November 2012

The past several months have been rife with debates, campaign speeches and rallies supporting certain candidates, ideologies and policies. Over the past couple of weeks, many Americans have exercised their right to vote into office the state and local leaders of their choice as well as the President of the United States of America.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – not just because of the delicious food and the afternoon nap on the couch. As we kick off the month of gift giving and celebration that is the holiday season this day is very simply about quality time with family and friends and giving thanks.

Over the last few months, a great deal of momentum and synergy has been built around schools and communities initiating joint use (or shared use) agreements, which allow for the sharing of property between two entities to increase physical activity and improve nutrition among their residents. Although these efforts are good and collaboration

Florida has had great success with Safe Routes to School under SAFETEA-LU, with more than 235 applications ($68.8 million) being funded. The average Safe Routes to School project funded was $292,766. There has been a call for infrastructure applications each fall through spring. Spring 2012 ended the 6^th call for projects. These projects will be in the 2017 work program. The average return on these projects was an increase of 22 percent of children walking to and from school. The program works!

In North Carolina this year, thanks to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Safe Routes to School Coordinator Ed Johnson, the waters are “turning over” for Safe Routes to School and the prioritization of bicycle and pedestrian safety in a variety of ways and partnerships.