Dear BikeTexas Supporter,
There's great news at BikeTexas this week. We're pleased to announce a new partnership with the City of Brownsville! With funding from Brownsville and other sources, BikeTexas will work with the City to implement their new bicycle plan and help make Brownsville a great place to ride a bike.
BikeTexas leadership will be looking to local governments, private organizations, and sponsors in neighboring communities in the region to participate in this partnership and truly make a this a regional effort. South Texas is already a leader in the state for bicycle friendliness, with more Safe Passing cities than any other part of Texas. We're delighted to be working in this fast-growing region of Texas!
One result of BikeTexas' recent Strategic Planning Survey was many Texans asking BikeTexas to have more of a local presence, much like during the pilot Safe Routes to School programs in 2005-2008. At that time, BikeTexas had local staff in Amarillo, Lubbock, Fort Worth, and Wichita Falls. We'll have local staff in Brownsville as part of this project and work on a local level once again. We believe this partnership in Brownsville can be a model for how BikeTexas can be directly involved in local efforts in other areas around the state.
We are also happy to report that the BikeTexas College Active Transportation Safety (CATS) program has been awarded a Traffic Safety grant from TxDOT for the 2013-2014 school year! This program teaches college students across Texas about bike laws and safe practices while riding or walking. Many students return to riding a bike for the first time in years when they start college, so the CATS program is there to make the transition to active transportation easier!
In 2012, the CATS pilot program reached over 3000 students at seven universities across Texas. With this new grant, BikeTexas plans to expand to seven additional universities to make sure even more young adults in Texas have the tools they need to ride and walk with safety and confidence.
