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Federal Implementation
To ensure the effective use of federal Safe Routes to School funding, the Safe Routes to School monitors the implementation of the program, identifies areas that need improvement, and supports steps that advance the program. When an implementation challenge arises, we assess the best means for overcoming the challenge—whether it is through collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration and the National Center for Safe Routes to School or through advocacy.
One area of particular attention is in evaluation. We want to ensure that recipients of federal Safe Routes to School funds are tracking mode shift and changes in parent attitudes and that the state Departments of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are moving forward on more robust evaluations of the impacts of Safe Routes to School on safety, health, and environment.
Latest News and Information:
Partnership Encourages DOT’s RITA to Prioritize Research on SRTS
January 28, 2010
The US Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has requested public comment on the development of their 2010-2015 strategic planning initiative. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership submitted comments encouraging RITA to conduct research on a range of Safe Routes to School topics that will help spur additional investment in Safe Routes to School and get more children walking and bicycling to school.
Partnership Submits Comments to NHTSA
December 23, 2009
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has requested public comment on the development of their 2010-2015 Strategic Plan. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership submitted comments encouraging NHTSA to strengthen their focus on bicycle and pedestrian safety, including children.
Serving Students with Disabilities Through Safe Routes to School Programs Position Paper
November 4, 2009
The Partnership created the Serving Students with Disabilities Through Safe Routes to School Programs position paper to apprise Congress, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the National Center for Safe Routes to School (the Clearinghouse) on recommended strategies for meeting the stated goal in section 1404 of SAFETEA-LU for serving students with disabilities through Safe Routes to School programs. The position paper is organized to address the background and need of serving students with disabilities, challenges and benefits, and four recommendations which focus on training and curricula; outreach to parents and students; pilot programs; and evaluation of the inclusion efforts for students with disabilities in Safe Routes to School programs. We hope that this paper will lead toward increased action and focus on serving students with disabilities through existing SRTS funds.
Partnership Releases Working Group Report on SRTS Implementation Challenges
May 7, 2009
Last fall, the Partnership has convened a Working Group on Implementation to examine the impact of the title 23 regulations that govern SRTS on project delivery and costs and develop more specific recommendations. Together, Working Group participants convened monthly to discuss implementation challenges and opportunities. The Partnership’s Working Group on Implementation has just released the product of those discussions, a report entitled “Implementation Challenges with the Federal SRTS Program: An Examination of Title 23 Regulations, the Impact on Project Costs and Timing, and Opportunities for More Efficient Project Delivery". The report provides background on the existing regulatory processes, identifies best practices that many state DOTs are already undertaking, and proposes legislative and administrative solutions that could make SRTS projects more efficient, without undermining important environmental and labor projections. We have already begun to share the report with key Congressional offices and the Federal Highway Administration, and hope that state SRTS Coordinators will find it useful in their own implementation. We would like to thank the members of the Working Group, who are identified in the report’s appendix, and all those local SRTS recipients who completed the implementation survey last December.
Congress Passes FY2009 Appropriations Bills
March 11, 2009
Six months into the FY2009 federal fiscal year, Congress completed work on the annual appropriations bill and passed a final “omnibus” bill to fund federal programs. Because of the delay, many state Departments of Transportation had put a hold on awarding 2009 transportation contracts (including Safe Routes to School grants) until the federal government provided the full funding allocation for 2009. Now that the appropriations process is complete, it should enable states to move forward quickly in committing their remaining Safe Routes to School funds.
Partnership Participates in SRTS National Review Group
March 10, 2009
The National Center for Safe Routes to School has convened a national group of forty stakeholders and experts to advise and provide support for the Center’s work. Deb Hubsmith, director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, is one of the members of the review group. Review group members include representatives from a range of fields, including safety, health, environment, and education. The group will provide advice on ways in which the National Center can provide support to local and state SRTS programs and advance SRTS initiatives.
National Center Unveils Searchable Database of SRTS Projects
March 9, 2009
The National Center for Safe Routes to School has unveiled a searchable database of federally-funded SRTS projects. Data is provided by each state Department of Transportation. Federal SRTS funds awarded. Project lists can be generated by state, year awarded, and type of project supported. The Partnership requested that the National Center create this database to help assess the impact and spread of federal SRTS funds, and congratulate the Center on this valuable new resource.
Partnership Unveils 2009 Policy Report
March 10, 2009
The Safe Routes to School 2009 Policy Report - Moving to the Future: Building on Early Achievements examines the first three years of the federal Safe Routes to school program and identifies ways in which the program could be strengthened through policy changes at the national and local levels. It also identifies discusses a number of "big-picture" policies and practices that can help build a supportive environment for Safe Routes to School programs.
Partnership Assessing SRTS Implementation
December 10, 2008
Due to federal regulations and state procedures, it often takes many months and a lot of paperwork to get a SRTS project started after the grant has been awarded. We have heard many reports that SRTS grants can be burdensome to implement due to state and federal regulations and procedures.
The Partnership would like to hear more from state and local organizations that have received federal Safe Routes to School funding through your state DOT about what is and is not working well in terms of implementation procedures. Please take twenty minutes to fill out our survey to document your experiences with the application process, award timeline, and implementation paperwork and processes. This information is critical so that we can work with Congress to make this program less burdensome for state and local grantees, and to get projects moving more quickly. The survey is available at www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2bBiL4NGwkZxjsn0Un5bSDA_3d_3d. Please fill the survey out by Tuesday, December 23, 2008. Thank you so much for your help!
Partnership Advocates for Key Short-Term Data Collection Needs
September 19, 2008
In preparation for the reauthorization of the federal Safe Routes to School program, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership has sent a letter to the National Center for Safe Routes to School requesting that they move forward with some key evaluation efforts. The Partnership requested that the Center: assess the increase in walking and bicycling from existing before and after surveys and tallies; produce a database of funded SRTS projects; and produce case studies of federally-funded SRTS projects showing tangible benefits in mode shift, safety, physical activity, air pollution, and community engagement.
GAO Releases Report on Safe Routes to School
July 31, 2008
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just issued a report, Safe Routes to School: Progress in Implementing the Program but a Comprehensive Plan to Evaluate Program Outcomes is Needed. The report was developed at the request of Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), the Ranking Member on the Committee on the Environment and Public Works.
The GAO report acknowledges that FHWA has made progress with implementation of the Safe Routes to School program, which was only authorized three years ago through SAFETEA-LU. The report notes that every state maintains a SRTS Coordinator associated with the Department of Transportation, that $75 million has been obligated, and more than 2,700 schools are being served. It states, however, that FHWA lacks a comprehensive plan for measuring the results of the program. Until a comprehensive plan is in place, it will be difficult to measure both national and local program outcomes and hold grantees accountable for their use of program funds.” The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Transportation direct the Administrator of FHWA to develop a comprehensive plan to monitor and evaluate the SRTS program with a requirement that states collect data, and that there be a formalized collaboration with the clearinghouse, the CDC and the EPA to explore the feasibility of developing “health and environmental outcome measures.”
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has analyzed the GAO report, and agrees that a national evaluation plan is needed for Safe Routes to School. We hope to work with FHWA, CDC, EPA, DOE, and the National Center for SRTS to develop such a plan.
National Household Travel Survey to Include More Questions on School Commute
June 2008
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has been encouraging the US Department of Transportation to collect more data regarding bicycle and pedestrian trips, including the school commute. We supported Congressional efforts to free-up funding for conducting a National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), which is the most comprehensive source of measuring all trips. We are pleased that new data topics for the 2008 NHTS include more questions on travel to school plus additional information on walking and biking. NHTS has prepared a Summary of Content that provides a good idea of core data items. NHTS collects travel behavior data for a full year to capture the seasonality of travel across months of the year and days of the week for all modes of travel. They expect to release data in fall 2009. |
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