If you are an advocate interested in how states and localities fund walking and biking, we invite you to consider joining the State Funding Strategies workgroup (formerly State & Local Active Transportation Financing workgroup). This year we are opening up these quarterly meetings to a wider audience.

This virtual work group brings together active transportation organizations and advocates working to increase state and local funding for walking and bicycling. We have been meeting since 2016 with a mission to develop an understanding of the national active transportation financing landscape for state and local campaigns and create a networking and peer learning locus for developing and sharing best practices. We gather to share updates on our work and learn from a guest speaker who dives into topics such as state-specific legislative updates, funding programs, equity considerations, and campaign strategies. They discuss not just the “what” but also the “how”— lessons learned, effective (or ineffective) strategies, and the tips that they can offer to advocates pursuing similar work. For more details on membership and a list of upcoming speakers, please see below.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MEMBERSHIP

Consider joining based on the following core criteria:

• You are working on and/or are interested in learning more about funding for walking, bicycling, and/or Safe Routes to School in your state or local jurisdiction
• You are interested in building community and learning from others in the field across the country
• You are committed to the broader goal of supporting healthy and connected communities, with a focus on communities bearing the highest burden of inequities

This group’s success depends on the commitment of its members, so we ask for:

• Engaged participation from all members by sharing their expertise via conversations, presentations, and resources
• Contributed time, ideas, and expertise to identify topics of interest and implement strategic activities as identified by the group

MEETINGS DETAILS

The workgroup meets via zoom.  If you are interested in participating, please register for each quarterly meeting when it is announced. If you have any questions, email natasha@saferoutespartnership.org.

Upcoming Speakers

October 17, 3:00 PM Eastern: Dedicated Staff Power up State-Level Safe Routes to School Programs (Register here)

Safe Routes Partnership staff dug into data from our biannual State Report Cards to see how state Safe Routes to School programs with dedicated staff differ from programs without dedicated staff. We found that states with dedicated staff have significantly more supportive programming that we know creates stronger Safe Routes to School efforts throughout the state. We’ll talk through what we found and specific examples of what supportive practices look like in different states.