Safe Routes To Schools Marin Information

Safe Commutes, Green Communities Marin Safe Routes to Schools programs are designed to decrease traffic & pollution and increase the health of children and the community. We actively promote walking and biking to school, using education and incentives to show how much fun it can be. The program addresses parents' safety concerns by educating children and the public, partnering with traffic law enforcement, and developing plans to create safer streets. Our Walk & Roll, Bicycle Rodeos and Bike Skills events teach proper skills in age-specific groups throughout the county. Marin County pioneered the national Safe Routes to Schools program that has spread across the country. TEENS GO GREEN began in 2007 as a way to take the SR2S program to the next level, literally – to middle schools and high schools in Marin. At Teens Go Green, we believe that students are a powerful group. They have excellent ideas, exceptional energy and drive to get things done. We partner with teens interested in the environment to bring reduced CO2 and healthy lifestyles to their schools. We do this through participation in clubs, morning walk and roll events and contests, occasional bike field trips, and inspiration from smoothies made on our bike blender. History Overview - In August 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funded the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) and Walk Boston in Arlington, MA to develop a national model Safe Routes to Schools program. Congressman James Oberstar (MN), ranking Democrat of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, endorsed the program as a means to reduce traffic congestion around schools and promote healthy alternatives. The Marin Community Foundation supplemented the program with a $25,000 grant, and the City of Fairfax also received $25,000 as one of ten pilot programs sponsored by the California Department of Health Services.