WELCOME TO

Spare the Air Youth

We collaborate with organizations around the San Francisco Bay Area to encourage youth and their families to walk, bicycle, carpool, and take transit.

Shaping the Future of the Bay Area

Thank you to the students who submitted videos for the Plan Bay Area 2050 Video Challenge! We couldn’t be more impressed with how thoughtful and insightful each submission was. Visit the Youth Video Challenge page to find out more and watch the videos

Youth Video Challenge

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Regional Working Groups High School Engagement

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Bay Area Safe Routes to School Programs Technical Advisory Committee

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Resources Blog

Growing the Movement

GRASSROOTS ORIGINS

The Spare the Air Youth program builds on the long history of Safe Routes to School in the Bay Area. Safe Routes to School arose as local communities started some of the first programs in the nation.

* Click on your county to see a summary of local Safe Routes to School programs

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EARLY ADOPTION AND LEADERSHIP IN MARIN COUNTY

Deb Hubsmith helped begin one of the nation's first Safe Routes programs in Marin County, advocated for federal funding for SRTS, and founded the SRTS Partnership in 2005. She was instrumental in securing dedicated SRTS and active transportation funding in the California Statewide Active Transportation Program.

A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT IN ALAMEDA COUNTY

Alameda County’s Safe Routes to School program began as a grant-funded pilot program at two schools in Oakland. In 2007, the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (now Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC)) authorized county transportation sales-tax funding to expand the program. After nearly 14 years of continuous funding from Alameda CTC, the program grew from the bottom-up and now serves over 250 schools with robust programming.

The Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Program reaches over 60% of K-12 schools countywide — that’s over 172,000 students and their families!

ONGOING MTC COMMITMENT

Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the transportation planning and financing agency for the Bay Area, funds Safe Routes to School programs region-wide through their Climate Initiative Program. MTC currently funds school programs in all nine Bay Area counties. Local jurisdictions have also stepped up to provide funding matches and SRTS program management.

All

9 bay area
counties

have active Safe Routes to School Programs, and many cities have their own programs.

HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES

As a result of regional Safe Routes to School efforts, more students and families are walking, biking, carpooling, and taking transit.

HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES

As a result of regional Safe Routes to School efforts, more students and families are walking, biking, carpooling, and taking transit.

HIGH SCHOOL
ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM

Spare the Air Youth encourages youth leadership through the YES Conference and High School Grant Program.

Spare the Air Youth
Community Involvement

PARTNERSHIPS

The Spare the Air Youth Technical Advisory Committee brings together program implementers from each of the nine counties to share information and resources and shape the direction of STAY.

[Group of people constructing collages at a table]

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE