Thanks to Kirsty for sharing this interesting short film exploring the barriers to cycling in England for young women.

Says Kirsty: "This fabulous, fabulous documentary has been making major headlines on the internet recently. Released last month to critical acclaim, Beauty and the Bike asks why teenaged girls in Darlington, England no longer ride bicycles, yet their German contemporaries in the city of Bremen still do by the thousands."

Check out the 8min short (the full film is 55min) below and let us know what you think...

What a beautiful Groundhog Day we had! Regardless of whether our mammalian weatherman saw his shadow or not, our Spring newsletter is full of free resources and tips that will keep your family moving through rain and shine…

In this issue:

• Our Student Essay Contest winner!
• Walk + Bike Challenge Month update
• Training Calendar
• Get your free SmartTrips Materials
• Funding for Safety Projects
• And a challenging puzzle

Check it out at: http://pdx.be/sr2s

A new report released by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, Bicycling and Walking in the United States: The 2010 Benchmarking Report finds that while biking and walking make up 10% of trips in the U.S. and people not in motor vehicles make up 13% of traffic fatalities, they receive less than 2% of federal transportation dollars.

While that's not good news, there were some positive stories highlighted in the report. Most exciting for us at Safe Routes is that Portland is Number 1 for participation in International Walk + Bike to School Day!

Portland had more schools participate in National Walk and Bike to School Day than any other major U.S. city (47.3 schools on a 3-yr average).

Check out the graph below pulled from the report...

Thanks Portland schools, students, and Walk + Bike volunteers for putting us at the top!

The GOOD blog pointed us to this interesting article in The Washington Post about teens holding out on getting their driver's licenses.

From The Washington Post:

The quest to get a driver's license at 16 -- long an American rite of passage -- is on the wane among the digital generation, which no longer sees the family car as the end-all of social life...

Federal data released Friday underscore a striking national shift: 30.7 percent of 16-year-olds got their licenses in 2008, compared with 44.7 percent in 1988. The difference is even sharper in Virginia and Maryland, state figures show. Numbers from the District, which go back to 2003, show a decline in the past two years.

I'd be interested to see the Oregon data.

From our Winter Safe Routes Newsletter:

What do walking and biking to school have to do with obesity, mental health, and asthma?  A lot! Children who walk and bike to school have higher physical activity levels throughout the day, helping them meet the recommended 60 minutes of activity daily. This level of activity helps prevent childhood obesity and supports healthy bones.

Walking and biking to school is also a great way for kids to get the physical activity needed for healthy minds. Kids who are more physically active have better academic performance. Studies are also beginning to show that exposure to nature and free outdoor play can reduce stress and relieve ADHD symptoms. If that isn’t enough to get you out of your car, think about the air quality around a school when dozens of parents sit in idling cars while their children jump out. Air pollution has contributed to childhood asthma rates doubling between 1980 and the mid-1990s. Asthma rates remain at historically high levels and cause 14 million missed school days every year. Walking and biking to school is healthy for kids, healthy for communities, and healthy for the planet.

Dr. Jennifer Rupert is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist practicing at Kaiser Permanente in North Portland. Dr. Rupert was one of six dignitaries to address James John Elementary students on Walk+Bike to School Day this past October.

Take a peak at budding environmentalist Shealan's essay below. Shealan's essay received an Honorable Mention from our judges in our Student Essay Contest.

I made a promise to myself at the beginning of the school year that I wouldn’t drive to school all year long.  And so far, so good.  Every day I bundle up for the cold, rainy weather.  If it’s rainy, I walk so I can hold an umbrella.  If it’s cloudy, I ride my bike, and if it’s sunny, I ride my scooter.  When I walk I think about all the animals being killed by the pollution.  It makes me feel sad.  If everybody would walk or ride then this earth would last a lot longer and there would be more plants and animals. 

Shealan van Butler, Grade 3, Beverly Cleary School

Check out Chelsea's (7^th grader, Roseway Heights) excellent essay entitled, "Walking & Biking to School is Important & Fun Especially in the Rain" below. It also received an Honorable Mention from our judges.

Walking & Biking to School is Important & Fun Especially in the Rain

I think that walking and biking to school is important because it helps you stay fit and it saves gas. It also helps prevent pollution because cars are a big reason why there is so much pollution in the world. I think its fun to walk and bike in the rain because it makes you feel invigorating. It is also fun because you get wet. (I like being wet :P). It is very fun to ride with friends and/or family, which is what I do, because then you feel even better. I also believe that walking and/or riding to school will help change the community culture and create environments that are fun for people young and old. Walking and biking to school also boosts our students’ health. I think that walking is a good way for children and adults to keep in shape and be active. If you walk and/or bike to school everyday you could get healthy or fit very easily and it would boost your metabolism. If children are overweight then it could lead to a chronic illness as an adult, which is very bad. You could get some types of cancer which could lead to death. You are supposed to get at least 30-60 minutes of exercise a day depending on your age and walking and/or biking to - and most likely from- school would most likely give you that exercise you need depending on how far away you live. In conclusion I believe it is VERY FUN to walk and/or bike to school everyday.

Chelsea Houston

7^th grade, Roseway Heights School

 Terrell, Lewis Elementary 5th Grader, is our next Honorable Mention in our Student Essay Contest.

I enjoy riding in the rain. The rain feels nice when the water drips into the holes of my helmet. I love the smell of the air when it rains. Some people think riding in the rain is dangerous but in fact the only things different are you have to pull your brakes earlier and the roads are a little more slippery. My favorite part of riding in the rain is seeing how the light reflects off the ground, in my opinion that is beautiful.

Terrell Cunningham

5^th grade, Lewis Elementary

From the Oregon Walk + Bike Newsletter:

Oregon schools are gearing up for the third annual Walk + Bike to School Challenge, a friendly competition that encourages students to walk and bike to school for the whole month of May.

Last year, 60 schools and over 4,000 individuals participated in the event. We are preparing for record participation among elementary and middle schools in 2010. For the first time, high schools and universities are also invited to participate. Older students will have access to the online trip-tracking system used for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Bike Commute Challenge, which allows them to compare mileage and challenge their friends.

School coordinators at elementary and middle schools help students track their trips on the Challenge scorecard. This year, registering your school and reporting results online is easier than ever thanks to a generous grant from Kaiser Permanente for web improvements.

The event kicks off May 1, ends May 31, and culminates with a special Walk + Bike to Baseball celebration event at PGE Park in Portland on June 11. Event participants and winners will be recognized on field, and the overall winner will throw out the first pitch of the Beavers baseball game.

For more information, visit www.walknbike.org. Online registration opens in March!

Astor Elementary 5th Grader Payton is next up as an Honorable Mention in our Student Essay Contest. Our judges enjoyed the humor in Payton's essay and also how well he described the feeling and sound of being in the rain.

I love the words my mom says "Payton get your shoes on" "we are walking to school." When the rain goes tap-tap-tap on my coat it sounds like a soft drum beat. Plus the rain is like free water, 'cause it is. Having to go into my class half-way soaked makes almost everyone laugh. It also feels so cold out, so when I walk in the classroom it's sooo warm and the cold goes away even with my coat on. Some other people say that when it rains it's not cold out which is sometimes true.

Payton Arrington, 5^th grade, Astor Elementary

Here's another great Honorable Mention from our Student Essay Contest. Read Wyatt's essay below which speaks to the simple joys of speeding through puddles. As a side note, Wyatt's school, Sunnyside, has one of the highest cycling rates in the city.

I like to bike in the rain because I love the rain. I also love biking and it is a great chance to hang out with my friends. Also, it is really fun to speed through the puddles, and make huge waves.

Your admiring biker,

Wyatt Freda-Cowie

grade 5, Sunnyside Environmental School

Wyatt Freda-Cowie
5^th grade, Sunnyside Environmental

Kicking off the new year in a bold way, Ontario's newest elementary school has been designated "walking only." It is apparently the first school in Canada to adopt such a policy.

From the Toronto Star:

P.L. Robertson elementary in Milton, which opened this week, has been designated a "walking-only school," where students will be strongly encouraged to use their feet – or bikes or any other active way – to get there.

It is part of a broader initiative at the Halton District School Board to stop traffic jams around schools and get students moving.

School Transportation News reports:

P.L. Robertson, located about 20 miles southwest of Toronto, requires students who live 1.6 km from campus, or about 1 mile, to get to school on their own, often via the school's walking school bus or bike train. That equates to nearly all students except for a handful who are eligible for the yellow school bus because they live farther than 1.6 km or who attend a French immersion dual track school that is located outside of the school district's boundaries. The program is run in collaboration with a local school transportation consortium that also administers school busing in the province and with local traffic engineers and law enforcement.

Honorable Mentions from our Student Essay Contest continue (in no particular order). Read Urmi's essay below, which our judges appreciate for it's clarity and thoughtfulness.

It is true that it rains in Portland in the winter months. This shouldn’t stop us from walking or biking to school, if we have the proper gear (rain coat and rain boots). It is fun to walk in the rain to school, for two reasons.

 1) THE ENJOYMENT OF NATURES BEAUTY

I walk in the rain to enjoy nature’s wonders that only can be seen when it’s raining.  Such as, delicate water droplets upon leaves.

2) HAPPINESS OF HELPING THE COMMUNITY

I love walking in the rain, since I’m not using the car, which pollutes the air. If people could walk to school, they would help themselves and our world.

Urmi Kumar, 6^th grade

Honorable Mentions from our Student Essay Contest continue. Read Antonia's essay below, a good example of the poetic nature of many of the entries we received...

I like to bike in the rain because you get rained on. The water is dropping on you. It makes me laugh.

Love,

Antonia Freda-Cowie

Antonia Freda-Cowie, Kindergarten, Sunnyside Environmental

Last November, at a Safe Routes newsletter meeting, staffer Taylor Sutton had a terrific idea. She thought why should boring adults be writing all the articles? We should have a student essay contest!

In our Winter issue, we asked for students to submit essays of 100 words or less describing why it is fun to walk or bike in the rain. We received many well-written essays from students all over Portland. Our panel of judges enjoyed reading all of the essays and struggled in selecting the top essay (which will be published in the Spring 2010 issue of our newsletter). We've decided to publish all our Honorable Mentions here on our blog so that everyone can enjoy them. We'll be posting one Honorable Mention a day up until our grand winner is announced.

Congratulations to all those who participated. We hope you'll agree that the future of walking and biking in Portland is bright!

Without further ado, Honorable Mention #1:

I always walk to school. Sometimes I bike but I always go by my grammas houses. We wave and say hi. Our Neighborhood is very quiet so it makes a great place to live.

The reason I walk and bike is I live very close, enough to walk and bike. The best part is I get to class early and extra work done. But the real reason it is so much fun.

Walking may seem boring to some people but I find it relaxing to talk and walk to school. After Joel [a Bicycle Transportation SR2S Ambassador] came into class for bike safety now riding my bike to places is super fun.

Sincerely,

Elyse Castles

P.S. Walking and Biking saves Gas.

Elyse Castles, 5^th grade, Rieke Elementary