Comments on: US readers, contact your Representative today

By: James Thomas

James Thomas — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:49:35 +0000

Those projects that you describe certainly don’t sound good, but I think it is hard to generalize the entire SRTS program based on a few schools in your area. It sounds like an issue with your state DOT since they are the ones who facilitate any SRTS infrastructure projects, usually with matching funds from the state/local government. Here is a video from a school near me with on SRTS and testimonials from kids and parents. My kids walk to school, so I obviously have an interest in seeing improvements in safety near local schools, but it has to extend into the community to be effective.

By: lalahsghost

lalahsghost — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:11:55 +0000

The only thing I am supportive of stopping on a personal experience basis is safe routes to school funding.

In the past fifteen years or so, I have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars spent each time a school wants to repave sidewalks RIGHT NEXT TO THE SCHOOL. I mean…. no further than the school’s boundaries. In my current town, they even utilized safe routes to school money to repave the sidewalks around the Board of Education building (where there are no classrooms, and mostly just administrators).
If this funding was being used for something good, I wouldn’t mind, but I have seen too many cases of shady dealings with it…