|
Rural Communities
Rural Safe Routes to School
Diverse Community Roundtable Meeting Notes
Hosted by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership
January 25, 2007
This national discussion on Rural SRTS programs was organized through the Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s Diverse Communities Committee, which is chaired by Melody Geraci of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. Facilitating the call were Jon Kaplan, the Vermont SRTS Coordinator for the Department of Transportation, and Tobin Scipione from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. Nearly 40 participants from government agencies, non-profit organizations, universities, and consultant firms throughout the United States attended.
These notes are divided into the following sections:
1. Background Information
2. Existing Resources and Resources under Development
3. Gaps in Resources
4. Next Steps - How to Stay Involved
1. Background Information
Melody Geraci, chair of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s (SRTSNP) Diverse Communities Committee, indicated that this series of national discussions arose from a collective desire to more directly address the needs of certain student populations that could benefit from SRTS. The SRTSNP decided to instigate discussion and bring people together to network. The first activity was to distribute a survey to Partner affiliates and the list-serve. Based on those surveys, we decided to convene national phone conferences on urban SRTS programs, SRTS programs for students with disabilities, and SRTS programs in rural areas.
From our survey, we define rural communities as: "Rural communities include towns and villages that have low population size and density, and often include a traditional, mixed-use village center surrounded by areas of open country. Rural communities are typically small-scale, distant from urban areas, and may have limited local amenities. Frequently, ’Main Street’ is also a state or regional highway. Rural communities typically have no or limited public transportation, walking, or bicycling facilities; therefore, the culture of bicycling and walking is not fostered. However, there may be trails or informal paths that link residential areas directly to school sites. While rural communities have similar barriers to bicycling and walking as in other communities, they often lack the fiscal and staff resources to adequately address these barriers."
Some additional comments from the survey responses include:
-
In a lot of smaller communities, there is simply not a culture of walking or biking, even for short trips.
-
Residential areas in rural communities often are a long distance from schools. This raises the question: How can we make SRTS work for those students who are more than the average distance from school?
-
There is often a lack of facilities, staff time, and fiscal resources in rural communities.
-
The volunteer base of parents can be very limited as small-towns residents often engage in a lot of volunteer activities. Adding one more thing can be challenging.
It was also mentioned by call participants that:
-
The "rural culture" goes back to the stereotypical image of the American dream—a house in the country with a lot of land.
-
Rural communities are often farm-based economies and cultures, and since agriculture is a primary industry, it affects the culture and the lifestyle.
2. Existing Resources and Resources Under Development
Texas Bicycle Coalition (www.biketexas.org): The Texas Bicycle Coalition (TBC) received a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation and is implementing a SRTS program in 28 schools on the Texas plains of the panhandle. TBC hired eight outreach coordinators, based in rural towns and cities, who worked as paid staff for nine months a year for two years. These outreach coordinators discovered that they were most effective when they first focused efforts in the centers of town, and then involved folks in outlying areas.
The program began with a kick-off event, which featured Linda Armstrong, to promote the program and get people excited about it. Having outreach coordinators reach out to satellite communities has been key. The coordinators participate in public events, attend public meetings, and are at the table when any group is addressing the issues of health and safety of children. The idea is that the school-district, town, and local service groups will adopt SRTS as a program and it will become institutionalized. TBC also has a complementary bicycle education curriculum, including a resource binder, CD, and training for PE teachers.
The challenge and opportunity is that the culture (Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma) is based on self-sufficiency and self-reliance. Residents are in touch with their environment because agriculture is based on the health of the environment. Their livelihood depends on the environment, being in tune with nature, and being "hardy folks" who will harvest rain or shine. This is a wonderful culture that we need to learn to use to our advantage. Historically it has not fostered walking or bicycling since you can’t ride to town to pick up a bale of hay on your bike.
Safe Routes to Bus Stops: The Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation in Virginia is piloting a Safe Routes to Bus Stops program this year. This is based on the same principles as SRTS—like walking school buses, education techniques and banners—to help students get to centralized bus stops (farther than ones they usually walk to).
This program started as a special event, but the goal is to teach people skills they can use any time. The school administration hopes to reduce school bus mileage by reducing the number of stops. Because this program doesn’t fit under federal SRTS funding guidelines, they are using other funding. Some participants on the call discussed that many students are now driven to bus stops. This relates to people’s attitudes. We have to raise awareness of why it’s important to walk to bus stops.
Walking from Bus Stops to Schools: In some Vermont school districts, school buses drop off students a half mile from school. There, teachers or volunteers meet the students and walk with them to school. This is a way to capture the bus riding population.
Engineering Resources in Rural Areas: Many resources are focused on the engineering side: Iowa has guidelines for improving facilities, Oregon has a good guide about when Main Street is a community route, and Vermont also has a guide.
Promotion: In Maine, they use the idea of walking and bicycling to school to promote a broader walk and bike message. They incorporate other walk/bike encouragement programs, such as trip consolidation, family walking programs, recess, biking in PE, after-school bike clubs, and remote drop-offs for buses. It’s important to include a safety message and talk to schools about safety in and around school buses, and safe pedestrian behavior in and around bus stops. Rural schools are also using contests and competitions to promote walking and bicycling.
Working through Existing Programs: The Michigan State University Extension is increasing collaboration with SRTS. In addition, the 200,000+ kids involved in Michigan’s 4H program can act as reps and leaders. Over the next year, they are going work on incorporating the extension infrastructure into the SRTS infrastructure so they match. 4H is a connection they have made in Vermont. They obtained GPS units and GIS software and are getting kids interested in mapping. This could fold into the SRTS work. It was also mentioned that working through programs like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the YMCA/YWCA can help generate support and construct trails.
Working through Trails Committees: A SRTS program in a Maine community started when concerned citizens formed a trails committee. Trails were being disconnected by property purchases, causing worry about losing connectivity. Concerned citizens held a public meeting to discuss four major issues, one being SRTS. The lesson is that a trails committee can be a valuable ally and resource.
Statewide Conference Calls and Meetings: The Vermont SRTS Coordinator for the DOT organized a statewide conference call because he felt his communication with schools was one-way. He developed an agenda in advance, used a conference call service to provide a toll-free number, and invited participating schools, the state task force, and regional coordinators to the call. It was a great way to have a discussion among the schools. Everyone felt it was successful. Participants expressed the desire to also have regional face-to-face meetings. Vermont will use a combination of telephone and face-to-face meetings in the future.
Statewide Leadership Conference: In Maine, they conducted a statewide SRTS leadership training and conference. Because of the state’s culture of self-sufficiency in rural communities, programs are more successful if they cultivate "local champions" to develop local programs. They’ve been struggling with ways to keep the local champions connected and are considering a conference call similar to what Vermont developed.
National Center for SRTS: The website for the National Center for Safe Routes to School at www.saferoutesinfo.org contains a variety of resources for SRTS practitioners such as the SRTS Guide, Adult School Crossing Guard Guidelines, and a Walking School Bus Guide. The website’s Resource Center contains materials on all the E’s, Walk to School Day events, promotional materials, and more. Also, the website’s Online Library is a searchable database of more than 150 additional resources and allows users to upload new material.
3. Gaps in Resources
Changing Environment: Due to development, the geography in rural areas can sometimes change quickly over just a few years. Many communities lack the resources to keep abreast of the changing environment (i.e., ensure trails are maintained and new bike/ped infrastructure is created).
Disconnect on Self-Sufficiency: We’ve heard that rural communities want to be self-sufficient, but people love cars, so there is some kind of disconnect. How much more self-sufficient can you be when you walk and bike? If more people in rural communities understood this, they could build a way to leave the car behind sometimes.
Resources to Communicate with Parents and Communities: The Arizona SRTS Coordinator for the DOT has been using a Powerpoint about "Why SRTS Matters," developed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. The presentation asks people to raise their hands if people in their generation (parents) walked or biked. Usually a large percentage of the group raises their hands. Then the presenter asks how many of the audience has kids or grandkids that walk or bike. Usually only 10-15% of the hands remain. This demonstration helps people grasp how physical activity is diminishing among younger generations. Many kids get PE only once every four to six days.
Engineering: A huge barrier to getting routes to school is safety. In rural areas, often there is no roadway shoulder where kids can walk or ride.
Case Studies: We need case studies on a variety of rural situations to inspire others.
Carpool: Carpool programs are important in rural areas. The Marin County Bicycle Coalition website has some resources for the SchoolPool program. In central New Jersey, a transportation management association (TMA) ran a program at some private schools in a suburban area. The school was very enthusiastic and helped promote the program because they wanted to reduce the number of parents driving. They sent the TMA’s existing carpool matching software to parents. Even for "safe routes to bus stops," there is a need for engineering improvements.
Framing the Message through Curriculum: We need to spread the message about physical education and pedestrian safety, but it’s important to carefully frame the message since not all children in rural areas can walk to school. You can ask: Where do you walk in your neighborhood?
Addressing Stranger Danger and Street Smarts: We need to address this fear that many parents have. High-profile kidnappings near bus stops have increased worry and concern. It would be good to work with local law enforcement to educate kids. Parents will be more willing to embrace the program if this issue is addressed.
School Siting: It was discussed that only 35% of students live within two miles of schools, so in the long-term, it’s important to address school siting issues.
Grow the Pie: We should strive to generate good projects from this round of SRTS funding so that we can increase future funding. Many states are receiving requests for more than five times the amount the funding can support. It was also mentioned that safe routes to bus stops is not eligible in the current federal program.
High Schools: It’s also important to address the needs of high school students, but high schools are not eligible for funding under the current federal program.
Evaluation: We need good methods to evaluate SRTS programs in rural communities.
4. Next Steps - How to Stay Involved
Ideas include:
|
