Celebrate back to school, Portland!

Dear parents, caregivers, educators, and community, 

Welcome back to school! This year, there are more than 61,700 reasons to celebrate—that's how many students returning to classrooms in Portland.

Next week, make sure to keep an eye out for Safe Routes to School content on the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) social media accounts. We're taking over the @pbotinfo handle to talk all things Safe Routes to School. From our early days to where we're headed, we'll be sharing stories upon stories of students and families walking, biking, and rolling. And stay-tuned till the end to get a first glimpse of our first-ever Safe Routes to School program summary report! Expect lots of smiles, bikes, backpacks, and good vibes.

Remember to follow us on Instagram and Facebook! And tag us in your stories so we can re-share them.

With gratitude,
Safe Routes to School Team | Brittany, Dana, Gui, Janis, Jeri, Josh, and Meaghan 

In this email

• Organize groups to walk, bike, or roll to school together to reduce traffic and carbon pollution in your neighborhood
• Events and opportunities
• Grants
• New multi-use path in Centennial neighborhood
• Child Passenger Safety Week is Sept. 15-21
• What we're reading
• Job and volunteer postings

Organize groups to walk, bike, or roll to school together to reduce traffic and carbon pollution in your neighborhood

Remember to drive carefully, slow down, and look out for kids

Traffic congestion and frustrated drivers often contribute to safety issues around school campuses. People driving should exercise caution, regardless of whether they’re near a school or not. There are more than 120 elementary, middle, and high schools in Portland. People moving about the city, on average, pass a school, or a route commonly used by schoolchildren, every half-mile. Also, traffic crashes are most common between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., a time when students are being let out from school and after-school programming for the day.   

Reducing traffic near school campuses makes it safer for everyone.

To help keep students returning to school safe, 

• Travel at or below the speed limit—20 mph or less in school zones. 
• Drive sober and never impaired. 
• Slow down and exercise caution when kids are walking, biking, or rolling.     
• Stop for school buses, never try to pass them.   
• Pay attention for students around public transit stops. Students, especially middle and high schoolers, ride TriMet across the city.   
• Watch for crossing guards and others helping students cross the street. Never pass another vehicle that’s stopped at a crosswalk. Every intersection is a crosswalk under Oregon law.   

Be a leader in your community: walk, bike, and roll to school in groups

As students return to class, we encourage families to walk, bike, and roll to school together to help build healthy, fun, and climate-friendly habits. Traveling as a group gives students and families the opportunity to spend fulfilling time together and make connections with your school community.

Walking school bus

A walking school bus is a group of students walking to school together. It can be a formal group with specific meeting spots and times or a more informal crowd of neighborhood students. Start by checking with your school to see if other families or kids are already walking to school together—maybe you can join in! If there are none, ask around to learn if there are any families in your neighborhood that may be interested in starting one.

Bike bus

A bike bus is a group of students biking to school together. It can be as simple as two families taking turns biking students to school, or it can be a large-structured program with your neighborhood. Start by checking with your school to see if other families or kids are already biking to school together—maybe you can join in! If there are none, ask around to learn if there are any families in your neighborhood that may be interested in starting one.

Park-and-walk

If you drive your children to school, a park-and-walk might be the right option for you and your family. A park-and-walk encourages parents and caregivers who drive to school to park a few blocks away. You can still reduce traffic and increase safety around the school by parking just a few blocks away and walking the last few steps.

Learn more about back to school resources

Events and opportunities

Southwest Neighborhood Bike Fair

Friday, Sept. 13
3 - 5:30 p.m.

The Southwest Neighborhood Bike Fair at the Multnomah Arts Center,7688 SW Capitol Hwy, is a free family-friendly event! Activities include learn-to-ride clinics, e-bike demos, bike safety activities, and quick-fix bike repair. Participants are welcome to bring their own bikes. There will be bikes of various sizes available for children and adults to borrow for the learn-to-ride clinic. 

Learn more about the Southwest Neighborhood Bike Fair

Youth Personal Safety and Self-Defense Workshops

Starting Monday, Sept. 16
4 - 6 p.m.

Rose City Self-Defense, an organization working within schools to empower girls through self-defense, is hosting youth personal safety and self-defense workshops in the Mississippi/Albina neighborhood on Mondays, Sept. 16 and 23 from 4 to 6 p.m. and Mondays, Oct. 7 and 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. Interested in setting up youth programs for your group? Submit a request. 

Learn more about youth personal safety and self-defense workshops

Southwest Portland Sunday Parkways

Basic Bike Maintenance at Rocky Butte Farmers Market

Rainy Rider Photo Contest

Tuesday, Oct. 1 - Thursday, Oct. 31

Participate in Portland Bureau of Transportation's Rainy Rider Photo Contest throughout the month of October for the chance to win some waterproof bicycling gear! Riding in the rain is not only possible, it's fun too! Text BIKE to 888-520-0526 followed by a photo of yourself and your bicycle in the rain for the chance to win a waterproof prize.

Learn more about the Rainy Rider Photo Contest

International Walk + Roll to School Day

Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day

Safe Routes Partnership is offering grants in amounts of $500 and $1,000 to support. Projects must align with the goals of the event by 1) promote constructive dialogue about activism, anti-racism, and anti-bullying, and 2) inspiring young people to make positive changes in their community. Applications due by Friday, Sept. 13.

Learn more about Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day

Grants

Metro Community Placemaking grants

Applications due by Friday, Oct. 4 at noon

Metro Community Placemaking grants support community-led, equity-centered, arts, and culture efforts that strengthen people's connections to each other and places they care about. Metro will award grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. No matching funds are required. 

Learn more about Metro Community Placemaking grants

Metro Regional Travel Options (RTO) small grants

Applications can be submitted anytime and are reviewed on a rolling basis

Metro RTO small grants fund specific, one-time purchases of materials and services to support events, education, and outreach activities ranging from $500 (Safe Routes to School micro-grants) to $5,000 (RTO mini-grants). 

Learn more about Metro RTO small grants

New multi-use path in Centennial neighborhood

This summer, in the Centennial neighborhood, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) oversaw construction of a 10-foot-wide multiuse path on SE 174th Avenue between Stark and Main. The purpose of the project is to slow traffic and make it easier to see pedestrians.

As part of this project, PBOT crews and contractors:

• Filled in gaps in the sidewalk network
• Built five new ADA-compliant curb ramps
• Installed new marked crosswalks and speed bumps
• Extended curbs at intersections to make crossing shorter and safer
• Relocated two school-zone beacons

Later this fall, crews and contractors will finish the project by planting new street trees in a 3-foot-wide planting strip along the path.

Improving an important connection for Alder Elementary students

The Safe Routes to School team knew this segment of SE 174th Avenue was an important connection for students and families attending Alder Elementary School. The challenges of walking and biking this corridor was something the school community highlighted during a 2017 outreach process. Alder Elementary families and the Reynolds School District Superintendent Frank Caropelo advocated strongly for this project, helping Safe Routes to School secure $2 million from the Oregon Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School competitive construction grant program, as well as a 20% match from Fixing Our Streets, Portland's 10-cent citywide voter-approved gas tax funding $20 million worth of engineering projects to improve how Portland families access schools.

Learn more about the SE 174th Avenue Sidewalk Infill project

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Child Passenger Safety Week is Sept. 15-21

Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children. Studies have shown that parents can be overconfident in their ability to select and install the right seats for their children; in fact, approximately half of all car seats are not correctly installed. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) urges parents and caregivers to double-check and make sure their children are in the right seats and that the seats are installed correctly. “Good enough” may not be good enough in a crash.

Join the NHTSA this Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept.15-21, to make sure that children are as safe as possible when they’re riding in a vehicle:

• Read the instructions. To get expert help installing your car seat, a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician can help you for free.
• Use the tether on forward-facing car seats. Securing the tether is an essential step that prevents the car seat from moving forward in a crash and may prevent head injury. 
• Don’t rush to the next seat. Moving children to the next type of car seat before they’re ready leaves them vulnerable in a crash. 
• Keep children under 13 in the back seat. Air bags in the front seat are designed for adult passengers
• Register car seats with the manufacturer. NHTSA’s SaferCar app provides an easy way for parents and caregivers to save their vehicle and car seat details. 

Learn more about Child Passenger Safety Week

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What we're reading

• Bicycle rolling-stop laws don’t lead to unsafe behavior by riders or motorists, research shows (Oregon State University)
• Skate parks are growing up (Bloomberg)
• Coachella Valley Association of Governments' 'Arts and Music Line' will create a unique active transportation corridor to Coachella, Stagecoach (News Channel 3) 
• Miami fifth-grader saved money to fund traffic safety program (Axios)
• As cars and trucks get bigger and taller, lawmakers look to protect pedestrians (NPR)
• What causes potholes – and who gets hurt when they appear (The Guardian)
• Austin left turn improvements cut serious crashes by half (Planetizen)
• How America can break its highway addiction (Slate)
• The forgotten fight to ban gas-powered cars in the 1960s (Grist)
• U.S. presses the ‘reset button' on technology that lets cars talk to each other (NPR)
• Right on red: The culture war comes for traffic lights (Politico)
• See why these Sacramento residents are asking for more roundabouts for traffic safety (The Sacramento Bee)

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Job and volunteer postings

• Capital Project Controls Analyst: Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is seeking a Capital Project Controls Analyst to contribute to the successful implementation of PBOT's Capital Program, a portfolio of transportation projects valued at over $200M. This work will require project and program management experience and the ability to manage an evolving process with many stakeholders. The individual selected for this position must possess excellent communications, leadership, and agile project management skills, as well as knowledge and experience with improving complex processes to help PBOT leadership and project managers make informed data-driven decisions that reflect the city’s core values. Closing Monday, Sept. 9. Job posting here.
• Electronics Technician II - Traffic Signal: Portland Bureau of Transportation is seeking an Electronics Technician within the Traffic Signals, Street Lighting & Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Division. This division specifically plans, designs, builds, and maintains the city's traffic signals, street lighting systems, and ITS systems, which consist of approximately 1,150 traffic signals, 55,000 street lights, 70 rectangular rapid flash beacons, 170 school beacons, radar feedback signs, CCTV cameras, Variable Message Signs, communication equipment and various other electrical elements throughout the City of Portland. Closing Monday, Sept. 9. Job posting here. 
• Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) Community Benefits Committee: PCEF is responsible for investing in community-led and -inspired projects that reduce carbon emissions in ways that advance racial and social justice. PCEF provides grants and contracts to nonprofit, government, and for-profit entities for projects focused on clean energy, transportation decarbonization, green infrastructure, regenerative agriculture, and green job training. PCEF is seeking leaders who can ensure the most impacted Portlanders are prepared for a changing climate as we move toward our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Closing Monday, Sept. 16. Volunteer posting here. 

The City of Portland updates it's job opportunities list weekly. Make sure to check out those new positions every Monday!