HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

241

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

ENCOURAGING the Department of Transportation to apply for apportioned federal funding to establish a Safe Routes to School program in Hawaii and to recruit and hire a full-time coordinator for the program.

 

 

WHEREAS, the Safe Routes to School program was established under the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, in order to:

(1) Enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school;

(2) Make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative, thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age; and

(3) Facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools; and

WHEREAS, the federal share of the Safe Routes to School program is one hundred per cent; and

WHEREAS, a total of $100,000,000 in federal funds is available in 2006 to be apportioned among the states to implement Safe Routes to School programs according to the proportion of a state's total student enrollment in primary and middle schools to the total student enrollment in all states, but not less than $2,000,000 for a fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, available federal funding to the states for the Safe Routes to School program will escalate from $125,000,000 in 2007 to $183,000,000 in 2009; and

WHEREAS, these federal funds may be used for the planning, design, and construction of infrastructure-related projects that will substantially improve the ability of students to walk and bicycle to school, including:

(1) Sidewalk improvements;

(2) Traffic calming and speed reduction improvements;

(3) Pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements;

(4) On-street bicycle facilities;

(5) Off-street bicycle and pedestrian facilities;

(6) Secure bicycle parking facilities; and

(7) Traffic diversion improvements in the vicinity of schools; and

WHEREAS, federal funds may also be used for non-infrastructure-related activities to encourage walking and bicycling to school, including:

(1) Public awareness campaigns and outreach to press and community leaders;

(2) Traffic education and enforcement in the vicinity of schools;

(3) Student sessions on bicycling and pedestrian safety, health, and environment; and

(4) Training, volunteers, and managers of Safe Routes to School programs; and

WHEREAS, each state receiving apportioned federal funding is required to use a sufficient amount of its grant to fund a full-time coordinator position for a state's Safe Routes to School program, thus providing a central point of contact for a successful program; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Transportation is encouraged to apply for apportioned federal funding to establish a Safe Routes to School program in Hawaii and to recruit and hire a full-time coordinator for the program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to report to the Legislature the progress of its application for federal funding to establish a Safe Routes to School program in Hawaii and of its recruitment and hiring of a full-time coordinator for the program no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation, the Superintendent of Education, and Chairperson of the Board of Education.

 

 
 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Safe Routes to School Program; Federal Funding; DOT; Coordinator