Julie A. Oaks
TDOT, Public Information Officer
 Office: 615.741.2331
Mobile: 615.533.7105
Fax: 615.741.9093

State of Tennessee Announces Safe Routes to School Grants for City of Clarksville

Nashville, Tenn. – As part of Governor Phil Bredesen’s continued commitment to promoting health and wellness among Tennessee children, the state of Tennessee is awarding a total of $72,025 in Safe Routes to School funds to the City of Clarksville for programs at Moore Magnet School and Minglewood Elementary School in Montgomery County. The Safe Routes to School program is a statewide initiative designed to make bicycling and walking to school a safer, more appealing and healthier alternative for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Bredesen has stated his support of the Safe Routes to School program as an opportunity for schools, communities and government officials to work together to promote a healthier lifestyle for children and families.

“Our GetFitTN program encourages children to embark on a healthier lifestyle,” Bredesen said. “The Safe Routes to School program further supports that goal by providing increased safety education, enforcement and infrastructure improvements that will help keep children safer when walking or biking to school.”

Moore Magnet School will receive $44,360 and Minglewood Elementary will receive $27,665 in Safe Routes to School funds. Both schools will utilize the funds for driver feedback signs and improved crosswalks in the vicinity of the schools. The two schools will also use the funds for an educational program focused on bicycle and pedestrian safety as well as promotion activities to encourage walking and biking as a safe and healthy initiative.

“The number of overweight children aged six to 11 has tripled over the last thirty years, which is directly related to the decline of physical activity,” said Senator Rosalind Kurita. “This program helps create a safer walking and biking environment for children and helps encourage both children and parents to begin a more active life style.”

Representative Joe Pitts added, “This program will not only help keep children safe, it will also help reduce traffic congestion around our schools, improve the environment and will educate the children on safe walking and biking practices.”

The grant is made possible through a federally funded program administered by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

“The Safe Routes to School program is an innovative program that integrates health, fitness, traffic relief, environmental concerns, and safety all under one umbrella,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “Funds may be used for two different types of projects, infrastructure and non-infrastructure, that directly support increased safety and conveniences for kindergarten through middle school children to walk and bike to school."

The SRTS program is funded by $10.7 million in funds through 2009. The funds were provided specifically for this purpose through SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users), the federal surface transportation program. The Safe Routes to School program is 100% federally funded and does not require a local match.

The Safe Routes to School program is comprised of five elements referred to as the 5 E’s.

• Engineering—creating operational and physical improvements to the infrastructure surrounding schools that reduce speeds and potential conflicts with motor vehicle traffic, and establishing safer and fully accessible crossings, walkways, trails and bikeways.
   
• Education—teaching children about the broad range of transportation choices, instructing them in important lifelong bicycling and walking safety skills and launching driver safety campaigns in the vicinity of schools.
   
• Enforcement—partnering with local law enforcement agencies to ensure traffic laws are obeyed in the vicinity of schools (including enforcement of speeds, yielding to pedestrians in crossings, and proper walking and bicycling behaviors), and to initiate community enforcement such as crossing guard programs.
   
• Encouragement—events and activities to promote walking and bicycling (bike rodeos).
   
• Evaluation—monitoring and documenting outcomes and trends through the collection of data both before and after the intervention.

To learn more about the Safe Routes to School Program at the Tennessee Department of Transportation, please visit http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/bikeped/saferoutes.htm or contact Diana Benedict, Program Coordinator, at (615) 253-2421 or diana.benedict@tn.gov.

Representatives Curtis Johnson and Phillip Johnson also helped secure these funds for the city of Clarksville.