SRTS Coalition Meeting Notes June 14, 2011 10:00am-12:00pm Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy 33 Livingston Avenue New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Room 112 Attendee Laura Torchio Beverly Stern Bettina Zimny Denise Chaplick Tara Shepherd Caroline Trueman Jay DiDomenico Morteza Ansari Dan Watt Dan Lefkowitz Joseph Weiss Andrew Kay John Stevenson James Crane Bill Ragozine David Calderetti Lauren Mansfield Janet Hansen Bill Neary Rebecca Hersh Darleen Reveille Elizabeth Thompson John Jennings David Aimen Sharon Clancy Elise Bremer-Nei Susan Blickstein Peter Bilton Leigh Ann Von Hagen Maeve Johnston Sofia Recalde Chris D Antonio Organization RBA Group Community representative RBA Group Baker HART TMA FHWA NJ Hudson TMA KMM Trans Options NJ DHSS Trans Options Morris County HART TMA Ride Wise TMA CCCTMA CCCTMA CCCTMA Rutgers Transp. Safety Resource Ctr. KMM GMTMA Garfield Health Department NJTPA Meadowlink UMDNJ NJDOT SRTS Susan G. Blickstein, AICP/PP, Ph.D. Civic Eye Collaborative
Meeting Objective: Discussing the Future of New Jersey s SRTS Program I. General Introductions II. The continuing role of the SRTS Coalition There have been 3 rounds of SRTS grants in NJ. In 7 years of funding, FHWA has provided $25 million in SRTS funding. So far $15 million has been used and the remainder is still available. In the past, infrastructure projects have been easier to process than noninfrastructure because there are fewer hoops to jump through. However, infrastructure projects can also be slow because of the need to adhere to NEPA. Infrastructure projects also can be subject to design delays. In fiscal year 2012, funding for design projects will only be available for disadvantaged communities. In fiscal year 2012, there will be no more planning grants or grants for right of way acquisition. Extra points will be awarded on applications that include school travel plans, wellness plans, and walk/bike policies. Applicants will still receive points for meeting SRTS program goals, demonstrating commitment to bicycling and walking, being ready to implement projects, having a good record on past grants, and being in a disadvantaged community. To create a smoother grant process, provide more directed spending on noninfrastructure grants, and provide better technical assistance, there will be an expanded SRTS Resource Center to accommodate the non-infrastructure program. The Resource Center will work with TMAs who are already working with schools and towns throughout the state and know the community. The Resource Center and TMAs will provide services and motivational incentives instead of direct grants. SRTS Resource Center 3 Goals: o Develop a statewide community partnership to implement SRTS without the burden of grant applications o Provide training to the TMAs o Provide technical assistance to communities NJ SRTS Resource Center Projects: o International Walk to School Roundtable o International Walk to School Day and Walking School Buses o Youth Bicycle Education Roundtable o NJ Bike School o School Travel Plan technical assistance o Bloustein SRTS studio o TMA involvement o Walk Success Stories o Walking School Buses o Youth Bicycle Education o Webinars o Research crossing guard, courtesy busing and grantee tracking
o Continue to host SRTS Coalition meetings o Safe Routes Scoop Newsletter transitioning to blog o Revamping website Questions/Comments: Q: What is role of SRTS Coalition and should it change now that there is a resource center? A: Originally it was to provide technical assistance to schools and municipalities and serve as an advisory group to the NJDOT SRTS program. While the exact role of the Coalition remains undecided at this time, the Coalition will continue to meet twice a year. Q: Is there a curriculum that will be used? A: Uncertain but NHTSA has developed one, and a Traffic Safety Curriculum is presently being worked on by UMDNJ, Kean, and Rowan Universities. Q: What about children with disabilities? A: The SRTS program will aim to include things like pedestrian safety for children with autism in the future. Q: How will SRTS grant funding be distributed? A: Infrastructure grants will be available to all counties and municipalities. Design services will be limited to disadvantaged communities. Non-infrastructure services will be provided to everyone. Q: Are there any opportunities for consulting/contracting for non-infrastructure projects? A: Not for the pilot program. III. NJ SRTS Partnership Levels Background: How partnership levels work in other states Georgia partnership system o There are 3 levels of partnership (Bronze, Silver, Gold). The goal is not necessarily to make partners move through the different levels but to categorize the various levels of participation. o Friends of the Program are affiliates who are not necessarily associated with a participating school but who support and are involved with SRTS. o Georgia has an alphabetical list on their website that does not give special preference to any partner. o South Carolina is using a 4-tier system very similar to Georgia s. Bronze will be a basic entry level and Platinum will be the new Gold. Massachusetts partnership system o Massachusetts has a simpler system with no distinct levels. Any organization/school can sign up. o You must be a partner to get SRTS funding. o There are no formal friends of the program. Outreach Georgia has 6 local outreach coordinators around the state.
Massachusetts has a centralized task force with strong relationships with local governments. The task force provides referrals for good candidates for partnership. Technical assistance Georgia offers technical assistance to all levels and support for school travel plans only to silver and gold levels. Massachusetts does not offer assistance with travel plans, but they do local walk and bikeability assessments. Both states require that partners complete the National Center for Safe Routes to School s student travel tally, and both say this is a difficult task. Massachusetts requires completion of the parent survey, while Georgia highly encourages it. Incentives Georgia has a system for providing incentives that are increasingly flashy at each progressive level. Massachusetts has an incentive program with basic printed SRTS materials. Issues Georgia stated that disadvantaged communities tend to be rural. Massachusetts stated that they often have difficulty finding people with time to commit to the program. Thoughts and Feedback Ideas for NJ Schools, districts and municipalities can all sign up. High schools can be a Friend of the Program. Partnership will require a signed resolution by local governing bodies and the BOE. Partners must be active. Consensus is that 3 years should be the maximum allowed period of inactivity. Schools, municipalities, or districts will sign up as entry level partners and then progress through Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. TMA technical assistance role will be to visit local communities, provide analysis and help with Community Plan of Action, offer assistance with events, support monitoring/evaluation, make recommendations to SRTS Resource Center for school travel plans, grant writing, and miscellaneous assistance. NJ will offer organizations the opportunity to be a Friend of the Program. Questions Q: What about Boards of Education without schools or municipalities that send kids to other districts? A: Some situations will be decided on a case by case basis. Q: What about charter schools and private schools?
A: They are eligible for assistance. They will still need to work with municipalities because the school zone is a public area. Private schools can use their board of trustees in place of BOE, same with charter schools. Q: Should friends of program include for-profits? A: Yes. The Resource Center website will just list names, no logos, no special promotion. Can be difficult because of federal funding that puts a limit on $ and gifts. Q: Can gifts be given directly to the schools, bypassing the state and fed? A: A potential solution is to enact sponsorships through TMAs or PTAs so schools can have additional support. Comments The resource center could provide support by reaching out to schools and communities to find a champion who will help maintain the program. Out of state organizations can be friends of the program. In the Community Plan of Action we can include a prompt to ask about dangerous intersections. Some TMAs are mapping student locations and a 2-mile radius and are making recommendations to police departments for crossing guard placement. This could potentially be an option for all areas. Discussion of potential enrollment process Requirements for each level o Entry level: Enrollment form o Bronze: Entry level plus school champion, travel mode tallies or parent survey and 1 bike/ped event o Silver (Sustainable Jersey Level): Bronze plus school travel plan requirement and hold 4 or more events. o Gold: Silver plus support from PTA-type group, and demonstrate either ongoing activity, school travel plans, bike/ped activity in all grade levels, bike education programs, school walk/bike policy, or innovative bike/walk programs/projects Resource Center could offer frequent walker punch cards, blinky lights, stickers, shoe laces, zipper pulls, drawstring backpacks, book covers, bike locks (gold level), bike helmets (gold level). Additional incentive ideas proposed by coalition members: rubber bracelets, raffle tickets, banners/community signage, and extra recess time. Questions Q: If a municipality sponsors an event or program and a school participates, does that satisfy event requirements? A: Yes. Q: What does a school get at the gold level? A: Extra incentives, help from Resource Center that is different from other levels such as School Travel Plan assistance. In addition, they can list themselves as a Gold Partner.
Q: What is the roll out date? A: Fall 2011. Comments Don t just focus on schools. Look into recreation departments and after school programs to set up events and run programs. Allow for other types of certification for bike education trainers. When visiting schools, bring a hard copy of model program so that they know it s already been done and that this isn t something they have to create on their own. Advocate at the school board level within school districts. Wednesday at 10 AM seems to work for future meetings. Upcoming Meetings The next SRTS Coalition Meeting will take place in October 2011.