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With the addition of a paid program coordinator, the Safe Routes to School in Watertown elementary schools is poised to expand in the coming school year.
Jeannette Belcher-Schepis, the new Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator, will work with the schools and the Safe Routes to School Community Task Force to carry out the program objectives at the Lowell and Hosmer Schools. One of her primary goals is to expand the program to include the Cunniff School.
Jeannette's background makes her especially well qualified for the coordinator position. She is a graduate student in the Sociology department at Boston College and a Research Associate on the study of Children and the Economic World at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University. She received a B.S. in Business Administration from the Boston University School of Management with a concentration in Marketing and an M.S. in Administration from Boston College. Jeannette was instrumental in the implementation of the Safe Routes to School program at the Hosmer School last fall.
The new position is funded by a grant from WalkBoston. Watertown is one of just a small handful of towns to receive money from WalkBoston's grant program this summer. We were selected based on a strong coalition made up of school administrators, parent-teacher organizations, the police department, public works, and the WPBC. Now more than ever, it's important to teach kids the merits of walking when possible rather than being driven, and to make sure they can do so safely.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School is a nationwide clearinghouse for information pertinent to Safe Routes to School programs around the country. One of the resources they maintain to assist communities in starting SRTS programs is a compendium of case studies. Recently, Watertown's SRTS program was written up, and is now available on the Center's site. Click here to view the article (PDF).
Watertown's already successful Safe Routes to School initiative will get another shot in the arm upon receipt of a $1700 grant from the Watertown Community Foundation. The funds are targeted to the purchase of pedometers, which students use to track the distances they walk. Health educators have approved the use of pedometers as a means to motivate students as they are educated on the benefits of walking.
Congratulations are in order for all the people who volunteer to make this program successful, and especially to WBPC member Mari Ryan who has worked tirelessly on the Safe Routes to School program. The Watertown Community Foundation also deserves credit for its thoughtful recognition and support of the initiative.
A recent article in the Boston Globe reports record numbers of bicycles on the road. No doubt the price of gas is convincing more people to get back in the saddle. Anyone who bikes around Watertown will certainly agree -- the number of cyclists out there is definitely up this spring.
If you're new to bike commuting, take a look at the slides from our recent presentation on bike commuting. There's lots of useful pointers about the ins and outs of getting to and from work on your bike.
Earlier this spring, the Watertown DPW installed about 40 new bike racks around town, and they are getting good use.
The racks were installed primarlily around Watertown Square and
Coolidge Square, and there are new racks at Victory Field and other locations as well. The image to the right was taken
in Coolidge Square.
The Town acquired these racks at no cost through a grant program sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a state agency whose mission includes the promotion of alternative transportation. DPW Superintendent Gerry Mee recognized this opportunity to realize a a substantial infrastructure improvement at minimal cost to the Town. The work was started last fall, and completed in April.
All around town, cyclists have been locking up to the new racks, most of which are in convenient locations next to businesses and recreational resources. Besides giving cyclists secure parking, the racks have the added benefit of getting bikes off of trees, which can be damaged, and off of signposts and parking meters, where they are often insecure and in the way of pedestrians. The WBPC encourages cyclists to take full advantage of the new racks, and to let us know if there are other places where a rack is badly needed.
The Watertown Historical Commission has awarded its 2008 Richard Mastrangelo Memorial Award for historic preservation to the WBPC jointly with the Watertown Historical Society. The award is given in recognition of the 2007 Bicycle Tour of Historic Watertown.
The WBPC is proud and honored to receive this award. We extend our thanks to the Watertown Community Foundation, whose grant provided the funds that made the tour possible, and to all those who participated in the ride.
The award ceremony is at the Commander's Mansion in Arsenal Park at 7 PM on June 5, 2008, and the public is invited to attend.
An entry in a WPD blog reports that the Police Department has a limited number of bike helmets to offer to residents, both adults and children. The helmets are made available through a grant from the Executive Office of Safety and Security.
The WPBC thanks the Police Department for this action, and encourages residents to take advantage of it. Despite the efforts of countless cycling advocates to promote helmet usage, there are still too many people who are biking without one. Cyclists who wear helmets correctly suffer head injury only under rare or extreme conditions, while those do not wear helmets account for the overwhelming majority of serious head injury cases.
The WBPC held a workshop at the Watertown Free Public Library on May 8, 2008. Presenter and WBPC member Sheila Fay described some of her experiences as a bike commuter, and discussed topics such as proper gear and clothing, traffic issues, and practical issues surrounding getting to and from work on a bike.
The slides from this presentation are available here. Sheila also made available a handy resource sheet for bicycle commuters.
The Town Council and the DPW are developing plans to build a parking area along Bacon Street (off Main St.),
and the plan includes a new walking/biking path
that runs along an easement owned by the Cambridge Water
Department. Read more here.