News

News Archive : 2009 : September

Unsafe urban neighborhoods linked to teen weight

September 27, 2009

By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Living in an urban neighborhood that feels unsafe may be a factor in a teen’s risk for being overweight, hints a study of public high school students in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Free Work Zone Safety Webinar: Sept 30th

September 23, 2009

The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse presents: No Cost Webinar: Taking Proper Care of Pedestrians in Work Zones. This free webinar will take place next Wednesday, September 30, from 1:00 – 2:30 pm EDT. Read more >

U.S. DOT Role in Livability to be Subject of September Online Forum

September 21, 2009

ContextSensitiveSolutions.org is pleased to present a Forum on Livability in partnership with the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The free event, held in webinar format, will be this Thursday, September 24, 2009, from 2:00 – 3:30 PM EST. The Forum on Livability will be the first national-scale opportunity for dialogue with some of the key U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) leaders and staff engaged in the new transportation and livability initiatives of the Obama administration.
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PBIC Launches Livable Communities Webinar Series

September 17, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) has launched the Livable Communities Webinar Series to encourage safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity. These free, public Webinars will be offered every other month. The first Webinar in the series will be:

“Fundamentals for Connecting Transit and Pedestrian/Bicycle Facilities”
Presented by Dan Nabors, Senior Transportation Engineer, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. and Daniel Rodriguez, Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning, UNC-Chapel Hill
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
12:30 to 2PM EDT
Read more >

The Walk-to-School Fight

September 15, 2009

According to a September 12th article in The New York Times by Jan Hoffman, excessive parental fear of abduction is a major cause of children not arriving at school on foot.

America Walks, its local member groups, and its Safe Routes to School partners are working to provide options that allow children the opportunity to more freely explore their neighborhoods and experience the satisfaction of walking. Read more >

International Walk to School Day – October 7th!

September 10, 2009

Next month, organize a local event or participate in one right in your neighborhood. Almost 1,500 schools in the United States have already registered to participate, joining schools and families in more than 40 countries worldwide. This event is a jump-start for local efforts to make the walk to school safe, attractive and popular. For more information, check out International Walk to School in the U.S.A..

Distracted Driving Summit – Sept. 30 in Washington, D.C.

September 8, 2009

The Distracted Driving Summit will facilitate a structured conversation among government, academia, and the private sector on current and future initiatives to address the safety issues associated with distracted driving. The meeting will include five panels – on data, research, technology, policy, and outreach – with a range of experts discussing each topic. After each panel session there will be a roundtable discussion and questions – both from the floor and from viewers of a live webcast who can submit questions electronically.

Resource Helps Locals Address School Bicycling and Walking Policies to Encourage Safe Routes to School

September 3, 2009

Boulder, CO – Children across the US are back in school, and many communities are seeing the traffic jams that result from parents driving their children to schools. To help encourage more walking and bicycling, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the National Center for Safe Routes to School have released a jointly-developed resource, School Bicycling and Walking Policies: Addressing Policies that Hinder and Implementing Policies that Help. This tip sheet was developed in response to numerous requests from across the country. Read more >

Two Steps Ahead

September 1, 2009

By Molly O’Reilly, America Walks Board Member

Walkability was front-and-center as an antidote to congestion and the epidemic of childhood obesity at the Safe Routes to School (SR2S) National Conference in Portland, Oregon, on August 19-21, 2009. Keynote speakers at the conference emphasized this connection from a variety of viewpoints and with extensive research. The public health and insurance communities are acutely aware of the importance of an active lifestyle in fitness and health, as are educators.