Schools

Over the past few months, Livable Streets Education has worked with schools across New York City on We're Walking Here NYC. Educators were asked to engage students in an exercise that highlights the importance of safety, healthy choices, walkable streets and sustainable transportation, and to share that message with others. This was the pilot run of our web-based project and we had a great group of participants. Next fall we plan to continue the initiative and invite any and all NYC schools to join in. 

Mayor Bloomberg has already shown how much his administration can accomplish in just a few years. Since Janette Sadik-Khan's appointment to head the DOT in 2007, the city has striped hundreds of miles of bike lanes, reclaimed acres of street space for pedestrians and improved bus travel for tens of thousands of New Yorkers. "More of the same" is no longer a dirty phrase when it comes to local transportation policy. During the next four years, the mayor needs to accelerate this progress, and introduce a few key innovations to maximize the value New Yorkers get from their new streets.

Last April, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced the "New York City Model" -- mapping out a strategic plan to prioritize greener, more efficient modes and turn city streets into world-class public spaces. We've seen some major changes in the year-and-a-half since. Among the big accomplishments: the transformation of Broadway, an expanded bike network with more protected routes, and a new street design manual that codifies the progressive treatments DOT has started to adopt. Plans for new rapid bus corridors are approaching fruition, with a route on First and Second Avenues scheduled for completion next year and several more in the pipeline.

Last month, more than 500 people gathered in Portland, Oregon for the second National Safe Routes to School Conference. Maybe it's the fact that Congress might triple national funding for safe routes to school programs. Or maybe it’s the way that walking and biking to school fits so well with efforts to improve public health, safety, and the environment. Whatever the reason, you definitely got the feeling at this event that you were part of something that’s gaining momentum.

Here's something you'd like to see more of from the NYPD: Cops cracking down on speeders near a school zone. Reports the Staten Island Advance:

No sooner did Brad post about the dismal state of biking to school in most of the country than City Room published this great little story about the opposite trend here in New York. A few dozen schools are trying to make it easier for students and parents to bike in every day. Writing for the "Spokes" column, Josh Brustein profiles Meghan Faux and her daughter Ryan, who ride to P.S. 261, an elementary school in Boerum Hill:

A couple of stories we've linked from headlines this week point to the continuation of a disturbing trend: families whose parents are questioned, criticized and even intimidated for encouraging their kids to bike or walk to school. 

The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the union representing public school principals and other administrative personnel, wants free parking for its members, and is suing the city to get it.

Asking kids how they would re-design their streets is a revealing exercise. Students concerned about sustainability have a lot to say about their built environment, and they say it with conviction.