Walk and Roll: WSDOT Active Transportation Update May 22, 2020

Washington State Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 05/22/2020 02:46 PM PDT

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In case you missed recent editions of Walk + Roll: 

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ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION NEWS FROM WSDOT AND PARTNERS

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Bike Everywhere Statewide Challenge Rolling in June

While May is designated National Bike Month, this year's Washington state #BikeEverywhere challenge will run June 1-30. You can #RecreateResponsibly on fun rides, use your bike for your weekly grocery trip, or take the opportunity on quieter, safer neighborhood streets to teach your child to ride.

Washington Bikes hosts the Bike Everywhere Challenge.

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Back to School Working Group Forming

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership invites applications from practitioners, parents/caregivers, students, and advocates from across the country to join a Back to School 2020 Working Group. The group will help develop strategies and resources for effectively implementing Safe Routes to School programs this fall. 

Interested participants must complete a brief application by May 27 and be able to commit to at least three remote meetings over the next few months. 

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Rooted in Rights Seeks Video Participants

Rooted in Rights is hoping to produce a video for an upcoming NACTO event featuring stories from disabled bike/trike riders. If you're interested in being in it, contact Anna Zivarts, AnnaZ@rootedinrights.org. Stipend for participation. Footage needed by June 6.

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Walk Friendly Community Applications Due June 15 (or Dec. 15)

A Walk Friendly Community has shown a commitment to improving and sustaining walkability and pedestrian safety through comprehensive programs, plans, and policies. Communities apply to the program to receive recognition in the form of a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum designation. The assessment process provides an opportunity to convene local discussions with relevant city officials and you'll receive detailed feedback that can help you work together for improvement.

Learn more and decide if your city or town is ready to apply. If you can't get the information together by the June 15 deadline, plan ahead for the Dec. 15 application round.

Cities in Washington that have been recognized: 

  • Platinum: Seattle
  • Silver: Bellevue
  • Bronze: Kenmore, Kirkland

(If your town is walk-friendly you may also be bike-friendly. Deadline for the next round of the Bicycle Friendly Community program is Aug. 12.)

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Safe Routes to School and Pedestrian/Bicycle Program Call for Projects

If you missed our informational webinar on the Pedestrian and Bicyclist Program and the Safe Routes to School Program grants you can view the archived edition for an overview of program goals, evaluation criteria, eligible project elements, and the online portion of the application.

Applications are due July 13 (Pedestrian/Bicyclist Program) and July 20 (Safe Routes to School).The archive and other information are linked on the program page. 

Contact for questions: Charlotte Claybrooke, Active Transportation Program Manager, Claybrc@wsdot.wa.gov. 

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FIVE+ THINGS TO READ

Your Maps of Life Under Lockdown: "I have been living here for 15 years and never saw so many families out walking and biking together — I even saw my husband ride by. I do not take my neighbors and neighborhood for granted anymore."

Transportation Business Models Are Broken. It’s Time To Fix Them: "The COVID-19 crisis is amplifying the reality that the “old mobility normal” was already in a financially, environmentally and socially downward spiral... Simply put our mobility system was broken before and is falling apart now."

The System Is Broken for Us Already: "What if we didn’t define freedom as travel? What if we defined freedom as community and place?"

A Tale of Two Truths: Transportation and Nuance in the Time of COVID-19: "You can want open streets and want to hold cities accountable to ensuring new policies do not further harm communities of color." 

Slow streets are the path to a better city: "Our long-term expectations, one hopes, won’t just be transformed in terms of what we each want for our blocks and our families, but all blocks and all families in our cities."

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TRAININGS, CONFERENCES, WEBINARS

We add new trainings as we find them so the list changes with every issue. Some of these offer continuing education credits. All times are shown in Pacific time zone. 

All webinars listed are FREE unless a price is noted. All items are webinars unless a location is noted.

May

June

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

AWARDS, COMPETITIONS AND KUDOS

PLANNING AND PROJECTS

Have an upcoming project, open house, public comment opportunity? Construction projects people should know about as they relate to biking/walking? Compliments on a project? Send to barb.chamberlain@wsdot.wa.gov

PRESENT AND PARTICIPATE

RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

SURVEYS AND DATA COLLECTION

If you read this far, thank you! You're finding something of value here and you know someone else who should receive this kind of news and learn what's happening with the state Active Transportation Plan. Forward WSDOT Walk and Roll to others and share the subscription link on social media (tag it #WSDOTactive).