has $130 million in funds to replace older, high-polluting transit, school, and shuttle buses with new battery-electric or fuel-cell buses. Replacing an older bus with a zero-emission bus eliminates particulate matter and other pollutants that impact children and residents throughout California communities; at least 50 percent of this trust’s funding is expected to reduce emissions in disadvantaged or low-income communities. This solicitation is open to eligible bus owners throughout California, and funding is available to both public and private entities
The National Center for Safe Routes to School, in partnership with the FIA Foundation and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, announces a call for applications for the 2020 Vision Zero for Youth USA Leadership Award. The award recognizes communities in the United States that are leading the way in prioritizing children’s safety in an effort to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries for all road users. Vision Zero for Youth shines a spotlight on youth road safety, recognizing the unique needs of this population within the transportation system. It recognizes that initiatives that start with youth can help be
As summer vacation ends, families around the county are making commute plans to get to school on time and without traffic headaches. In Albany, families at Ocean View Elementary School have extra logistics to manage since students will be housed at four different schools as the school is rebuilt! A group of committed parents and partners are working to ensure walking and bicycling are part of the commute solution. Silvia Yee and Rachel Sarah, Ocean View’s SR2S parent champions, anticipated the move and began planning for school transportation changes early this spring. Esther Ramer, an Ocean View parent and University Village
In July, the Complete Streets for Active Living Bill (S.B. 127 — Wiener), cleared the Assembly Transportation Committee. This bill, if passed, will require complete streets improvements to be included in maintenance and rehabilitation projects on streets that are part of the state highway network but function as local streets. Complete streets help to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety. At the committee hearing, Moses Trujillo, a 5th grade student at Malcolm X Elementary in Berkeley, testified about the conditions along State Highway 13 (Ashby Avenue) that he must cross to get to school from his home. He talked about organizing
