After a federal policy blog hiatus due to parental leave, we’re back with a roundup of what’s been happening and what to watch for on federal policy related to Safe Routes to School, walking, and bicycling.

Transportation Alternatives Program Implementation

Safe Routes Partnership releases our Making Strides state report cards every two years, providing an at-a-glance snapshot of how states are doing in their support of walking, rolling, and active kids and communities. Following the release of the latest report cards in June 2022, we received numerous great questions from state agency representatives, walking and rolling advocates, and community health champions. We’ve collected a few of the most commonly asked questions here.

This year, we’re thrilled to be teaming up with four local communities in Pennsylvania to make accessing parks safe, convenient, and equitable for people walking and biking. As we celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month this July, we want to uplift this year’s theme, “where community grows” from our partners at the National Recreation and Parks Association by sharing a couple of highlights from our Safe Routes to Parks Pennsylvania Activating Communities.

What is required for long-term change? Our Safe Routes to Parks Activating Communities program is all about making changes, big and small, to make park access safe, convenient, and equitable for people walking and biking. However, we know that making changes to a sidewalk or holding one community engagement meeting isn’t going to have as long-term of an effect if we don’t zoom out to see the whole system that created unsafe routes or inequities in the first place.