The passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law paired with the Biden Administration’s release of the National Roadway Safety Strategy makes this a unique moment in to prioritize the safety of people – including young people – in transportation planning and investment. How can you make the most of the focus on a Safe System approach to invest or re-invest in Safe Routes to School?

This post has been edited to clarify the difference between unobligated funds and awarded funds.

Now that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) has been signed into law, we are seeing a flurry of excitement about what it means for Safe Routes to School, walking, and bicycling. And we are also seeing uncertainty about what the law requires and what it offers related to Safe Routes to School. In particular, the section that restored the Safe Routes to School program is leading to confusion for advocates and agencies alike. We are here to help you make sense of it what it means, why it happened like this, and what to do about it.