COMMUNITY ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT
ENACT STRATEGY: Safe Routes to School
Institute a Safe Routes to School Program to improve safety and promote walking and biking to school
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) creates protected, structured opportunities for children to walk and bike to school. With safer community and traffic environments, children and youth are more likely to engage in daily physical activity, thereby reducing the risk of a wide range of adverse health outcomes. SRTS brings together parent and community groups, school and local officials, traffic engineers and city planners, and law enforcement agencies, with the shared goal of making walking and biking to school a safe and realistic option for all American communities—urban, suburban, and rural. Started originally in New York, in 2005 Safe Routes to School became a national program administered and paid for by the federal government. Funding is currently allocated through 2009, but a movement is already underway to promote the program’s reauthorization and expansion. All states receive at least $1 million per year, and are each required to have an SRTS coordinator. Click on this interactive map to find out more about your state’s program.
Characteristics of a Safe Routes to School Program
- Designated bike lanes and bike paths
- Well-maintained curbs and sidewalks for pedestrians
- Safe street crossings for pedestrians and bikers
- Visible traffic signs and markings
- Enforcement of traffic safety measures, such as speed limits and stop signs
- Traffic calming techniques
- “Neighborhood watch“ programs
Safe Routes to School Talking Points
This outlines key information about the what, why, and how of Safe Routes to Schools.
Boston, MA: WalkBoston Safe Routes to School Program
WalkBoston created the first program in New England to promote walking and biking to school, and the results have been impressive. One participating elementary school saw an increase in the number of families walking to school from 38% to 56 % after implementing the Safe Routes Program.
Marin County, CA: Marin Safe Routes to School is a national model program. The program's comprehensive website includes background information, tools, and resources to help you implement a successful Safe Routes to School program in your community.
Oakland, CA: The Oakland Pedestrian Safety Project
This is a multi-faceted project, within which Safe Routes to School plays an important part. Here, you can see how Safe Routes to School can fit into a broader city revitalization project. Also available are organizer, teacher and parent toolkits—with resources in various languages.
Chicago, IL: Safe Routes to School Case Study
Logan Square is a vibrant Chicago neighborhood that has unfortunately experienced elevated rates of gang violence and drug activity. This case study describes the Logan Square Safe Routes to School program, which in its first year served 70 children, with 11 captains and 10 routes.
Safe Routes to School: Improves the Built Environment
This CDC publication describes the national Safe Routes to School program, and then provides detailed case studies from diverse American communities. It concludes with an analysis of state and local successes and challenges, and makes recommendations for future improvement
How to Start Your Own Walk-to-School-Bike-to-School-Traffic-Reduction-and-Safety Program
This comprehensive toolkit, put together by WalkBoston, provides step-by-step guidance for creating a Safe Routes to School program. In addition, the toolkit includes checklists and surveys to assess local strengths and needs, safety training materials, and classroom activities.
Addressing the Needs of Low-Income Communities: Best Practices from and for State …
This website, prepared by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, is intended for local and state governments. It outlines best practices already used by several states to ensure equitable Safe Routes to School implementation in low-income communities.
Diverse Community Roundtable Meeting Notes
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership hosted a series of roundtable discussions on implementing Safe Routes to School in diverse communities.
A “walking school bus” provides children with a safe and fun way to get to and from school. A “walking school bus” can be customized to meet a community’s specific needs.
www.WalkingInfo.org and www.BikingInfo.org
These websites provide various helpful tools, including walkability and bikeability assessment tools, health and safety information, and funding and policy resources.
- Walkability Checklist (PDF): This tool guides community members in taking a walk around their neighborhood, with the goal of identifying local strengths and areas for improvement.
- Bikeability Checklist (PDF): This tool guides community members in taking a walk around their neighborhood, with the goal of identifying local strengths and areas for improvement.
Safe Routes to School: 2009 Policy Report
This comprehensive report outlines the history of the Safe Routes to School program, provides an overview of current challenges and opportunities, and then describes several key policy areas essential for building a supportive environment for Safe Routes to School. These include: siting schools in neighborhoods; building complete streets; addressing school bus cut routes; connecting to school health and wellness initiatives; and using safety funds to protect children.
Oakland, CA: Safe Walking Plan
This City Plan established a Pedestrian Route Network to connect schools, libraries, parks, neighborhoods, and commercial districts and help to ensure that Oakland is a safe, convenient and attractive place to walk.
Ferguson, MO: Complete Streets Ordinance
This ordinance mandates that all new roadways strive to accommodate all users, including bicyclists and pedestrians. It defines “complete streets” as a series of connected roadways open to all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and mass transit, as people of all ages and ability levels.”
Montgomery County, Maryland: Bicycle and Pedestrian Impact Statements
This act amends county code to require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to examine the impact new construction projects will have on bicyclists and pedestrians.
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
This is a network of non-profit organizations, government agencies, schools, and professionals working to advance the Safe Routes to School movement in the United States.
National Center for Safe Routes to School
The National Center for Safe Routes to School assists communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bike to school. The Center strives to equip Safe Routes to School programs with the knowledge and technical information to implement safe and successful strategies. The National Center for Safe Routes to School is maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the federal government.
National Center for Bicycling & Walking
The aim of the NCBW's program is to change the way communities are planned, designed and managed to ensure that people of all ages and abilities can walk and bike easily, safely and regularly. The National Center for Bicycling and Walking believes that the changes needed to make communities more physically active places will be achieved only through sustained action at the local level – in each community – demanded by the public and supported by positive national, state, and local policies and programs.
CDC Report: Investment in Safe Routes to School Projects (PDF)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that shows that investment in Safe Routes to Schools programs has great potential to increase physical activity among adults and children in urban areas.
Watson M, Dannenberg AL. Investment in Safe Routes to School projects: public health benefits for the larger community. Prev Chronic Dis 2008;5(3), A90.
A Report on the First Three Years of the National Safe Routes to School Program
This report was put together by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. This document reports on the first three years of this Program — what communities are accomplishing, where the Program is today and where it can take this country in the future.
Walkability and Safety Around Elementary Schools: Economic and Ethnic Disparities
This study focused on 73 public elementary schools in Austin, Texas. It found that economic and ethnic disparities exist in the environmental support for walking, suggesting the need for tailored interventions in promoting active living.
Xuemei, Z., Arch, B., & Lee, C. (2008). Walkability and Safety Around Elementary Schools: Economic and Ethnic Disparities. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 34(4), 282-290.
