|
Key Research Topics
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Key Research Topics: April 2009
Contact: Margo Pedroso at margo@saferoutespartnership.org
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has identified several critical areas where additional research is needed. Our meetings with state and federal policy makers and funders have revealed that quantifying these issues will be important for the future of Safe Routes to School.
Quantifying the Economic Benefits of Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
Research that codifies the financial benefits of SRTS is greatly needed in the US and would be valuable for advocates as they make their case before policy makers for more funding for SRTS. Similar research has already taken place in the UK; however, US policy makers want US research. Sustrans’ (UK) Research and Monitoring Unit, working with partners at Bolton University and the Institute for Transport Studies at Leeds University, have recently produced leading guidance into the appraisal of cycling and walking schemes for the Department for Transport. The guidance enables a monetary valuation to be placed on the costs and benefits of such schemes as new cycling and walking routes and other features such as road crossings. For a full summary and an explanation of the analysis used, please visit http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sID=1164381904000
Linking Physical Activity to Academic Performance and Attendance
Schools and education partners frequently request research showing the connection between physical activity, academic performance, behavior, and attendance. This is particularly important as school budgets are shrinking and schools are focused on test scores. As we seek to increase collaboration between public health, school, and transportation sectors, more research substantiating ties between walking and bicycling to school and increased levels of academic performance, attendance, and behavior is highly important. Such research is also necessary to the school siting debate. State and local-level decisions regarding where schools are built have significant impacts on whether homes are located within walking and bicycling distance of schools. And as a result of No Child Left Behind, the main focus of Departments of Education is on academic performance. We need research that assesses the direct ties that SRTS has to academic performance, attendance, and behavior.
Delving into the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)
The US Department of Transportation is reporting that preliminary results from the 2008 NHTS update shows that driving to school has risen from 2001 to 2008. Based on this, an important research need is for the NHTS data to be cross referenced with program evaluation data from communities that are running Safe Routes to School programs. Cross-referencing this data can help make the case that while the number of people driving their children to school may have risen overall at the national level, if compared to the 5% of schools participating in Safe Routes to School nationwide, a reversal of the national trend is possible. Use of data generated through the federal parent surveys and student tallies would demonstrate to Congress that SRTS is an evidence-based solution to changing transportation patterns to school, while accentuating the need for more funding to make SRTS available to a greater percentage of schools nationwide.
Quantifying Calories Burned and Minutes of Physical Activity through Active Transportation to School
It is difficult to measure the amount of calories burned and minutes of physical activity gained through walking and bicycling to and from school, because these factors depend on distance traveled, speed/intensity of travel, and the age and weight of the child. To be able to compare walking and bicycling to school with other health and obesity interventions—such as increasing P.E. classes or cutting back on sugary foods—requires additional research on the average calories burned and minutes of physical activity gained during an active commute to and from school. Such a study could use accelerometers or similar technology.
Assessing the Impact of Safe Routes to School on Neighborhood Crime
Parents often identify fear of neighborhood crime as one reason why they do not allow children to walk and bicycle to and from school. Safe Routes to School advocates that increasing walking and bicycling to school can build social interactions with neighbors, create a sense of community, and reduce crime and fears about crime due to the increased number of people out on the street during the commute to and from school. However, academic research in this area is hard to come by. It would be beneficial to be able to show the broader neighborhood benefits of Safe Routes to School on neighborhood crime.
Determining if Safe Routes to School Behaviors Influence Parents
Some Safe Routes to School programs report anecdotally that getting more children to walk and bicycle can also have an impact on parental behaviors. As a result of their student(s) participating in a SRTS program, parents may walk and bicycle more themselves, and try to avoid the car for short family and personal trips, increasing opportunities for physical activity for the whole family, while reducing traffic congestion. Parents may also walk or bicycle with their children, getting more exercise themselves, impacting their personal health and physical activity levels. However, these reports are anecdotal and there is no research we are aware of examining systematic changes in transportation behavior that could be attributed as further benefits for Safe Routes to School programs.
|
