EDUCATION
CITY OF SCOTTSDALE RECEIVES GRANTS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY By Molly Cerreta Smith
L
ate last year, the City of Scottsdale received federal grant dollars to continue and increase safety programs on Scottsdale elementary and middle school campuses. The grant will be utilized for the cityâs Safe Routes to School program. The Safe Routes to School program requires $99,997 in funds to maintain an existing part-time, temporary Safe Routes to School coordinator position in the transportation department as well as the incentive items for students. The Scottsdale City Council received two, one-year Transportation Alternative Program federal grants totaling $94,297 â with a total requirement of $5,700. During a City Council meeting on December 4, 2019, at the municipal headquarters at City Hall located at 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd., the
City accepted on consent the grant monies to fund the program. The grants are awarded through the Maricopa Association of Government (MAG) for the Safe Routes to School program. Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane serves as a member of the MAGâs Regional Council, along with multiple other valley mayors. The grant amounts will total $47,148 in fiscal year 2020-21, and $47,149 in fiscal year 2021-22. The City is required to provide a $2,850 match each year, which is funded by the operating .2% Scottsdale transportation sales tax. A City staff report revealed the City established this program with the acceptance of earlier transportation alternative program grants and the authorization of a part-time temporary program coordinator position to run the program in April 2018. The coordinator position will require working with other city
departments and school stakeholders â such as administrators, teachers, PTOs/PTAs as well as students â to plan and assist with safety-related events and activities. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is a national initiative by the United States Department of Transportation. According to the site, the program is âan approach that promotes walking and bicycling to school through infrastructure improvements, enforcement, tools, safety education, and incentives to encourage walking and bicycling to school.â The site also revealed that nationwide, between 10 and 14 percent of car trips during the morning rush hour are dedicated to school travel. The site reads: âSRTS initiatives improve safety and levels of physical activity for students. SRTS programs can be implemented
by a department of transportation, metropolitan planning organization, local government, school district, or even a school. Extensive resources are available through a national center, including an SRTS Guide, parent surveys and student tallies, and simple strategies, such as the walking school bus, that schools can use to support bicycling and walking.â
In addition, the National Center for Safe Routes to School (NCSRTS) provides a large amount of resources and tools to help support the implementation of SRTS programs and contact information for each stateâs SRTS coordinator. Another organization, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, aims to set goals, share best practices, leverage infrastructure and program funding, and advance policy change to help agencies that implement Safe Routes to School programs.
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12 ⢠January 2020 ⢠THE SCOTTSDALE STANDARD
7/25/19 2:25 PM
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