In This Edition. SRTS Mourns the Loss of Deb Hubsmith SUBSCRIBE

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1 8/22/2016 us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dffc1c89c842c4f551b5353cc&id=2346e264ce not displaying correctly? View it in your browser SUBSCRIBE Maine Safe Routes to School Newsletter September 2015 We hope you had a great summer season of walking and bicycling around town and beyond and want to let you know of Fall 2015 walk and bike to school opportunities for your school and community! Walk and Bike to School This Fall! October is International Walk & Bike to School Month Register Your Activities & Request Materials Here Find Event Guidance and Checklist Here Maine Safe Routes Blog & Inspiration Here Walk and bike to school activities are an easy and low to no cost part of the solution to traffic safety, learning readiness, and childhood obesity concerns in your community. Every step to help get kids outside and more active is a step in the right direction! Walking Wednesdays, Bike Rodeos, Walking School Buses, and Celebrity Crossing Guards are just a few of the many creative ways used by schools and communities across Maine to encourage more students to walk and bike to school and around town (like the event in Waterville above). For inspiration about what communities are doing around the state, check out the Maine SRTS events blog which highlights activities from last spring. In This Edition Walk and Bike to School This Fall! Bring Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education to Your School! Technical Assistance & Funding Possibilities Other Walk & Bike Opportunities and Resources SRTS Mourns the Loss of Deb Hubsmith All of us in the Safe Routes to School community lost a true champion and leader last month. Deb Hubsmith was the founder of the National Partnership for SRTS and a tireless advocate for safer walking and bicycling for children and adults. Risa Wilkerson, a PreventObesity.net Leader and Safe Routes to School National Partnership Board Chair, has written a wonderful remebrance of Deb posted here on the Safe Routes to School National Partnership website. Below is an excerpt from that remembrance: Many know that the bicycle became Deb s primary mode of transportation when she vowed not to replace her car after it was totaled in a crash. The bicycle is such a fitting 1/7

2 Have Fun Organizing Local Walk and Bike Events Wednesday, October 7, 2015 is International Walk to School Day this year, and the entire month of October is also International Walk and Bike to School Month. Learn more locally and find resources from Maine SRTS here. Walk and Bike to School Days weekly, monthly or one time fun community events. See more events information and inspiration here and register your events and order incentive materials here! symbol for Deb. It takes human power to move. Every inch of progress is made only by your own energy and determination. And yet the bicycle alone won t get you there. Without others investing in the right infrastructure, teaching safe riding habits, manufacturing helmets and panniers, it wouldn t be a viable option for daily transportation. Speaking of which...the following schools and community groups are the winners of our Event Registration Raffle from this past spring and will each receive 10 fun reflective slap bracelets for high visibility walking and biking to use as incentives for their events this fall: Lewiston Geiger Elementary School Kennebunk Elementary School Madawaska Elementary School Portland Peaks Island Elementary School Waterville Albert S Hall Elementary School Congratulations to each of these communities! Bring Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education to Your School! Safety Presentations, Rodeos, Bike Clubs & Helmets Request Presentations & Technical Assistance Here Apply for Helmets Here Our sister program, the Maine Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education Program, (another partnership of the Maine Department of Transportation and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine) is currently scheduling Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Classroom Presentations and After School Bicycle Clubs for the fall. The program also has a Bicycle Helmet Program and can offer technical assistance for Bike Safety Rodeos. As we begin the new school year, it is good to remember that many students will be riding bikes or walking to school and to other activities so please see more information and sign up here. These offerings are hugely popular the Program reached about 20,000 kids last year and can help keep your students safe and healthy. Dates fill quickly, so please sign up soon! Technical Assistance & Funding And that was Deb. Completely self motivated and driven, yet with a big vision which required collaboration. That s why she included so many others in conversation as she developed the National Partnership, launched it with a steering committee of about 20 advocates, and created an affiliate model for the organization. Deb continuously sought to connect with others who shared the value of a healthier country (or convinced them of this value) by creating environments where being active could be the norm for getting to school, work or anywhere, as well as for recreation. For More Information Darcy Whittemore Safe Routes to School, Central & Western Maine Region Tel: E Mail: saferoutes@bikemaine.org Sarah Cushman Safe Routes to School, Southern Maine Region Tel: E Mail: sarah@sarahcushman.com Danielle Ireland McGuckin Safe Routes to School, Northern & Eastern Maine Region 2/7

3 8/22/2016 us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dffc1c89c842c4f551b5353cc&id=2346e264ce Possibilities Coming in Early October Maine Walking School Bus Program Call for Applications This fall, through another competitive application process, the Maine Walking School Bus Program will be selecting up to 3 new schools with which to work to launch Walking School Bus programs in the spring of (Newsflash program announcement coming your E mail:danielle@bikemaine.org Tel: Erik da Silva Maine Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education Program Tel: erik@bikemaine.org Jim Tasse Maine Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education Program Tel: jim@bikemaine.org Patrick Adams MaineDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Tel: patrick.adams@maine.gov way in early October.) We will be hosting Informational Calls in mid to late October for interested communities to learn more about the program and the Application deadline will be in November. Please sign up to receive updates in the right sidebar of the Home page! Recreational Trails Program Funding NEW DUE DATES: Complete application packets due on or before January 15, Pre site visit requests (recommended for all new applicants) must be submitted by September 25, The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funds trail improvements in communities throughout the state each year. RTP is a federal assistance program to help states provide and maintain recreational trails for both motorized and non motorized use. It provides funds for a variety of trails including those for walking, bicycling, in line skating, water activities, equestrian use, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, off road motorcycling, all terrain vehicle use, four wheel driving, and other off road vehicle use. See here for more information and the application. Please contact Doug Beck, Supervisor of Outdoor Recreation with any questions at doug.beck@maine.gov Due October 21 The National 5th Grade Bicycle Poster Contest is Back! 3/7

4 There s something contagious about riding a bike that has us reaching for our handlebars time and time again. We believe that by creating safe places for people to ride we can also create a better quality of life. Ask each student to create a poster that shows what they love about the bicycle (it is fun, healthy and green). The entry deadline is October 21st. Students have spent the summer riding bikes, so let s build on their enthusiasm. Three winners in every state will get great prizes from Schwinn, and our national winner will get a trip to the 2016 National Bike Summit, plus Saris Parking and The Hub for their school. Visit the Poster Contest webpage for more details. If you have any questions please contact Erik dasilva at erik@bikemaine.org. Due November 12 Apply For The Culture of Health Prize The 2016 call for applications for the Culture of Health Prize is now open. Up to 10 winning communities will each receive a $25,000 cash prize and have their success stories celebrated and shared broadly to inspire locally driven change across the nation. Is your community the next Prize winner? Other Walk & Bike Opportunities and Resources September 19 Benefit Ride for the Nasson Community Bicycle Center in Sanford Register Here On September 19th, 2015, the Nasson Community Center and the Maine Coast Cycling Club will host the Four Leaf Clover Ride to benefit the Nasson Community Bicycle Center (CBC). Bike 25, 50 or 100 miles using four 25 mile loops all starting from and ending at the Nasson Community Center in Springvale, Maine. The goal of the Nasson Community Bicycle Center is to impart biking, mechanical, and life skills; improve access to educational, economic 4/7

5 and recreational opportunities; and inspire a volunteer spirit in the youth of Sanford and Springvale. Learn more about the Nasson CBC and the ride here. September 24 New England Bike Walk Summit DCU Center, Worcester, Mass. Click Here to Register The Fourth New England Bike Walk Summit hosted by the East Coast Greenway Alliance offers a wide variety of sessions of interest to all stakeholders agency personnel, grassroots advocates, professionals in private practice, retailers, and more. Webinar: The 6 Es of Walk to School Day Encouragement Access Archived Webinar Here The 6 E s of Walk to School Day Encouragement Energizes the school community Efficiently planned Engages volunteers Equity ensures easy participation for all students, staff and parents Elected officials are present and recognized Extras like walk audits, bike parking and Fire Up Your Feet to take your event to the next level! Whether this is your first time coordinating a Walk to School Day event, or whether you re a Walk to School Day pro looking for fresh tips and ideas, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and our partners are here to help you incorporate the 6E s and ensure your most successful event yet! Webinar: Step It Up! A Call to Action on Walking & Walkable Communities Tuesday, September 15 at 2pm Register Here The Surgeon General will release his Call to Action on Walking and Walkable Communities titled "Step it Up!" on September 9th with an event in Washington, DC. This will be a shining moment for the walking and walkability efforts underway across the country and we want you to be part of it! Learn how to use the Call to Action and join the conversation with an exclusive webinar offered by America Walks which will provide a briefing on the Call to Action and discussion with representatives from leading organizations on how they plan to implement it in their work. Presenters: Susan Carlson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Lead Scientific Writer for Step It Up! The Surgeon 5/7

6 General's Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities Wendy Landman, Executive Director, Walk Boston David Sabgir, Founder & CEO, Walk with a Doc Webinar: Ten Years of Safe Routes to School Celebrating Successes and Looking Toward The Future Wednesday, September 23 at 2pm Register Here In August 2005, Congress passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA LU). This transportation bill included a new Federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program that aimed to improve the ability of primary and middle school students to walk and bike to school safely. Since then, the program has reached more than 6.8 million students in over 17,400 K 8 schools in all fifty States and the District of Columbia. In celebration of ten years of SRTS, the National Center for SRTS prepared Creating Healthier Generations, A Look at Ten Years of the Federal Safe Routes to School Program, a report that examines the accomplishments of the Federal program and highlights successful SRTS programs around the country. This webinar will present key findings of the report and feature presentations from two SRTS initiatives that have forged multi agency collaboration to implement comprehensive programs and impact student health and safety. Note: U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, wrote a wonderful Happy 10th Anniversary to SRTS in his blog last month. NHTSA Releases Tools for Teaching Youth About Pedestrian motorists and Bicyclemotorists Crashes As part of its larger tool for working with pre driving youth, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released two pieces to engage youth in discussing some of the common behavioral causes of crashes. By first understanding how crashes happen, an individual can look at his/her own behavior to see what can be done to prevent the crash in the first place. These new resources can be found at: PreventBikeCrashes.pdf PreventPedestrianCrashes.pdf Best wishes for a safe and active start to school and please be in touch with questions or for help strategizing what you would like to do 6/7

7 this year! The Maine Safe Routes to School Team You are receiving this because you opted in to receive the Maine Safe Routes to School Newsletter Unsubscribe << Address>> from this list. Our mailing address is : Maine Safe Routes to School P.O. Box Portland, Maine Add us to your address book Copyright (C) 2009 Maine Safe Routes to School All rights reserved. Forward this to a friend Update your profile Marketing Powered by MailChimp 7/7