Safe Routes to School Expands to Fair Haven, Foreshadows Citywide Approach

A couple of points here, as our proposal to expand the Mayor's Ride to include pedestrians, here is a prime example why we should have at least considered it here. If the Leadership here does not think it is important to have alternative forms of transportation then why should their parents. The fear everything because I might get sued is not the most effective way to govern, it does keep people in and off the streets, distrustful and more and more traffic,but is this the quality of life you want for the children of Huntsville. This is tied into their Bicycle Plan and The fact that they see that only 1/3 walk to school as being a problem is mind boggling. Could you imagine if that were the case at schools here?

And of the 650 kids that attend Fair Haven School, only about 250 walk to school, he said. “It’s a problem,” he said. “Students are more into the video games. And the environment I teach in, the parks aren’t playable or possibly not open. They need more exercise in their life.”

Elizabeth Benton's excellent article on the Safe Routes to School Program, a Federal program that will be implemented at a school in Fair Haven beginning this year, was published today by the New Haven Register.

The work reported on here builds upon the extensive public involvement in the Fair Haven traffic calming master plan, completed in 2008 with assistance from the City of New Haven and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. That process resulted in a series of very well-attended public meetings and "walkabouts" with Dan Burden, and in fact was one of the key events resulting in the creation of the citywide New Haven Safe Streets Coalition (PDF here).

The Fair Haven implementation, combined with the increased national focus on how the built environment plays a critical role in obesity prevention and child health, has sparked an interest in the program within New Haven's other neighborhoods. For example, Elm City Cycling's 2010 Bicycle Plan recommends gradually expanding Safe Routes to School to other schools in New Haven.

Program Promotes Walking to School, New Haven Register, 2/11/09

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