Arizona

Arizona SRTS Program

Managed by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Arizona’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.

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Arizona SRTS Federal Funding  |  Application Guidelines
State Advisory Committee  |  State Outreach Programs
Evaluation Methods  |  Success Stories  |  In the News
Arizona Partner Affiliates  |  Legislation and Policies

Arizona SRTS Federal Funding

Arizona’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2009* totals $11,295,446 and includes the following annual apportionments:

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

Application Guidelines

The Cycle 6 applications for Infrastructure Projects, Non-Infrastructure Projects, and Materials and Regional Support Program have been posted. See AZDOT's SRTS website for details and deadlines.

The Arizona SRTS program concluded its fourth grant cycle May 2010, awarding $2.2 million -- eleven infrastructure projects and thirteen non-infrastructure projects. They also continued their SRTS National Course workshops, holding workshops in five communities, including Nogales, Arizona, which is within one mile of the international border with Mexico.

The first application cycle closed in December 2006; Cycle 2 closed in December 2007; Cycle 3 closed on December 31, 2008. Cycle 4 closed in May 2010. Cycle 5 closed in March 2011.

Arizona DOT is hosting Walking School Bus workshops. To sign up, please click here.

There are separate guidelines for infrastructure and non-infrastructure grants. Applicants receive extra points if they:
a) attend an ADOT-sponsored SRTS training session and/or
b) if their project represents a Title 1 school.

For more information, please visit ADOT's website.

State Advisory Committee

Formed in November 2006, the Arizona SRTS Advisory Committee has 14 members and meets three to four times a year. Members represent the following organizations: ADOT, Federal Highway Administration, Arizona Departments of Public Safety, Health Services, and Education, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Maricopa and Pima Association of Governments, Rural Transportation Advocacy Council, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Navajo Nation, Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists, Prescott Alternative Transportation, and Mariposa Community Health Center.

State Outreach Programs

The Arizona SRTS program offers regular one-day SRTS training sessions throughout the state. The comprehensive workshop includes the 5 Es, a walkability audit and information on SRTS grant funding. Arizona SRTS has held fourteen of these workshops since 2007. They also hold “How To Conduct A Neighborhood Walkabout” workshops.

The Planning Assistance Program (PAP) is offered to in-need communities. Selected applicants are awarded consultant support to assess sites, identify remedial measures, and to assist in writing the applicant’s next SRTS grant application.

Webinars on a variety of SRTS-related topics are held on an as-needed basis.

All ADOT-sponsored SRTS training is free and open to the public. Participants at any of the sessions may claim three points on their next SRTS grant application.

To register for training sessions, visit ADOT’s Safe Routes to School Program website. Go to the ‘Training’ tab for registration instructions. For additional information on the workshops and how to apply for funding, contact Brian Fellows at (602) 712-8010.

Evaluation Methods

Selected applicants are required to collect data tracking the number of walkers and cyclists over their program period. The Student Travel Tally Sheet is the preferred evaluation document; the Parent Survey also is encouraged. This data is submitted quarterly.

Success Stories

Peoria, Arizona, Walk to School Day

Flagstaff, AZ: Reducing Crime

Flagstaff, AZ cleaned up a local park where children were being exposed to drug deals, gang activity and public drunkenness on their walks and rides to and from school. The health department received more than $100,000 in SRTS funding for encouragement and education projects in the classroom. The department also formed a walking school bus and set up a local police substation to help students feel safer when walking and bicycling to school. Parents and students report that they are now more comfortable on the walk and ride to and from school.

Springerville, AZ: Overcoming Barrier to Distance of School

To overcome the challenge of distance to school in a rural area, Round Valley Primary School in Springerville, AZ identified a “park and walk” route from Springerville Park to the school, using developed park trails, sidewalks and crosswalks. This route is available to families and students at all times, not just for designated walk events. A First Wednesday Walk program was developed and continued through 2009 school year. In 2010, they have doubled the number of walk events, holding two per month, with the support of local businesses, community groups and high school organizations.

Peoria, AZ: City and School Collaboration

The City of Peoria and the Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) have built on their long-standing collaborative relationship to develop a comprehensive SRTS program with the overall goal of improving the quality of life for everyone in the community.

Several years ago, the two entities formed a dedicated School Traffic Safety Committee to address bigger traffic safety concerns that could not be tackled by the City’s Traffic Control Committee. Peoria’s SRTS program currently involves three schools with dedicated SRTS coordinators and encouragement and education programs. The City of Peoria is also funding infrastructure improvements and providing additional police enforcement.

Contact:
Brandon Forrey
Transportation Planning Engineer
City of Peoria
(623) 773-7201
brandon.forrey@peoriaaz.gov

In the News

Arizona’s Planning Assistance Program (PAP) continues into its third cycle, providing consultant-led workshops to six new recipients in urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities. The two-person PAP consultant team (an SRTS facilitator and an engineer) spend two days in each community, identifying barriers to walking and bicycling and meeting with school staff and community members. After completion of the on-site portion of the program, they create a custom travel plan, and assist the communities in writing their next SRTS grant.

Earlier in Arizona’s SRTS program, they realized that many communities were not applying for SRTS funding because they simply didn’t know how to write a grant. In order to address this need, and bring more communities to the table, they created the Grant Writing Assistance Program (GWAP). GWAP workshops focus solely on strategies for potential SRTS applicants on how to write a competitive grant application. Their consultant, who’s both a professional grant writer and a nationally trained SRTS instructor, explains the grant application in detail, defining terms and providing tips for attendees. They also receive three extra points on their next SRTS application. They will hold GWAP workshops in six communities, including the Tohono O’odham Nation and the Colorado River Indian Tribes – two of Arizona’s twenty-two federally recognized Indian tribes.

After a two-year development process, Arizona is preparing to launch a pilot of the Active School Neighborhood Checklist (ASNC). The ASNC is a self-scored, quantitative assessment tool for selecting walkable, bikeable school sites. ASNC accomplishes this by awarding or subtracting points for the presence or lack of certain progressive city, school or school district policies and built environment features. In the Arizona pilot, communities are eligible to receive technical assistance or special recognition based on their ASNC scores. They hope to launch the ASNC nationally in 2012.

Arizona Partner Affiliates

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

Legislation and Policies

15mph Speed Limit - Zero Tolerance for Speeding

ARS 28-797 defines school crossings in Arizona. It also directs public agencies to use yellow markings and special in-street signs for these locations, and that the signs must be physically removed when the speed zone is not in place. The law also defines the maximum length of a school crossing zone. Arizona’s 15 mph zones are zero-tolerance zones. That means that you can get a citation if you are caught going even a few miles over 15 mph. Typically, enforcement is the most aggressive during the end of July through August, when school starts in most parts of the Valley of the Sun.

In 2007 legislation was passed that doubles fines within the 15 mph zones.