Safe Routes to School

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a federal, state and local effort to enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school - and to make walking and bicycling to school safe and appealing.

Each participating school forms a local team consisting of school administrators, municipal officials, teachers, parents, student leaders, law enforcement officers and other interested community members. They work together to assess attitudes and behaviors of parents and students, analyze the physical environment leading to the school and research related policies. The teams then make recommendations and create an action plan.

Each school manages its own SRTS program. The school principal or other school administrator generally has the final word on program policy and implementation. However, a team member may be designated to lead the program and set goals and timelines.

According to a study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration, most of today’s parents walked or biked to elementary school when they were young. They explored their neighborhoods regularly on bike or on foot that offered them independence and resulted in self-assurance.

By contrast, children today are driven to nearly all of their activities and only 10 percent walk to school every day. There are several reasons for this sharp decline. The journey between home and school has become longer and more treacherous because of decades of auto-oriented suburbanization. This pattern has been compounded by the trend towards building new schools at a distance from residential areas.

In addition, parents the fear exposing their children to threats from strangers and motor vehicles. And finally, in many communities, sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, and trails are either missing or inadequate.

A successful Safe Routes to School program benefits children in several ways. When routes are safe, walking or biking to and from school is an easy way to get the regular physical activity children need for good health. Studies have shown that physically active kids have improved mood and concentration, a stronger self-image and more self-confidence. Physically active kids also have fewer chronic health problems and report lower levels of smoking and alcohol consumption.

It’s also fun! Research shows that walking or riding is children’s preferred method of getting to school. There’s so much to see, smell, touch, think, and talk about. By walking with friends, children will build relationships and learn more about their neighborhood, their friends, and themselves.

Safe Routes to School initiatives help the environment by easing traffic jams and curbing air pollution. Research has shown that 25 percent of morning traffic is parents driving their students to school. Fewer car trips also mean lower gasoline bills, a significant factor with today’s higher prices.

Yes! The Marin County, California, Safe Routes to School program (the first of its kind in the U.S.) reported a 64 percent increase in the number of students walking to school, a 114 percent increase in the number of children bicycling and a 39 percent decrease in the number of children arriving singly by private car.

Several schools in New Jersey have already made changes in their environments such as re-striping crosswalks, starting walking school buses (supervised group walks to and from school) and redesigning their dropoff and pickup points at school entrances.

Walking and biking to school can indeed be dangerous. One of the goals of a Safe Routes to School program is to identify potential hazards on the school grounds and adjacent neighborhoods and develop plans to address them. Even when routes to and from school are ostensibly safe, risks remain.

However, the current reliance on automobiles to transport children represents a different kind of risk: the long-term risks from a sedentary lifestyle. The portion of children who are overweight or obese has tripled in the last 25 years. Health experts are predicting that rates of diseases associated with physical inactivity, such as diabetes, will soar as the next generation comes of age.

The main barriers to walking and bicycling to school are community design, safety, time and convenience.

Many neighborhoods, especially new subdivisions, aren’t designed for the convenience of the pedestrian. They do not have sidewalks or safe crossings, or are too far from the school to walk or bicycle.

Neighborhoods that have high traffic volumes and speeds cause fear for children’s safety. In addition, perceptions of crime deter people from allowing their children to walk to school, for example, concern about child abduction.

Time and convenience are another factor. People believe that it is more convenient to drop their child off at school on their way to work. Safe Routes to School addresses these concerns by promoting safe walk and bike to school programs, such as walking school buses.

A walking school bus is a group of children walking to school with one or more adults. It works like this: an adult or group of adults begin walking along a set route to school. As they walk, they make “bus stops” and “pick up” other children along the way.

The Institute of Transportation Engineers defines traffic calming as “changes in street alignment, installation of barriers, and other physical measures to reduce traffic speeds and/or cut-through volumes in the interest of street safety, livability and other public purposes.”

Traffic calming measures can include: narrowing the street by reducing the number of lanes; building speed bumps or humps; adding traffic circles or roundabouts; adding raised pedestrian crosswalks; converting two-way streets to one-way streets; adding of curb extensions or “bulb-outs.”

A walking audit (also known as a walking tour or environmental assessment) is a report done by parents, school administrators and other community members who tour the school property and adjacent neighborhoods to look for routes students can safely use to get to school.

The tours reveal what students experience during their walk to school and give school teams firsthand evidence of existing safety problems. The audits are generally done during school arrival and dismissal times.

The audits typically focus on the walking and biking routes currently used to travel to school, the walking and biking routes that could be used to travel to school and the school property itself, especially pick-up and drop-off sites used by buses and parents.

Walk to School Day, like SRTS, is a school-based initiative to encourage physical activity among New Jersey’s children. However, it is a one-day event and not a continuing program like SRTS.

Walk to School Day has become the kick-off event for Safe Routes to School and is usually held the first week in October. It is a way for parents, students, school personnel and other community members to directly experience the trip to school on foot as they walk and bike with students on the day of the event. It often generates discussions on the importance of physical activity, awareness of the fun of walking and biking, and early identification of safety concerns.

The 5 Es - engineering, enforcement, education, encouragement and evaluation – are SRTS strategies.

There are several. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s national model Safe Routes to School programa, the Maryland Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Education Program and New Jersey Comprehensive Health Education and Physical Education.

Several transportation management associations (TMAs) in New Jersey offer presentations on bicycle and pedestrian safety and the environmental effects of traffic congestion and air pollution. For example, Cross County Connection offers lesson plans, teaching aids and speakers.

Eight TMAs operate within specific regions.

There are several sources. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) offers free bicycle and pedestrian safety information. The AAA Foundation (pdf 663k) offers several resources for bicycle and pedestrian education for a fee. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center web site has links to several educational publications. Several New Jersey TMAs offer material on bicycle and pedestrian safety.

The file referenced in the paragraph above is in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file, which is available at our state Adobe Access page.

NJDOT has design guidelines for bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

The Voorhees Transportation Center and the US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended Approach are helpful.

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is a clearinghouse for information about health and safety, engineering, advocacy, education, enforcement and access and mobility.

The AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities and Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan are also recommended.

There are key differences, particularly in funding and related requirements.

Safe Streets to School is funded by the state through the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund while Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a federal-aid program.

SRTS reimburses programs (does not provide cash up front) that meet federal guidelines for environmental regulations, wages and program evaluation. Only work done after federal authorization can be reimbursed.

Safe Streets funds only construction projects. However, SRTS will pay for the planning, engineering and design of bicycle and pedestrian facilities as well as enforcement, education and encouragement programs. In fact, in order to increase the likelihood of success for infrastructure projects, NJDOT is requiring that every grant for an infrastructure project also fund a non-infrastructure program.

NJDOT also requires counties and municipalities to partner with school districts when applying for grants and implementing projects. Non-profit organizations may also apply, if they partner with a county or municipality.