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What is Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a national and international movement to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle and walk to and from schools. The program has been designed to reverse the decline in children walking and bicycling to schools. Safe Routes to School can also play a critical role in reversing the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood obesity and inactivity.
In 1969, approximately 50% of children walked or bicycled to school, with approximately 87% of children living within one mile of school walking or bicycling. Today, fewer than 15% of schoolchildren walk or bicycle to school.
As a result, kids today are less active, less independent, and less healthy. As much as 20 to 30% of morning traffic can be generated by parents driving their children to schools, and traffic-related crashes are the top cause of death and major injury for children in the U.S. ages 1 to 17.
Concerned by the long-term health and traffic consequences of this trend, in 2005, the U.S. Congress approved $612 million in funding for five years of state implementation of SRTS programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Communities are using this funding to construct new bicycle lanes, pathways, and sidewalks, as well as to launch Safe Routes to School education, promotion and enforcement campaigns in elementary and middle schools.
Safe Routes to School programs are built on collaborative partnerships among many stakeholders that should include educators, parent, students, elected officials, engineers, city planners and engineers, business and community leaders, health officials, and bicycle and pedestrian advocates.
The most successful SRTS programs incorporate the five E’s evaluation, education, encouragement, engineering, and enforcement. The goal of Safe Routes to School is to get more children bicycling and walking to schools safely on an everyday basis.
International History of SRTS
The term “Safe Routes to School” was first coined in Denmark in the 1970s. Since that time, Safe Routes to School has spread internationally. There are active programs throughout Europe, in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.
The first Safe Routes to School program in the USA took place in the Bronx in 1997. In the year 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 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, grassroots Safe Routes to School efforts were started throughout the United States.
With the federal Safe Routes to School program, there are now funds to implement Safe Routes to School in all 50 states. Now is the time to take action to make the most of this opportunity.
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