James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award
Applications are now being accepted for the 2008 James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award. The deadline for applications is 5:00 pm Eastern time, Wednesday, October 22, 2008. Application extension.
The Oberstar Award recognizes Safe Routes to School Programs for outstanding achievement in improving the health and well-being of an entire generation of school children. The Oberstar Award is given annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School to an exemplary SRTS Program in the United States.
This year, the Oberstar Award will recognize the impact that the Federal Safe Routes to School program has had at the local level. The award specifically will recognize outstanding achievement by a school or community in establishing a Safe Routes to School program that has benefited from Federal funding.
Background
The Award is named for Congressman and current Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee James Oberstar to honor his dedication to America's school children. During his 34 years as a member of Congress, he has shaped the nation's surface transportation policies to support and encourage walking and bicycling as important alternatives to motorized transportation. As a champion of the SRTS program, Chairman Oberstar built bipartisan support to secure its inclusion in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). SAFETEA-LU is a major Federal transportation bill which was signed into law in 2005. The law included $612 million over five years for the 50 States and District of Columbia for SRTS Programs. These Federal funds are administered by each State's Department of Transportation.
2008 Award Eligibility Criteria
This year's Oberstar Award will go to a school or community that is receiving Federal SRTS funds from a State Department of Transportation (DOT) to support their Safe Routes to School program efforts.
Eligible schools or communities have:
- Started SRTS programs since the passage of the SAFETEA-LU legislation in August, 2005; and
- Been selected by their State DOT SRTS Program to receive Federal funds.
Applications can be submitted by individuals or organizations such as schools, local SRTS programs, community organizations, State SRTS Coordinators, SRTS advocates, State Departments of Transportation, Governor's Highway Safety Offices, FHWA Division representatives, and NHTSA Regional Offices.
The deadline for applications is 5:00 pm Eastern time, Wednesday, October 22, 2008. Application extension.
Applications should be sent to the National Center for Safe Routes to School. The deadline for applications is 5:00 pm Eastern time, Wednesday, October 22, 2008. Receipt of application will be acknowledged within one business day. Applications should be submitted in one of the following ways:
- Submit by email to info@saferoutesinfo.org
- Submit by fax to 919 962-8710.
- Submit by mail to:
National Center for Safe Routes to School
730 M L King Jr Blvd
Suite 300, Campus Box 3430
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3430
Applications for the award will be reviewed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School as well as an Award Committee. The winner of the Award will be announced December 3, 2008, with the presentation of the Award to occur at a date and venue to be determined.
Download the 2008 Oberstar Award Application (PDF, 351 KB)
Frequently Asked Questions
I didn't see funding award amount on the announcement or # of awards anticipated.
The Oberstar Award is an award of recognition and is not monetary. There will be a press conference and an official presentation of the award itself by Chairman Oberstar, either in person or via video or teleconference.
If your funding question refers to a specific amount of funding that a program must have been awarded in order to be eligible to apply, there are no dollar-amount requirements. The Federal funding that a program has received should play an important role in the success of the program.
Regarding the number of awards anticipated, the National Center for Safe Routes to School recognizes that there may be several deserving communities. With this in mind, we are leaving the number of awards open and will defer to the Selection Committee.
In 2007 our community received funds through STIPDA [State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association] for SRTS projects. Later we worked with our school district so that they secured DOT funds in 2008. Would we be eligible to apply?
The Federal funds must be associated with the Federal Safe Routes to School program administered by FHWA, so the STIPDA funds — which originate from NHTSA — would not make your program eligible. However, if your program can show results from the DOT funds, it would be eligible.
Also, if an unofficial DOT SRTS funding award excited a community enough so that it invested local funds for complimentary projects in anticipation of the state-awarded Federal SRTS funds, that program could be eligible for the Oberstar Award. The state DOT SRTS funds must have been officially awarded to the community before 9/17/2008, and the applicant would have to clearly demonstrate that the Federal funds were the catalyst for the SRTS program's successes.
2007 Oberstar Award
Last year, the award recognized outstanding achievement by a State Department of Transportation in establishing its SRTS program. The Michigan Department of Transportation received the Oberstar Award for 2007. Among Michigan's accomplishments were the development of a handbook for schools and the establishment of training and technical assistance for schools completing the planning process.
Michigan Department of Transportation receives James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award (PDF, 31KB)
