City Greenlights 'Safe Routes to School,' More Food & Shelter Programs

Monday was a busy night for the Redwood City Council.

In addition to granting the final approval needed to ban single-use plastic bags in Redwood City, the Council also focused on two programs of "critical need" - the "Safe Routes to School" initiative, and funding a grant to provide additional food and shelter services through the Fair Oaks Community Center.

"Safe Routes to School" (SRTS) programs seek to make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation choice, thus promoting a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age, reducing traffic congestion around schools, lessening air pollution, and forging a closer connection between neighborhoods and schools.

The City-supported nonprofit organization Redwood City 2020 began a Safe Routes to School program in 2009 as part of its work to improve the health and safety of children in the Redwood City School District.

At its Monday night meeting, the City Council awarded a $76,500 contract, using federal grant funds, for a consultant to work with schools to determine the local conditions that may keep children from walking or bicycling to school, and to make recommendations for education, enforcement, and engineering such as sidewalk or roadway improvements to increase walking and bicycling.

Among other elements, the consultant's work will include identifying barriers to walking or biking, developing recommendations for improving the safety and convenience of walking and biking to school, and recommending specific SRTS elements that are tailored to students' geographic location/school and specific needs.

According to a statement by the City, the schools that will be involved "represent the wide diversity of Redwood City's population" - Adelante, Fair Oaks, Garfield, Hawes, John Gill, and Roy Cloud schools. The study's report is expected to be presented in mid-summer.

"The Safe Routes to School program offers a great way for our youth to gain healthy exercise habits, and this study will closely examine how the schools and the City can best bring this option to all parts of our community," said Mayor Alicia Aguirre. "The Fair Oaks Community Center's vital human services programs continue to be a crucial part of helping those in need throughout our community - approval of this grant application illustrates our commitment, and it's especially representative of the wide partnerships we foster for the benefit of the most-needy residents of Redwood City."

Also on Monday, the City Council authorized the Redwood City Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Department to apply for an $80,000 grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to help fund "essential human services" at the Fair Oaks Community Center.

The grant application builds on the increased funding granted to Fair Oaks by the Foundation in 2012, which the City's statement said "directly addressed critical needs of the city's low-income community, including food assistance services, homelessness prevention and services, legal aid and housing advocacy services, and food and nutrition programs."

By submitting a collaborative proposal which involves a number of service agencies, including the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, Public Allies, and Peninsula Family Service, the City's statement said the Council believes Redwood City is "a strong candidate" for the new funding.

"Such partnerships are an effective way of bringing these resources to the most needy in our community, and the Fair Oaks Community Center has a strong track record of success in forming those collaborations and leveraging efforts to meet these critical needs," the City's statement said.

What do you think of these two programs? Tell us in the comments below.

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