Local School Project

Washington, DC Local School Walk to School Day
Washington, DC Local School Walk to School Day

In 2008, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership initiated the Local School Project (the Project) to assist ten schools in low income communities to: 1) develop and evaluate a school-based Safe Routes to School program, 2) build local capacity to apply for state or federal funding and 3) increase safe walking and bicycling to and from the school and in the community. The Project was designed to address the disproportionate risk children in lower-income communities face regarding traffic injury, air quality, and a lack of physical activity. The Project worked to provide enhanced support to build capacity, identify and recruit school and community stakeholders, implement Safe Routes to School programs, and address environmental and policy change to affect interim and long-term health outcomes in these communities.

Each community had unique roadblocks and individual successes, and while these are documented in detail here, there were themes that occurred throughout all projects:

• The Project was successful in increasing the positive perception and awareness of walking and bicycling among the parent population at many of the sites.

• While traffic safety data was limited to two sites, the findings indicate that safe crossing and crossing behavior increased over time.

• Based on changes in vehicle counts and self-reported travel distances over the academic year, the calculated carbon dioxide levels (as a measure of vehicle emissions) near the schools decreased.

• All of the sites, regardless of local challenges, were able to initiate a few SRTS program activities and/or environmental/policy changes, and most received additional funds for SRTS efforts in the future.

• Beyond the policy and environmental changes that were implemented at or near the majority of the schools over this short time period, most interviewees reported that the Project was successful in creating momentum for policy and environmental change, as well as changes to the walking and bicycling culture and norms in the broader community.

Overall, the results indicate there was good progress toward achieving many of the desired outcomes for the Project as a whole. While the results also reveal challenges in promoting Safe Routes to School in communities and schools with economic and social challenges, almost all of the school sites reported some amount of policy and environmental change occurring across the academic year in support of walking and bicycling. Additionally, nine out of ten schools had successful walk/bicycle educational and encouragement activities that will continue into future years.

For more on the evaluation of the Local School Project, see the documents below:

Funders for the Local School Project include Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.