August 5, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Decatur Area Safe Routes to School Receives
Federal Safe Routes to School Funding
DECATUR - The City of Decatur was awarded $89,843 by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program this week to enable and encourage local students to walk and bike to school.
The funds will be used to improve the walking conditions within a mile and half of William Harris Elementary School by repairing and replace sidewalks, installing new signage and using speed feedback trailers to reduce the speed of vehicular traffic. A school zone enforcement squad will be in operation around the school to improve safety while a grant-funded walking school bus program will encourage more kids to walk to school.
William Harris School is located in the city’s Weed & Seed area which, according to the program web site, is designed to help participating neighborhoods prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity, while fostering social, economic, and environmental revitalization.
A team of representatives from several local entities, including the City of Decatur, Decatur Public School District 61, Macon County Health Department, Decatur Park District and The Coalition of Neighborhoods (CONO) collaborated to come up with the Safe Routes to School grant application.
“This funding will help us to improve the lives of the children that attend William Harris in ways that we can’t even imagine today,” said City Manager Ryan McCrady. “We’ve learned that if you expose kids to regular exercise at an early age its more likely to become a way of life which can be of great benefit for years to come”.
“I also think that our receiving this grant shows what we can do when we work together and I want to thank both city staff and the other entities for working so hard on this grant application.”
For more information on the Decatur Area Safe Routes to School program visit www.decaturil.gov/saferoutes/saferoutes.html.
The 2001 National Household Travel Survey showed that fewer than 16 percent of students between the ages of 5 and 15 walked or biked to or from school, compared to 42 percent in 1969. At the same time, the number of overweight and obese children has tripled. A 2007 study released by the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative showed that roughly 20.7 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds in Illinois are obese, ranking Illinois fourth in the nation for obese youth. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control estimate that 32 percent of American kids ages 2 to 19 are overweight, including 17 percent who are obese.
The Illinois Safe Routes to School program has received $23 million in funds from the National Safe Routes to School Program through the Federal Highway Administration.
To learn more about the Illinois Safe Routes To School program visit www.dot.il.gov/saferoutes.