Another Big Stimulus Award for Biking in Philly

The Centers for Disease Control just announced an award of stimulus funds for the City of Philadelphia that will reduce tobacco use and obesity. As part of the obesity reduction effort, CDC is funding several initiatives to promote active transportation in Philadelphia, including Phase 2 of the Philadelphia Bike Plan, a Safe Routes to School Program that will teach pedestrian and bicycle safety and increased bicycle and pedestrian counts.

The Bicycle Coalition will run the new Philadelphia Safe Routes to School Program as part of our newly launched Safe Routes Philly. The program will expand to reach every student in the Philadelphia School District: each second grader will be taught a lesson on pedestrian safety and each fifth grader a lesson on bicycle safety. The program will become one of the largest Safe Routes to School Programs in the country, reaching over 175 schools. The CDC will fund Safe Routes Philly for two years for a total cost of $600,000.

Phase 2 of the bike plan will cover improvements to the bicycle and pedestrian network in West and Southwest, Upper North and the Northeast (the areas of the city not covered under Phase 1).