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Missouri

Missouri SRTS Program
Managed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Missouri’s federally funded Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is the source for state coordinator contact details, federal SRTS funding amounts, SRTS applications and guidelines, and state SRTS program information.

Missouri DOT SRTS Coordinator
Todd Messenger
(573) 751-4161
Todd.Messenger@modot.mo.gov
http://www.modot.org/safety/SafeRoutestoSchool.htm

Click on any of the menu items below for more information:
Missouri SRTS Federal Funding
Application Guidelines
State Advisory Committee
State Outreach Programs
Evaluation Methods
Success Story
Missouri Partner Affiliates

Missouri SRTS Federal Funding
Missouri’s SRTS funding totals $10,723,923 and includes the following annual apportionments:

Application Guidelines
The second call for applications was announced on February 1, 2008 with a deadline of March 31, 2008.  Non-infrastructure grants will be awarded on July 1, 2008, and Infrastructure grants will be awarded on November 3, 2008.  Infrastructure and non-infrastructure applications have separate but very similar application processes.

The first round of grant applications were due January 31, 2007. Of the total 99 applications received, 46 grants were awarded in June 2007.

Missouri funds both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects. Infrastructure projects must be within a two-mile radius of K-8 schools and can include: sidewalk improvements, traffic calming and speed reduction improvements, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, etc. Non-infrastructure activities could include traffic safety education, funding for training, public awareness campaigns, and traffic enforcement within the vicinity of the schools.

Please check the Missouri SRTS program page.

State Advisory Committee
Missouri's SRTS Advisory Commitee is comprised of members from law enforcement agencies, cities, MPO, schools, non-profits, other state agencies - PTA (Missouri Parent Teacher’s Association), MSBA(Missouri School Board Association), DESE(Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, DHSS(Department of Health and Senior Services Highway Patrol and MoDOT.  They meet every four-five months.  The Advisory Committee was formed in April of 2006. 

State Outreach Programs
Missouri held a statewide conference in 2007, and over 100 people attended.  They are planning conferences for 2008 and 2009.  A small registration fee and hotel expenses are all that is required of the attendees. The conference last year and subsequent future conferences involved the National Training provided by NCSRTS and local projects and activities including a mini -training of the Walking School Bus program by PedNet.   

MoDOT also partnered with PedNet to provide a free workshop for Walking School Bus Coordinator’s in an effort to get more schools involved with WSB programs and IWTS events or simply local WTS events.  They offered this on February 2, 2008 to give the potential programs an opportunity to get started with the current grant cycle.

Evaluation Methods
MoDOT requires NCSRTS parent surveys and teacher tallies to be completed prior to a project/activity beginning, and within six months after the project/activity is completed.  A penalty is in place should the grantee not comply.

Success Story
Columbia, Missouri: Walking School Bus Develops Healthy Kids and Parents
When Tracy Culley and her third-grade son Aaron moved into the Fairview School district in Columbia, Missouri, she heard about the Walking School Bus (WSB) program and the need for volunteer leaders. At the time, Tracy was trying to lose weight and her schedule allowed her to walk a group of kids to school three days a week, so she signed up and completed the training.

During the first two months as a WSB leader, Tracy lost 12-15 pounds. She credits her commitment to the WSB with keeping her active, as she walked two to three miles every day to school and back, in the mornings and afternoons. Her son made friends quickly with the kids on the WSB and the unstructured time allowed him and the other kids to get the excess energy out of their systems. Tracy is now a spokesperson for WSB volunteer leaders and tells her story during new volunteer training.

More than 160 kids in six Columbia schools enjoy the WSB program, which is the result of a partnership between the Columbia/Boone County Health Department and the PedNet Coalition. Since 2000, PedNet has been improving and expanding the access to and safety of Columbia’s bicycling, wheeling, and walking network. PedNet has received funding and support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Missouri Foundation for Health, and Bikes Belong.

Contacts:
Stacia Reilly
Columbia/Boone County Health Department
(573) 874-6345
srreilly@GoColumbiaMO.com 
www.gocolumbiamo.com

Ian Thomas
PedNet Coalition
(573) 445-2928
ian@pednet.org
www.pednet.org

Missouri Partner Affiliates
Find out which organizations in your state have pledged their support for the Safe Routes to School movement.