Did you know that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program? I didn’t either before autumn 2023 when my SHIP Coordinator Tina Moen sent along an email about applying for a SRTS Boost grant. The Building Opportunities in Out-of-School Times (BOOST) grants support communities and schools on new or existing SRTS plans to support non-infrastructure strategies for schools that help make it safe, easy and fun for students to walk and bicycle to school.
So, with Tina’s help, I applied. It took a few weeks of my writing and Tina’s editing before the application was ready to be submitted. I waited impatiently until the end of January when the results would be announced. It was a wonderful surprise to learn that we were granted nearly $9,000 to buy bicycles, helmets, curriculum, and other miscellaneous items to start our very own bike fleet. I will say that for the four years preceding this opportunity, we had worked with Bike Minnesota to get a fleet of 40 bicycles delivered to our school for two weeks of fun each Spring. What a thrill to be able to have our own bikes to use whenever we wanted!
When autumn 2024 rolled around, I got another email announcing the new round of SRTS BOOST grants and I thought, “Why not try again”?
We have two other programs in different cities that would also benefit from having their own bikes. Again, I was thrilled to learn that we were granted a total of almost $15,000. With this money we will be purchasing adaptive bikes and helmets for our autism program.
During the time between BOOST grant #1 and BOOST grant #2, I learned that there are a number of very beneficial things that the people at SRTS offer. There are opportunities to discuss how to set up SRTS programs with other people who have already done so. The people at the MnDOT SRTS office, especially Phoebe Ward, are wonderful sources of information. There is a plethora of wonderful resources available.
Give it a try. The benefits to your school and/or community are amazing!
For information on what it means to partner with Wabasha County SHIP on healthy eating, physical activity, wellbeing, and/or tobacco-free environment projects, please email Tina Moen or call her at 651-565-5200.
