If you have been following our federal transportation updates for a while, this update may sound a bit like Groundhog’s Day. Yet again, Congress has voted to extend the MAP-21 transportation law and yet again, lack of funding is the culprit.
This summer has been a busy one for transportation. In addition to the late June committee consideration of the DRIVE Act, both the House and Senate are moving forward on transportation.
While members of Congress have been back in their districts meeting with constituents, House transportation committee staff has been huddled in Washington working on a transportation bill. You may recall that in July, the Senate completed action on its version of the transportation bill but the House instead pushed to extend current transportation law a few more months.
Bayard Rustin, the orchestrator behind the scenes of what we hail today as the civil rights movement, once said, “We need in every bay and community a group of angelic troublemakers.” Today, I bore witness to one of those angelic troublemakers by the name of Olatunji (Oboi) Reed, Co-Founder of Slow Roll Chicago, as he was recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a 2015 White House Transportation Champion of Change.
To increase physical activity opportunities available through schools over the long term, we need to put it in writing – through policy.
The Alliance for Biking and Walking recently released its 2016 Benchmarking Report, a biennial update on walking and biking across the United States intended to promote access to data, measure progress, support policy and advocacy efforts, and connect to health initiatives. More than half of member organizations in the Alliance for Biking and Walking are involved in Safe Routes to School efforts.