02/25/2015 - Safe Routes School Grant - " City of Tigard
TIGARD Press Release
13125 SW Hall Boulevard Tigard, Oregon 97223 www.tigard-or.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 25, 2015
Contact: Rudy Owens
Communications Strategist
City of Tigard
503-718-2758
rudy@tigard-or.gov
New Grant Will Promote Safe Walking and Biking to and from Schools
Tigard's efforts to promote walkability and walking connections for all residents got a big boost this week
when Metro announced the city was the recipient of a two-year $150,000 grant that will encourage safe and
healthy options for children to walk and bike to and from school.
Tigard was among 18 area grant recipients of the highly competitive Regional Travel Options grant
program,which will provide $2.1 million in federal transportation funding to communities that are
boosting options that encourage walking,biking,ride sharing and transit.
"This is strong vote in confidence in the city's vision to make Tigard the most walkable community in the
Pacific Northwest," said Kenny Asher, director of Department of Community Development. "Parents and
schools want their kids to be healthy and to exercise, and to arrive at school safely. The program will fund a
coordinator to work with our school partners,parents and kids to ensure this happens at our local
schools."
The grant will pay for a new school coordinator position through 2017. The coordinator will work with
four Tigard-Tualatin School District elementary schools where there is already a Safe Routes to School
presence and establish programs at the remaining three elementary schools and two middle schools in
Tigard.
Tigard has been implementing Safe Routes to School activities for nearly a year at four elementary schools
serving Tigard students on activities like walkability audits,with parent participation. These are designed to
improve safety in school environments and promote healthy transportation for children to and from
schools.
Nationally the Safe Routes to School Program encourages primary and middle-school age students to walk
and bike to school. Funding for programs helps communities pay for education initiatives and safety
training. These also encourage physical exercise to address a national trend of obesity and overweight
among school-age children.
Active commuting like walking and biking has been linked to better school performance and future health
outcomes for kids, and bicycling and walking to school significantly improve the odds for being fit.
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Today, fewer kids are getting the benefits of exercise getting to and from school. In 1969, about half of all
school-age children walked or biked to and from school, and 87 percent lived within a mile from the school
reached by foot or bike. By 2004,less than 15 percent of children and adolescents used either mode of
transportation to and from school.
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