Program Enhances Safety of Maryland School Communities
(October 7, 2009) – On this year’s International Walk to School Day more than 150 Maryland school communities are benefitting from the Maryland Safe Routes to School program, which brings together parents, school administrators and teachers, and community groups to improve the safety of children who walk or bicycle to school. Under this program, more than $1.78 million in grant funding will be authorized for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, supporting 15 projects statewide. These grants will help fund enforcement, pedestrian safety education programs, bike racks at schools, and infrastructure projects that include sidewalk improvements. A list of the 15 recipients is attached to this release. More than $10 million has been awarded statewide since the inception of the Safe Routes to School program’s in 2007.
“The O’Malley-Brown Administration is committed to improving the safety and health of Maryland’s children,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “The safety of our children is a critical issue across the State and the Safe Routes to School program is key to enhancing pedestrian safety and access. By partnering with local jurisdictions, we are educating students and motorists, and making critical infrastructure improvements that provide students with a safe environment for walking to school.”
On average, 100 people die each year in pedestrian-related incidents in Maryland. In 2008, more than 588 pedestrians younger than 16 were struck by motor vehicles in the state. The program enables and encourages children in grades K-8, including those with physical limitations, to walk and bicycle to school. By promoting walking, Safe Routes to School also bolsters child health by encouraging physical activity, and enhances the environment by reducing traffic, fuel consumption and air pollution near elementary and middle schools.
The Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration (SHA) manages the Maryland Safe Routes to School program, which uses federal funding. The grants are awarded annually to local government and non-profit organizations for projects that include educational initiatives as well as sidewalk and pedestrian signal enhancements on local roadways. SHA is committed to improving pedestrian facilities in and around schools to encourage walking and maintains sidewalk and signals along numbered State routes.
Obesity in Maryland and across the country continues to be an ever-increasing problem among children, with rates more than doubling in the past twenty years, according to the National Longitudinal Study of Youth. Walking to school is often a missed opportunity, in terms of physical activity, to reduce the tendency towards obesity. Roughly 10 percent of children nationwide walk to school regularly. Even among those living within a mile of their school, only 25 percent of school children are regular walkers.
For more information on pedestrian and highway safety, please visit
www.choosesafetyforlife.com # # #
Participating Jurisdictions and Proposed Improvements - FFY 2010
• The Local Management Board of Allegany County will be receiving $256,900 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, law enforcement overtime for school zone speeding and pedestrian right-of-way enforcement at numerous schools within the county, and infrastructure improvements at Bel Air Elementary school.
• The Baltimore City Department of Transportation will be receiving $335,900 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, as well as infrastructure improvements including school zone signage, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals at numerous elementary and middle schools throughout the city.
• The Dorchester County Health Department will be receiving $156,100 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, law enforcement overtime for school zone speeding and pedestrian right-of-way enforcement, and infrastructure improvements including school zone signage, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals at numerous elementary schools throughout the county.
• Frederick County Public Schools will be receiving $180,000 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, implement the "Walking" School Bus program, and infrastructure improvements including sidewalks, crosswalk marking, pedestrian signals, and bike racks at numerous elementary schools throughout the county.
• The City of Aberdeen will be receiving $10,700 to fund the "Encouragement" program, and infrastructure improvements including pedestrian signals and crosswalk markings at Bakersfield Elementary and Aberdeen Middle schools.
• The Harford County Sheriff's Office will be receiving $57,700 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, and infrastructure improvements including sidewalks, raised crosswalks, and pedestrian signals at Joppatowne and Edgewood Elementary schools.
• The Montgomery County Office of the County Executive will be receiving $63,700 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, and law enforcement overtime for school zone speeding and pedestrian right-of-way enforcement throughout the county.
• The City of Rockville will be receiving $143,000 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, law enforcement overtime for school zone speeding and pedestrian right-of-way enforcement, the "Encouragement" program at numerous elementary schools throughout the city, and infrastructure improvements at Meadow Hall Elementary School.
• The City of Takoma Park will be receiving $47,200 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, law enforcement overtime for school zone speeding and pedestrian right-of-way enforcement, sidewalk infrastructure improvements at numerous elementary and middle schools throughout the city, and an annual Safe Routes To School 5k walk/run.
• The City of Kensington and Chevy Chase View will be receiving $101,300 to fund sidewalk infrastructure improvements, and the "Encouragement" program at three elementary/middle schools within the city.
• The City of College Park will be receiving $124,500 to fund sidewalk infrastructure improvements and crosswalk markings at Hollywood Elementary school.
• The City of Greenbelt will be receiving $136,800 to fund infrastructure improvements including median and curb extensions and crosswalk markings, and the "Encouragement" program at Springhill Lake Elementary school.
• The Washington County Health Department will be receiving $112,700 to fund infrastructure improvements including sidewalks and bike racks at Pangborn Elementary School, and enforcement overtime for school zone speeding and pedestrian right-of-way enforcement at numerous elementary and middle schools throughout the county.
• The Worcester County Health Department will be receiving $63,800 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, law enforcement overtime for school zone speeding and pedestrian right-of-way enforcement, and infrastructure improvements including sidewalks, bike racks and pedestrian signals at Ocean City Elementary school.
• The Washington Area Bicyclist Association will be receiving $73,500 to fund bicycle and pedestrian education programs, a "Train the Trainer" program, and development and approvals of pedestrian and bicycle curriculum in area school systems.
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