Plenary Speakers

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Welcome message

12:00-1:15pm

R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis
Deb Hubsmith, Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Lauren Marchetti, Director, National Center for Safe Routes to School
Jim Oberstar, former U.S. Representative, Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District

Dinner and keynote speaker

6:00 – 7:30pm

Kathleen Mock, senior vice president, Marketing and Public and Health Affairs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
“Breaking through Barriers”
Sue Wollan Fan, President, Catalyst Community Partners

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Breakfast and plenary session

8:30 – 10:00am

“Transportation in the context of livability”
Victor Mendez administrator, Federal Highway Administration
John Robert Smith, President and CEO of Reconnecting America

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Lunch and plenary session

12:00-2:00pm

“Engaging Youth in the SRTS Movement”
Paul Osborne, director of Sustrans’ schools and children’s programme
Kimberly White, sophomore at Baruch College
Jamie Bussel, MPH, Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Youth Apprentice, Bike Sibley Depot “Fix a Flat”

Topic Sessions

Wednesday, August 17, 10:30 – 12:30

Designing for Safety
John LaPlante, director of traffic engineering, T.Y.Lin International, Illinois
Jennifer Toole, Toole Design Group, Maryland

A wide range of engineering measures can be considered to improve walking and bicycling routes to school. Hear from national planning and engineering experts about evolving national design standards and get practical technical guidance on measures that work but don’t cost a fortune to build. Learn when separation between modes is needed, how to prioritize sidewalk installation, how to calm traffic and how to ensure school crossings are as safe as possible. Through a hands-on exercise, learn how to prepare your own design plan for a school, based on a real-life example.

Transforming Transportation: Federal Policy Opportunities for SRTS Advocates
Moderator: Barbara McCann, executive director, National Complete Streets Coalition
James Corless, director, Transportation for America
Sandra Viera, program coordinator, Prevention Institute

Whatever happens with the federal SRTS program, SRTS advocates are in a great position to use their skills to work for livability throughout transportation policy. Discover how you can make a difference in the upcoming federal transportation bill and beyond. Join in a discussion on how federal funds can be directed to uses that will benefit children; how to influence that spending via state, regional and local agencies; and who to work with to make it happen.

Closing Neighborhood Public Schools: Causes and Effects
Jeff Vincent, deputy director and co-founder, Center for Cities & Schools at the University of California, Berkeley
Mary Filardo, executive director, 21st Century School Fund, Washington D.C.

Amid changing demographics and community land use policies, the growing national trend in school consolidation and closings has major implications for school travel patterns — especially walking and bicycling. Hear about a framework for understanding the causes and effects of school district actions to close neighborhood schools. Community leaders who have been affected by school closings in Minnesota will share specific cases of the processes, issues and impacts in their communities. Join in a discussion of how to evaluate the need for a school closing, examine the validity of the school district rationale and explore alternatives.

Engaging Youth as Advocates for Safe Routes
Pasqualina Azzarello, director, Recycle-A-Bicycle, New York
Alissa Kronovet, co-founder and co-director, the national organization Young Planners Network
Drew Williams-Clark, senior regional planner, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Illinois
Todd Diskin, youth strategies coordinator, City of Portland, Oregon
Youth representation

This session will explore the value of youth-led and youth-organized efforts to transform communities for safe walking and biking. Part presentation, part interactive workshop, we will examine existing models of youth engagement and explore the tools to engage youth effectively. Led by a team of adult and youth presenters from Young Planners Network and Recycle-A-Bicycle, the session will explore a range of creative approaches to SRTS education and advocacy while considering community-specific resources, challenges and best practices. Models of engagement will range from grassroots actions to statewide advocacy for youth-led initiatives. We will highlight innovative methods of authentic youth engagement in the planning and practice of SRTS, foster community leaders of all ages and broaden the SRTS movement itself.

Injury Prevention through Community Transformation
Carolina Gutierrez, assistant director, University of Miami WalkSafe™ and BikeSafe™ Programs, Florida
David Henderson, bicycle/pedestrian coordinator, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization, Florida
Christine Stinson, program manager, University of Miami WalkSafe™ Program, Florida

This session will focus on how to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety through community transformation, including the general steps for capacity building and implementation of community transformation components in an injury prevention context. Through a combination of presentation, discussion and skill-building formats, the session will also focus on overcoming community transformation obstacles such as population diversity, reaching underserved groups, difficulties posed by the built and natural environment, and other specific challenges faced by both urban and rural communities.