Stephanie Jim also contributed to this post.

Two Transform staff members, Program Director Stephanie Jim and Program Manager Sheila Islam, were among the over 400 Safe Routes to School practitioners, transportation professionals, safety advocates, and community development leaders who attended the 2024 Safe Routes National Conference in Fort Collins, Colorado, from October 22 to 24. 

This year was the first in-person Safe Routes Conference since 2019, and there was a lot to celebrate. The conference organizers made sure to infuse joy throughout the time attendees spent together. There was a palpable sense of positivity, from the conference theme of Safe, Healthy, and JOYful: The Possibilities of our Movement, to the reception held at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, to the invitation to partake in whimsical activities, such as the challenge to find tiny plastic ducks hidden all over the conference building. 

Celebrating Transform’s work

Jim and Islam represented Transform on three different panels. They shared Transform’s expertise on Mobility Hubs and different ways we engage with school champions to help inform Safe Routes programming. 

On Day 1, Jim presented alongside Juan Castillo and Leann Leon from Ecology Action and Deirdre Conroy from Minnesota Safe Routes to Schools on equity-driven program design and implementation. She talked about ways in which we support Champion efforts in Oakland and Hayward. 

On Day 2, Jim sat on a panel alongside other partners on the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Program and focused the conversation on how this program was able to scale up from two to 300 schools. She brought up the critical role that site coordination plays in relationship building and ensuring buy-in from school communities. 

Islam, along with Daisy Ramos-Garcia and Victoria Partida from Santa Clara Public Health Department, ended the three-day conference on a high note by sharing community engagement strategies to deliver transportation options that are responsive to community needs. She highlighted best practices and lessons learned from the Mobility Hubs program, including how Transform was able to develop what has now become a recognized best practice in conducting community assessments.

Time for reflection and inspiration

The conference allowed for a pause in the daily work of bringing green transportation options to communities in the Bay Area. Being immersed in nationwide Safe Routes efforts and stepping aside from the day-to-day work was a way to reground and gain new perspectives. 

Being immersed among like-minded professionals who share Transform’s goals of building healthier communities through active and shared transportation provided valuable insights. It also offered inspiration, with exciting speakers bringing innovative ideas to attendees.

Wes Marshall, PhD, PE, shared what his experience as a civil engineer has taught him and findings from his book Killed by a Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies Our Transportation System. He presented what civil servants can do to increase community safety and how they are failing the communities they serve. 

On the second day, Dr. Gail C. Christopher shared her approach to racial healing. By using the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation framework, she described ways to confront the systemic racism that persists in communities and find healing through relationship building and fortifying the collective power that exists within each community. 

On the third and final day, Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving Is Not an Option, spoke about what we can do to make our communities more welcoming and comfortable for the many people who must choose alternatives to driving, either because of age, immigration status, or disability.

In addition to the great speakers who shared their expertise on various issues that affect how we get around, conference attendees also got inspiration from Fort Collins’s overall dedication to promoting active and shared transportation. 

Fort Collins has free public transit, including a Rapid Transit bus line that, in portions of its route, runs on a separate, closed-off lane like a train. There are robust shared trails where bicyclists can get around town and rarely have to interact with cars.

While on the bus to old town Fort Collins, our intrepid Transformers came across city council members joining conference attendees to paint street murals the city council had approved ahead of the conference. The murals beautify their community and improve safety by highlighting intersections commonly used by students going to and from school. The city collaborated in planning for the conference and greenlit the street mural projects 

These experiences and the many wonderful speakers reminded us of what we do well every day and gave us new ideas to enhance our work going forward. The conference showed the power of community and collaboration to drive change, and we forged new relationships that will enrich our efforts. 

‘