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National Center for Safe Routes to School

SRTS Resource Guide

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State Coordinators by State

Resource Directory

NEWS

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL FUNDING FLOWS

ATSSA staff monitoring the Safe Routes to School Program created by the SAFETEA-LU legislation report that funding is beginning to “hit the street.” Early program commitments were for educational programs and community support. Infrastructure programs are now underway. As an example, according to a recent report “Infrastructure improvements around Otay and Rice Elementary (CA) will occur within one-quarter mile buffer zones of the school. The improvements will include an offset median, curb extensions, setback limit lines, enhanced striping, prominent crosswalk zebra striping, pedestrian ramps compliant with the American with Disabilities Act and non-slip sidewalk grating. Crosswalk enhancements, the addition of flashing yellow beacons and school warning signs will reduce potential driver and pedestrian conflicts.” You can find the name and contact information of your state SRTS coordinator here.

Michigan wins first annual James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award

Additional Links

MUTCD Part 7
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is incorporated by reference in 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 655, Subpart F and shall be recognized as the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, or bicycle trail open to public travel in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 109(d) and 402(a). The policies and procedures of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to obtain basic uniformity of traffic control devices shall be as described in 23 CFR 655, Subpart F.

Federal Safe Routes to School Programs

State Safe Routes to School Programs

Local Safe Routes to School Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What are Safe Routes to School Programs?
  • What type of activities are typically part of SRTS programs?
  • How can I start a Safe Routes to School Program in my community?
  • Does my state have a Safe Routes to School program? How do I contact my state SRTS coordinator?
  • Is training available for Safe Routes to School?
  • Where can I find funds to build new sidewalks or bicycle lanes in my community?
  • What is the new federal Safe Routes to School legislation?
  • How do I conduct a bicycle safety rodeo?
  • How did the Safe Routes to School concept start?

What are Safe Routes to School Programs?

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs are sustained efforts by parents, other community members, community leaders and local, state, and federal governments to improve the health and well-being of children by enabling and encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school. SRTS programs examine conditions around schools and facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that improve safety and reduce traffic and air pollution in the vicinity of schools. As a result, these programs make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative thus encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age.

What type of activities are typically part of SRTS programs?

Successful SRTS programs may include policy development, planning and implementation of strategies such as improvements to streets and sidewalks, education and encouragement of children and parents, and increased enforcement of traffic laws. Programs can include:

  • Walkability and bikeability audits of the safety of streets around schools
  • Local programs to improve sidewalk conditions near schools
  • Use of traffic calming devices to slow traffic and give pedestrians priority
  • Programs that educate children on walking and biking safely, and challenge them to walk or bike often
  • "Walking school buses" in which one or two parents or volunteers escort a group of children on the walk to school
  • Increased traffic enforcement around schools
  • School construction that includes renovation and improvement of existing schools, and locating new schools to reduce walking hazards and avoid major traffic threats
  • Cooperation between school officials, law enforcement officials, and transportation planners.

How can I start a Safe Routes to School Program in my community?

The National Center for Safe Routes to School has developed a seven-step basic approach to starting a Safe Routes to School Program for communities. That brief guide is available on our Getting Started page. With funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PBIC is also developing an extensive online resource guide to help communities start and operate a Safe Routes to Program – that resource guide will be available on this website in early October.

The basic steps described in the “Getting Started” guide are:

  1. Bring together the right people
  2. Hold a kick-off meeting and set a vision
  3. Gather information and identify issues
  4. Identify solutions
  5. Make a plan
  6. Get the plan and people moving
  7. Evaluate, adjust and keep going

NHTSA also developed a Safe Routes to School Toolkit in 2002. It can be accessed at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/Safe-Routes-2002/.

Does my state have a Safe Routes to School program? How do I contact my state SRTS coordinator?

The new federal Safe Routes to School legislation requires each state and the District of Columbia to have a full time SRTS Coordinator to serve as a central point of contact for the state. Please visit the State Contacts page for a complete list of State Safe Routes to School Coordinators.

If a program in your state is not listed, try contacting your state Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator to see if they have any information. A list of all state Ped-Bike Coordinators and their contact information is available here.

Although there is still no official way to track all Safe Routes to School programs in the states, we have also attempted to compile a fairly comprehensive list of state programs.

Is training available for Safe Routes to School?

A number of organizations and agencies conduct training for Safe Routes to School. A first consideration is determining what type of training is appropriate. Training programs exist or are under development for most typical training needs including (but not limited to):

  • Helping a community start a program
  • Identifying and solving the problems around a particular school
  • Training state or local traffic engineers about safe routes to school programs
  • Training local and state Safe Routes to School Coordinators
  • Presenting a SRTS Concept Overview to community or state leaders, or at state and national meetings or conferences

Some leading training programs include:

Safe Routes to School National Course – The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, with support and funding from the USDOT, CDC, and EPA, developed the Safe Routes to School National Course. The course is intended for audiences at national, state, and local levels, and can be presented as a comprehensive overview of SRTS issues and programs, or used to identify and solve problems in a community or at a school. More information is available at http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/training/national_course/index.cfm

Walkable Community Workshops – The National Center for Bicycling and Walking teaches Walkable Community Workshops that build alliances among elected officials, agencies, and citizen leaders to create safer and more welcoming accommodations for pedestrians. They can include discussions of Safe Routes to School activities at the community’s request. More information is available at http://www.bikewalk.org/WCW/index.htm

Safe Routes to School Training – Leaders of the Marin County, California SRTS program offer training workshops that join school officials, transportation professionals, law enforcement officers, advocates and parents at a one (or two) day workshop that provides a clear blueprint for how to develop a successful SRTS program for your community. More information is available at http://www.saferoutestoschools.org/Programs/Workshops.htm.

Also, many members of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP, www.apbp.org) provide SRTS-related training and support to communities.

If you have additional questions about training, feel free to contact Nancy Pullen at 919-962-7419 or pullen@hsrc.unc.edu.

Where can I find funds to build new sidewalks or bicycle lanes in my community?

Most Safe Routes to School projects rely on a mixture of local, state, and federal funding. In general, infrastructure funds (also called “capital” funds) are used to assess and make improvements to the walking and bicycling physical environment around schools. These include many activities such as installing sidewalks or crosswalks, fixing hazardous facilities, or slowing traffic near schools. Infrastructure funds almost always come from governmental sources, including many federal programs, but the decisions about how to use them are frequently made at the local level.

What is the new federal Safe Routes to School legislation?

In July 2005, Congress passed federal legislation that established a national Safe Routes to School program. The program, which was signed into law in August 2005, will dedicate a total of $612 million towards SRTS from 2005 to 2009. These funds will be distributed to states in proportion to the number of primary and secondary school students in the state, with no state receiving less than $1 million per year. SRTS funds can be used for both infrastructure projects and non-infrastructure activities. The legislation also requires each state to have a Safe Routes to School Coordinator to serve as a central point of contact for the state.

Specifically, the federal SRTS program provides funds that can be used for “Planning, design, and construction of infrastructure-related projects that will substantially improve the ability of students to walk and bicycle to school, on any public road or any bicycle or pedestrian pathway or trail within approximately 2 miles of a primary or middle school;” and “non infrastructure-related activities to encourage walking and bicycling to school, including public awareness campaigns and outreach to press and community leaders, traffic education and enforcement, student training, and funding for training, volunteers, and managers of SRTS programs.” The federal SRTS program allows state, regional, and local agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations, receive funds for SRTS activities. This type of agency will need to be the official applicant for any infrastructure funding requests. Matching funds are not necessary for activities using federal SRTS funds.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It may still take six to twelve months from the enactment of the legislation for federal SRTS funds to actually become available to local SRTS programs. First the Federal Highway Administration will need to develop regulations and guidance for distributing the funds. Each state also needs to hire a state SRTS coordinator and establish a process for receiving applications and determining which projects will receive funding. Although some states already have SRTS programs, the process of merging these existing state programs with federal guidance and requirements may delay their activities.

How do I conduct a bicycle safety rodeo?

A good starting point for general bicycle safety education is the NHTSA “Be Smart. Bike Safe. – Bicycle Safety Guide for Parents, Teachers and Caregivers.” Although not specifically intended for bicycle rodeos, this packet of information includes a Parent Teacher Guide, Activity Books for children ages 4 to 7 and 8 to 11, and other games and materials including safety flash cards, memory games, and safety stickers. The guide also includes materials in Spanish. It can be ordered from the NHTSA Publication Distribution Center.

A good bicycle safety rodeo educates children about bicycle safety while they're having fun. A poorly-run rodeo merely provides a fun activity with no real education or learning of bicycle safety – even worse, a poorly run rodeo might provide incorrect or dangerous information. The basic goals of a bicycle safety rodeo are:

  • provide training to a large number of children in a brief period of time
  • educate children and parents about elementary bike safety
  • provide a basic understanding of the rules of the road for bicyclists
  • give trained personnel a chance to look over the equipment the kids are riding
  • involve parents, teachers, or a local civic organization in a worthwhile activity

But organizing a bicycle safety rodeo can also be a lot of work. Organizing a two-hour rodeo might take 15 to 20 hours. Volunteers are an important component of a successful bicycle safety rodeo: a typical bicycle safety rodeo might need 20 or more volunteers from schools, local bicycle shops, and parents. In addition to presenting a sound and safe education message, a bicycle safety rodeo requires arranging publicity and kid’s participation, volunteer orientation and training, and setup and cleanup.

The Active Living Resources website, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provide good information about Bicycle Safety Rodeos, including information on how to purchase two guides on conducting bicycle safety rodeos.

http://www.activelivingresources.org/simpleprojects.php

Finally, there are indications from recent research that the improved safety behavior that children learn at bicycle safety rodeos and similar events doesn’t last longer than a few months. For this reason, it is important that a sustained program that provides ongoing training and education be established. We would suggest that you consider following up the bicycle safety rodeo with some of the education activities contained in the NHTSA “Be Smart. Bike Safe” guide discussed above, so that the bicycle safety messages are reinforced over time.

In addition, just like walk to school days have been a stepping stone to Safe Routes to School programs, a bicycle safety rodeo can be the event that brings parents, educators, and other community leaders together to start a Safe Routes to School program.

How did the Safe Routes to School concept start?

Research on the safety of children walking and bicycling to school began in the U.S. in the early 1970s and was highlighted by release of the FHWA publication “School Trip Safety and Urban Play Areas” in 1975. The term “Safe Routes to School” was first used in Denmark in the late 1970s as part of a very successful initiative to reduce the number of children killed while walking and bicycling to school. Safe Routes to School spread internationally, with programs springing up in throughout Europe, in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

The first modern Safe Routes to School program in the U.S. began in 1997 in the Bronx, NY. In 1998, Congress funded two pilot SRTS programs through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA issued $50,000 each for Safe Routes to School pilot programs in Marin County, California and Arlington, Massachusetts. Within a year after the launch of the pilot programs, many other grassroots Safe Routes to School efforts were started throughout the United States.

As word spread in the pedestrian and bicyclist community of success with the NHTSA pilot programs, interest in a broader program grew. Lobbying efforts to include a larger SRTS program in federal legislation began in earnest in 2002. In 2003, the League of American Bicyclists organized the first meeting of leaders in pedestrian and bicycle issues to talk about SRTS issues and how a national program might work. At the same time, a number of states were developing their own SRTS programs, continuing to build momentum for the movement.

In July 2005, Congress passed federal legislation that established a national Safe Routes to School program. The program, which was signed into law in August 2005, will dedicate a total of $612 million towards SRTS from 2005 to 2009. These funds will be distributed to states based on student enrollment, with no state receiving less than $1 million per year. SRTS funds can be used for both infrastructure projects and non-infrastructure activities. The legislation also requires each state to have a Safe Routes to School Coordinator to serve as a central point of contact for the state.

With the new federal Safe Routes to School program, there will be a significant increase in funds and institutional support to implement SRTS programs in states and communities across the country. So a new chapter in the history of Safe Routes to School programs might soon be written as the benefits of communities and states establishing and advancing Safe Routes programs and issues are learned.

*FAQ information provided by the National SRTS Clearinghouse
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