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Michigan

Jackson, Michigan, Frost Elementary Walk to School day

Michigan SRTS Program
Managed by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and non-profit partner the Michigan Fitness Foundation, Michigan’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.

Michigan DOT SRTS Coordinator
Bryan Armstrong, AICP
(517) 335-2636
armstrongb@michigan.gov
http://www.saferoutesmichigan.org/

Michigan’s Primary Contractor for SRTS Non-Infrastrucutre-related Work
Michigan Fitness Foundation
Michigan Fitness Foundation SR2S Director
Candance (Lee) Kokinakis
(517) 908-3824
ckokinakis@michiganfitnesss.org
www.michiganfitness.org
www.saferoutesmichigan.org

Click on any of the menu items below for more information:
Michigan SRTS Federal Funding
Application Guidelines
State Advisory Committee
State Outreach Programs
Evaluation Methods
Success Stories
Other Statewide and Regional Programs
Michigan Partner Affiliates
Legislation and Policies

Michigan SRTS Federal Funding
Michigan’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2009* totals $18,819,192 and includes the following annual apportionments:

* Funding for SRTS is being continued into FY2010 at FY2009 levels.

Application Guidelines
Six Michigan schools in five counties were awarded more than $1.3 million in federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
funding for safety improvements and education programs in the March 2010. The funding announcement is available at
http://www.michigan.gov/mdot.

The Michigan program accepts applications at any time. The Michigan Fitness Foundation (MFF) assists MDOT with application review, awards, and award implementation. The Michigan SR2S Handbook describes the five-step planning process required prior to the submission of an application for SRTS funding. These steps include: : program registration; formation of a representative local team; completion of parent and student surveys and in-class travel tally; completion of a walking audit and, if appropriate, bicycle audit; and completion of SRTS action plan focused around the 5 Es (engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation).

The Michigan SRTS funding application guidelines can be viewed and downloaded by visiting www.saferoutesmichigan.org/application.htm.

The electronic grant application management system (EGrAMS) now available to Safe Routes to School grant applicants is the preferred method to submit a funding application to the Michigan Department of Transportation. It is currently possible to record all Safe Routes to School planning activities, including your action plan, in EGrAMS; the budget section of the funding application is expected to be available this fall.

It is strongly recommended to record SR2S planning activities in EGrAMS. There are many benefits to doing so, including team member completion and review of planning documents on-line, and SR2S staff review and provision of technical assistance. To begin, visit www.egrams-mi.com/portal and follow the directions to work in EGrAMS.

State Advisory Committee
The Michigan Safe Routes to School state coalition includes over 800 member schools, agencies, organizations, universities, and individuals. The coalition was developed during the 2003 Michigan SRTS pilot project and provided guidance during the pilot phase. The coalition is multidisciplinary with representatives from transportation, health, safety, education, planning, parent groups, students, K-8 schools, law enforcement, engineering, populations with disabilities, bicycle advocates, pedestrian advocates, trail advocates, and others. The Coalition meets once a year for capacity building activities.

Within the coalition, the SRTS Network Partners, a core team of 10 state agencies, organizations, and universities who led development of the state program, provide sub-contractual technical assistance, outreach, and local person-power through their existing agency and university networks.

State Outreach Programs
The Michigan Physical Fitness, Health and Sports Foundation provides statewide SRTS training, outreach, technical assistance, funding award administration, and SRTS Network Partner subcontract administration. Strategies and materials focused around the 5 Es are developed by the Foundation to include middle school youth/schools, underserved populations, and students with disabilities in the state program.

Outreach and technical assistance includes: the state website www.saferoutesmichigan.org; assistance via e-mail and telephone; presentations and site visit services; Walk to School Day coordination and resources; e-news and updates; and materials development and distribution. Training opportunities include regional (general) training sessions and specialized sessions focused on developing action planning capacity within local SRTS teams. MFF, in partnership with SRTS Network entities, extends the reach to local health departments and extension offices, populations with disabilities, trail and bicycle advocacy groups, urban core areas, the planning profession, engineering specialists, and others as identified.

Evaluation Methods
The statewide evaluation of SRTS in Michigan began with the pilot project in 2004 when baseline data from eleven pilot schools was collected. State parent and student surveys were developed, as was a classroom travel behavior tally. Applicants for funding must complete baseline parent and student surveys, the classroom tally, commit to the completion of post-test surveys and tallies, and develop a school-specific action plan prior to submitting the funding application. A school action plan must be all inclusive, addressing or including all issues identified during the planning process. A school funding application must include those priority items from the action plan best suited for federal funding that logically improve safety and or increase student participation in walking and bicycling to school.

Success Stories
Make Trax CD Materials Now Available
Make Trax is an 8-lesson research project that provides the youth voice of Safe Routes to School in Michigan. The Make Trax curriculum CD is now available to assist schools with Make Trax classroom or after-school activities. Join the Make Trax Network to receive periodic updates about activities, training, and other Make Trax opportunities. To be added to the network contact Rosie Stern.

Community Collaborations
In Michigan, local Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S) teams identify barriers to walking/bicycling/rolling to school and develop a 5 Es action plan of priority steps to address local concerns. The Michigan SR2S Handbook details these action planning steps. SR2S outreach to urban underserved communities in 2006 and 2007 resulted in local leaders identifying not only barriers to walking/bicycling to school – but barriers to the action planning process itself.

Exceptional local partnerships developed in 2007 and 2008 to assist local Safe Routes to School teams with planning activities. In Detroit, local foundations, The Skillman Foundation and the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, were joined by city officials, the school district and others from a wide spectrum of Detroit initiatives, including the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, to promote the value of safe routes to school planning and bring human-power to the task of completing plans. In Highland Park, the Reggie McKenzie Foundation took a leadership role and brought their seasoned community development skills to the task. In Hamtramck, the Arab Community Economic Support and Services (ACCESS) organization led the way in a school-district wide effort. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority was an early leader as well and brought LISC AmeriCorps volunteer staff to SR2S initiatives in 8 of Michigan’s poorest cities. Michigan Department of Transportation staff have also recognized the collaborative power of the SR2S movement and continue as strong state partners.

Safe Routes to School success is measured in a number of ways. Of the over 50 Safe Routes to School funding awards in Michigan as of September, 2008, Michigan is proud to say that over 50% of those awards were made to schools in urban underserved communities who completed the action planning process. Much is still being learned – stay tuned!

Contact:
Rosie Stern, SR2S Program Coordinator
Michigan Fitness Foundation
(517) 908-3828, rstern@michiganfitness.org 

Frost Elementary, Jackson, MI: Community Collaboration
Frost Elementary started its Safe Routes to School program in the 2003-2004 school year. The team at Frost wanted to start a program at their school, while also incorporating a larger vision including collaboration with the wider community of the City of Jackson. The first step in this endeavor was Frost Elementary school’s Walk to School Day in the fall of the 2004. The team sought to highlight the joy and fun of walking and bicycling to school. The event was such a big hit at Frost Elementary that other schools in the area participated the following year and over 1200 students participated in Walk to School Day in October 2005 in Jackson!

With the cooperation of the Fitness Council of Jackson, the team at Frost developed a marketing campaign to recruit other area schools to join the program. Five schools teams, which included students, parents, administrators, seniors, city officials and law enforcement, have grown their program to include Walking School Buses every day with 10 designated routes throughout the city. Low youth involvement moved the teams to encourage walking to and from school by offering incentives such as punch cards and “Walking Around the World” passports.

Since 2004, the data collected from Frost Elementary suggests a 15 percent increase in walking to school, as well as a 12 percent increase in walking home from school. For more information or to download a free Walking School Bus brochure with map, please contact Andrea Cawthray.

Contact:
Andrea Cawthray
SRTS Program Coordinator
Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Michigan Fitness Foundation
(517) 347-7891
ACawthray@michiganfitness.org

Other Statewide and Regional Programs
Partners providing additional regional or statewide assistance with SRTS include: Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, League of Michigan Bicyclists, Michigan State University Extension Agency, Programs to Educate All Cyclists, Wayne State University, Michigan Department of Community Health, Michigan Department of Education, Michigan State University Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies, Michigan Association of Planning, The Skillman Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan.

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

Legislation and Policies
The Jasmine Miles School Children Safety Act, 2204
In 2004, the Jasmine Miles School Children Safety Act, introduced after Jasmine Miles was struck and killed as she walked home from school, was signed into law. The Act amended the Michigan Vehicle Code as outlined on Michigan’s Policy and Legislation page.

In 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education officially endorsed the state’s Safe Routes to School program.