Safe Routes to School
Communities Putting Prevention
to Work - 2010
Deb Hubsmith, Margo Pedroso and Wendi Kallins
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
www.saferoutespartnership.org
Credits
Thanks to those who provided images, slides and
information for this presentation:
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Active Transportation Alliance: http://www.activetrans.org/
Champaign-Urbana, IL
Decatur, GA
Feet First: http://feetfirst.info/
Flagstaff AZ
Martinsburg WV
Marin County Bicycle Coalition www.saferoutestoschools.org
National Center for Safe Routes to School www.saferoutesinfo.org
New York City DOT http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot
Public Health Solutions: http://www.healthsolutions.org/
TransForm: http://transformca.org/
Safe Routes to School
Programs and Policies
 Encourage physical
activity and make
walking and bicycling
safe ways to get to
school
 Create cooperation
with cities/counties
and school districts
to make policy
changes and
improvements to the
built environment
Fewer children are walking and
bicycling today
Walk and Bike
 1969, 48% (88% within 1 mile)
 2009,13% (38% within 1 mile)
More Parents are Driving
Parents driving their children to school
can account for 20%-25% of morning
rush hour traffic.
(Parisi Associates; Melbourne Department of Infrastructure)
The consequences of this…
…instead of this can be
alarming.
Health Consequences
Today’s children
may be the first
generation to
have a shorter life
expectancy than
their parents
Daily Physical Activity
Facilitating
safe walking
and bicycling
to school is
an ideal
strategy to
increase
physical
activity
Benefits to Health
 Students who walk 1 mile to
and from school get two-thirds
of recommended levels of
physical activity
 Children who walk to school are
more physically active throughout the day
 Physically active children tend to have better
academic achievement, enhanced
concentration, better classroom behavior
Federal Safe Routes to School
program
 $800 million to States
2005-2010
 Funds infrastructure
projects and noninfrastructure activities
 Requires State SRTS
Coordinators
 More than 6500 schools
are currently being
served
Safe Routes to School
National Partnership
 Founded in 2005
 500 organizations, agencies
and schools
 Changes policies at national,
state and local levels
 Provides best practices,
technical assistance, and
builds leadership
www.saferoutespartnership.org
2010 Federal Obesity Task Force
SRTS Recommendations
 Sustaining the federal Safe Routes to School
program;
 Increasing opportunities to participate in Safe
Routes to School;
 Reducing the administrative burden for managing a
Safe Routes to School grant;
 Expanding the program to include high schools; and
 Improving data collection and measurements of the
impact of Safe Routes to School.
SRTS Addresses Challenges
and Health Equity
Distance to School
Traffic Safety
Fear of Liability
Stranger Danger
Personal Safety and Crime
School Policies
Levels of SRTS
Community Wide Task Force:
Coordinates overall efforts. Focuses on
funding revenues, policy change,
infrastructure, city staffing, community
wide education, and media campaigns.
This is the focus of the CPPW project.
School Teams: Every School is unique
and needs its own team. Focuses on
programs, policies and projects in the
neighborhood and at the school.
Jurisdiction-Wide Reach is
Critical for Policy Change
It’s important to staff your SRTS
policy change work. Provide staff
at the macro level (city/county
and school district). Staff will:
 Target Policies to Change
 Provide Training for Locals
 Coordinate City/School District
Resources and Facilitate
Cooperation
 Find Long Term Funding
 Develop Plans for Continuity
Develop Your Task Force for Policy Change
at the School District and/or City Level
Buy-in and involvement of a range of
partners is critical:
 The Mayor and/or Board of Supervisors
 City manager
 City public works/engineering
 Region’s MPO (coordinates transportation funding)
 Local health and police departments
 School district superintendent, transportation officials,
principals and personnel such as school nurses and PE teachers
 Community organizations, local businesses and advocates
 Parents and students
For a very large region including multiple counties and cities, you may need
several task forces and one macro-organizing entity to bring them all together
on issues related to funding and regional policy.
How Do I “Sell” SRTS to Partners?
Tailor the Message to your Audience
School Officials
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Research links physical activity to better classroom behavior
and performance.
Eliminating 1 bus route saves approx. $37,000 per year—
but can worsen congestion and safety without SRTS.
SRTS can increase walking/bicycling from 20 to 200%, reducing parent
drop-offs and congestion.
How Do I “Sell” SRTS to Partners?
Tailor the Message to your Audience
Traffic Engineers
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Increases Funding for needed
improvements
Collaborative Process can improve public
relations
Elected Officials
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20-25% of morning traffic can be parents
driving children to school
Parent vehicles account for half of school
trips between ¼ and ½ mile
Law Enforcement
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Promotes traffic safety for drivers,
pedestrians and bicyclists
The Five “Es” of a SRTS Program
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Evaluation
Education
Encouragement
Engineering
Enforcement
Use your CPPW grant to
develop jurisdiction-wide
policies to advance physical
activity and safety on the
routes to school.
Evaluation
What are the barriers to walking/bicycling?
Is the program making a difference?
Education
 Develop policies to
advance bicycle and
pedestrian curriculum
and safety programs
district-wide.
 Teach safety skills
 Create safety and
health awareness
 Include parents,
neighbors and
other drivers
Encouragement
 Advance policies through
participation in events
 Emphasize the fun of walking
and bicycling
 Hold events like Walk and
Bike to School Days
 Organize Walking School
Buses and Bike Trains
 Create Contests
Engineering
 Use policies to develop
ongoing funding sources,
zoning requirements and
complete streets policies
to improve the built
environment
 Short Term:
Signage
Striping
Visibility
 Long Term:
Sidewalks and Paths
Intersections
Speed Control
Enforcement
 Create Policies that
Support Police
Enforcement Around
School Zones
 Develop Crossing
Guard Policies
 Create Traffic Safety
Campaigns
 Enhance personal
safety
Policy Initiatives: Health
 Health & Transportation Policies (CDC
recommendations)
 Support laws and policies that:
 Reduce injuries (such as distracted driver laws)
 Improve air quality
 Encourage healthy community design
 Design to minimize adverse health and safety
consequence
 Require research and surveillance
 Support professional development and job
creation
Policy Initiatives: Schools
 School Policies
Wellness
Safety Education
Drop off/Pick up
Bicycling Policies
Promoting Active
Transportation
 Crossing Guards
 School Siting
 Joint Use
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Policy Initiatives:
City/County
 City/County Policies
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Bike/Ped Master Plan and General Plans
Complete Streets
Non-motorized transportation goals in plans
Ongoing law enforcement
Lower speed limits around schools
Crossing Guards
Double fine zones to raise $
Dedicated revenue sources for SRTS
Bicycle and pedestrian counts
Policy Initiatives: State
 State Policies: 20 States have Networks
 Ensure quality implementation of SRTS in the
state and equity in the distribution of funding
 Support neighborhood schools through school
siting and joint use policies
 Complete Streets
 Use Federal Safety Funding for walk/bike
 Direct funds from speeding in school zones
to safety and SRTS initiatives
 Connect to wellness efforts
 Encourage collaboration among agencies
Policy Examples
For CPPW Implementation of
Safe Routes to School
Evaluation
Assess the Current Situation
Jurisdiction-Wide through School
Board Policy
Student Tallies
– Your Baseline (conduct
twice each year)
Parent Surveys
– Attitudes and barriers
Walk Audit
- Identify trouble spots; engage city officials
Face to Face Communications
– Community Concerns and Assets
Funding: Regional
Transportation Plans (RTP)
The RTP is the guiding document for transportation spending
in regions by regional government agencies such as
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).
Transportation 2035 Plan – San Francisco Bay Area
 A Billion for Bikes (over 25 years)
 Climate Initiative – SRTS ($17 million over first three years)
 Complete Streets check list for all federally funded projects
Regional Network Project - SRTS National Partnership
 Atlanta, DC, Southern California
 Build a coalition of stakeholder agencies, organizations
 Work to influence the RTP to secure SRTS and related bike/ped
funding, and complete streets policies
Find out when and how your RTP is reviewed,
and get involved! You could secure ongoing SRTS funding.
Funding: Transportation
Sales Tax
 Transportation sales
taxes can generate funds
for community-wide
SRTS programs and
projects
 Usually done through a
County transportation
authority
 Sustainable source of
revenue
 Requires local political
and community support
for SRTS – children’s
safety polls high
Example: Sales Tax
 Alameda County, CA
 Transportation Sales Tax funding
for 20 years
 Involves more than 50 schools
 Partnership with TransForm (nonprofit), County Health Department,
and County Transportation
Authority
 Organizes Task Forces
 Provides Engineering support
 Coordinates Volunteer support
 Provides Materials
 Walking School Bus
program
 Curriculum and Teacher
Training
 Assemblies
Funding: Fine Based and
Traffic Calming
Reduces traffic
speeds in
neighborhoods, and
increases safety for
walking/bicycling
Generates funds to
use for SRTS
programs and
projects
Examples: Fine Based
 Portland - Fine increase for
moving violations funds
SRTS
 State judicial regulation
change, then Portland City
Council approval
 Nearly $1M per year for
Community and School
Traffic Safety Partnership
 SRTS program receives half
of these funds each year
 Up to 75 schools served
 Engineering led by City,
other E’s led by nonprofit
groups
 Washington state and
Arizona have laws allowing
double fines in school zones
 Usually local municipalities
have to opt-in
 Funds go into a separate
account, SRTS receives
portion of funds
 Check with your local DOT
traffic safety department, or
state attorney general to
learn how to establish
a program
Zoning
Zoning changes can encourage walking and bicycling and can
be accomplished through ordinances or the general plan
20-minute walk
Local policy can be based on the concept that residents
should be able to get to schools, retail, transit and jobs within a 20minute walk
Collaborate with Schools
Cities and Counties can pass policies around collaboration
with schools on school siting to encourage community centered
schools that support walking and bicycling
Developer requirements
Require developers to install sidewalks, bike lanes and
crosswalks as part of developments, and connections
to area schools
School Siting
 Neighborhood schools are close to where kids live, making walking and
bicycling possible
 Community-centered schools should be policy of school board and
state
 Local governments and residents should be part of school siting
decisions
 Joint-use can be a good way to promote schools as center of
community
 Manitowoc, Wisconsin - New School on a Small Site
 Community chose to build new on old site instead of mega school
faraway
 Quotes: “Stunningly beautiful building” and “People love this school”
 Mesa, Arizona - New School in Inner City
 Large inner city population
 City had no available property for new elementary school
 Grocery store building used for new school
 Strip mall converted to alternative school
Bicycle/Pedestrian
Master Plans
 Communities - cities, states and regions - should have a
plan
 Plan development should include input from residents
and community groups
 Plan development should include walk-abouts around
schools to identify infrastructure needs
 Plan should be incorporated into the General/
Comprehensive plan
 General Plan should incorporate the bike/ped plan by
reference and include goals such as 20% of trips made
by walking/bicycling by the year 2020, all schools will be
community centered where children can walk and
bicycle, and complete streets policies
Plan Examples
 Seattle, Washington
 Plan goal is to make
Seattle the most bikefriendly city in the nation,
 Plan is incorporated into
Seattle Comprehensive
Plan
 During the past two years,
SDOT has extended the
network of bicycle routes,
lanes and trails, and
improved bicycle safety.
 Long Beach, California
 Updating the City’s General Plan
with active living policies and
programs and amending the
City’s Bicycle Master Plan
 Department of Public WorksTraffic and Transportation
Bureau and Department of
Development Services, City
Planner and Health Department
collaborate
 Using funds from regional
government, SRTS state
program and City
resources
Health Impact
Assessments
 Health Impact Assessment
(HIA)
 New concept in US, but
successful in other industrial
nations for three decades
 Creates a blueprint for
minimizing negative health
impacts and maximizing health
benefits
 Can help to guide local policies
and improve walkability and
bikeability of community
 Can lead to zoning,
development, funding, school
siting and other changes
 Decatur, Georgia
 Supportive city alderman
partnered with city planner
 HIA was conducted to influence
community transportation plan
 HIA became powerful tool for
promoting active community
concepts
 Led to policy, development and
funding changes that have
improved walkability and
bikeability
Curriculum: Traffic Safety
 Work with School Districts to
create policies
 Match curriculum with state
education standards for
additional school/teacher buyin
 Traffic safety lessons improve
safety and encourage walking
and bicycling
 Community-wide curriculum
can help promote SRTS and
ensure quality
 Partner with local content
experts and law enforcement
Curriculum Examples
 Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
 Funding from CPPW
 City partnered with
Philadelphia Bicycle
Coalition
 All 174 elementary
schools will receive traffic
safety lessons
 Portland, Oregon
 Funding from traffic fines
 City partnered with
bicycle, pedestrian,
medical and safety
groups
 Each year 25
participating SRTS
elementary schools
receive bicycle,
pedestrian and safety
lessons
Law Enforcement
Work with the City or County and School District to create
policies to direct the efforts of law enforcement to assist
children traveling to and from schools.
 School Resource Officers/Community Policing
 Get SRO’s to participate in walkabouts, school team meetings,
community task force
 They are experts on local traffic issues, behaviors and can connect
SRTS to police resources
 Graffiti abatement, stray dogs, abandoned houses
 These issue can prohibit SRTS
 Work with local advocates and police if these are present in your
community
Engineering and Enforcement
High speeds increase injuries: create policies to reduce
speeds in school zones
Remove Traffic Dangers
New York City Policy on
Use of Federal SRTS
funding
 DOT examined crash
history
 135 priority schools
analyzed for safety
improvements
 100% of short term
engineering
improvements have been
completed
You Can Do It!
• Safe Route to School programs are
increasing physical activity and safety
• Safe Routes to School serves as a
catalyst for other policy changes and
improvements to the built environment
• Safe Routes to School is popular and you
can leverage additional resources for
implementation
For More Information
www.saferoutespartnership.org
for additional resources and to
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Discussion Questions
• Any questions about the content we’ve
covered today?
• As you think about your plans for Safe
Routes to School, do you see an
alignment with the policy changes we’ve
discussed today?
• What might you think about doing
differently after our discussion today?
• Which of the policy issues we’ve
discussed today seem the most
workable for your community?