$3 million for Texas' Safe Routes to School

Texas Bicycle Coalition (TBC) supporters were stunned by the Feb. 9, 2002, announcement that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will allocate $3 million to develop the TBC-sponsored Safe Routes to Schools program.

The announcement was made by State Rep. Roberto Gutierrez (D-McAllen), who sponsored the Matthew Brown Act (House Bill 2204) that included the creation of Safe Routes to School. Gutierrez said he had been assured by both Gov. Rick Perry and TxDOT Executive Director Michael W. Behrens that TxDOT intends to come up with the funds to get the program started.

Gutierrez's surprise announcement came during a brief ceremony at the Texas Capitol during which the McAllen representative was honored by the Texas Bicycle Coalition for his efforts in sponsoring and assuring the passage of the Matthew Brown Act.

Gutierrez suddenly produced a Feb. 8 letter from Behrens in which Behrens said it was his department's "intention to develop a $3 million Safe Routes to Schools program."

Behrens added that TxDOT had already completed an initial set of Safe Routes to School program rules that outline project eligibility and how projects should be submitted to the department.

"We will propose," Behrens wrote Gutierrez, "the final set of Safe Routes to School rules containing project evaluation criteria this March. The second set of rules should become final in June."

A first call for Safe Routes to School projects, Behrens estimated, will be in July or August and the first round of selected projects should be announced before the end of the year and the beginning of the 78th Texas Legislature.

The $3 million in Safe Routes "seed money" materialized when Gutierrez, in response to a Texas Bicycle Coalition query, approached Perry and Behrens. Gutierrez relayed TBC's concerns about funding problems with Safe Routes to School that emerged when it was discovered that an existing funding formula could not be applied to the new program.

"This is great," TBC Executive Director Gayle Cummins commented. "Rep. Gutierrez has truly demonstrated that he is a great friend to bicycling in Texas, and dedicated to the growth of cycling through the creation of bike and pedestrian-safe neighborhoods."

Gutierrez said he was proud to have authored The Matthew Brown Act - the bill that created Safe Routes to School.

"I just wanted to make sure that we did what needed to be done to get things going," he said. "But we still need to ensure the schools that need safety improvements are given priority consideration. I'm just happy that I could be of assistance in this matter."

"I'm like the conductor of a train. I just want to see the train get into the station," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez had been invited to the Capitol Saturday by the Texas Bicycle Coalition so the organization could present him with a plaque in recognition of his efforts in sponsoring The Matthew Brown Act and working for its eventual passage in the 77th Legislature.

The Matthew Brown Act was named for an 11-year-old Plano boy who was killed while riding his bicycle.

The Safe Routes to School program will provide funding to create safe bicycle and pedestrian access within a two-mile radius of public schools. It is estimated that an average Safe Routes project will cost $100,000 or less. The $3 million coming through TxDOT could fund 30 or more projects in the first call.