Mississippi
Mississippi SRTS State Network
Mississippi is one of twenty jurisdictions participating in the SRTS National Partnership Network Project. This initiative creates state networks that bring together advocacy groups, government agencies, and other leaders.
Mississippi SRTS Program
Managed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), Mississippi’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.
Mississippi Partner Affiliates
Find out which organizations in your state have pledged their support as partner affiliates of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.
Mississippi SRTS State Network
Mississippi is one of the twenty jurisdictions participating in the SRTS National Partnership State Network Project. The SRTS State Network Organizer works for their sponsoring organization, which is under contract with the SRTS National Partnership.
Mississippi State Network Policy Achievements:
This promotional piece highlights Mississippi's state network policy achievements.
Mississippi State Network Partners
Bike Walk Mississippi
City of Greenwood
City of Hernando
City of Madison
City of Ridgeland
City of Tupelo
Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi
Desoto Planning Commission
Gulf Cost Bicycle Club
Gulf Regional Planning Commission
Mississippi Center for Health Policy
Mississippi Department of Health
Mississippi Department of Transportation
Mississippi Development Authority
Mississippi No Child Left Inside!
Mississippi Office of Healthy Schools
My Brother’s Keeper
Neel Schaffer, Inc.
Starkville in Motion
The University of Mississippi Center for Health Behavior Research
University of Southern Mississippi Office of Sustainability
Mississippi SRTS Program
Managed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), Mississippi’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.
Mississippi SRTS Communities
Mississippi SRTS Application Resources
Quick Links
Mississippi SRTS Federal Funding | Application Guidelines
State Advisory Committee | State Outreach Programs
Evaluation Methods | Success Stories and Best Practices
Other Statewide and Regional Programs | Mississippi Partner Affiliates
Mississippi SRTS Federal Funding
Mississippi’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2009* totals $6,506,087 and includes the following annual apportionments:
| 2005 Actual | 2006 Actual | 2007 Actual | 2008 Actual | 2009 Actual |
| $1,000,000 | $990,000 | $1,196,855 | $1,471,512 | $1,847,720 |
* Funding for SRTS is being continued into FY2010 and FY2011 at FY2009 levels.
Application Guidelines
Mississippi’s Safe Routes to School program's latest round of awards were made in fall 2011. Contact Cookie Leffler at (601) 359-1454 or cleffler@mdot.state.ms.us for information about the total amount funded and specific schools and communities that received the funding.
Our first community, Amory, has broken ground and begun construction. Other communities are completing plans and nearing the construction phase. Most communities have launched noninfrastructure activities. The Gulfport Police Department has been working in Gulfport and Harrison County elementary and middle schools teaching pedestrian safety and holding instructive bicycle rodeos. These events will continue throughout the upcoming school year as well as enforcement activities. In Amory, students have participated in walking events while learning about pedestrian safety; middle and high school students are working on documenting the success of Amory’s SRTS program. The City of Oxford kicked off Walking Wednesdays following International Walk to School Day in 2007. This program continues to grow as students enjoy walking and bicycling to school escorted by University of Mississippi athletes. Starkville and Hernando held successful Walk to School events over the school year. Greenwood instituted a “U+2” campaign encouraging students to walk only 3 people wide on sidewalks. Long Beach’s gifted class planned and secured support for its SRTS program and kicked the program off with a successful school wide walking challenge.
Mississippi offers two types of SRTS funding programs, each with their own grant applications. The Comprehensive Safe Routes Program is for those schools, cities, and communities that have completed or are in the process of completing a Safe Routes plan and are ready to begin implementing the program. There is no maximum request or award for this type of application.
The Non-infrastructure Only Program is designed for statewide, regional and local governments and non-profit organizations that wish to engage in noninfrastructure activities and programs only, like Safe Kids or MS State Department of Health (MSDH). There is no maximum request or award for non-infrastructure only applications.
State Advisory Committee
Mississippi’s SRTS Steering Committee was formed in June 2006 and met for the first time in July 2006. The goal of the committee is to collaborate with statewide stakeholders to ensure Safe Routes program outcomes are comprehensive and effective. In 2007, committee members directly involved in SRTS activities were reclassified as partners and have been working closely with the state’s SRTS coordinator on many projects. Other members of the committee make themselves available to the program on an ‘as needed’ basis. One member of the committee is piloting an enforcement program in his hometown.
State Outreach Programs
Four statewide organizations—Safe Kids Mississippi, MS Department of Health, MS Department of Education (MDE), and Bike Walk Mississippi (BWM) have been awarded funding and will offer various outreach programs statewide. The MDE completed and added to its Health in Action online database K-8 lesson plans centered on the goals of SRTS. These plans fulfill the health instruction requirements for K-8 students. In the summer of 2009, MDE is developing and administering a statewide Crossing Guard Training Program, complete with curriculum, training and approved equipment kits. The MSDH hired a SRTS coordinator and launched a website featuring SRTS education and encouragement activities and assistance available to schools. Some examples of offerings include bicycle rodeos and walking school buses. Bike Walk Mississippi (BWM) has contracted with MDOT in support of the SRTS program. BWM is helping with a quarterly newsletter and an education and encouragement guide that will offer ideas for these types of noninfrastructure activities based on MS examples to others in the state. BWM developed a toolkit with sample letters, press releases, flyers that will accompany goodies for those schools registering for Walk to School Day on www.walktoschool.org. BWM organized the certification of 40 individuals in the state by the League of American Bicyclists who will then teach bicycle safety education in SRTS schools around the state. BWM also organized a bicycle and pedestrian safety calendar contest in the fall of 2009. Children and school administration were very excited. BWM will assist with the planning of the first annual Mississippi SRTS conference to be held in fall of 2010.
Mississippi’s SRTS Coordinator has been trained to teach the National Center for Safe Routes to School’s National Course. The state coordinator is available to meet with communities that would like to learn more about Safe Routes, to make a formal presentation about the program to a group, and to teach the National Course on SRTS.
Media Relations Efforts
Local communities are encouraged to talk to their local media as they begin planning and move into implementation of the Safe Routes program.
Evaluation Methods
Communities awarded funding are required to complete evaluations of their projects beginning with the collection of baseline data. They are required to complete the Student Travel Tally and the Parent Survey developed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School at the beginning and end of their award period and to provide the outcomes of these data collection tools to MDOT. Semi-annual progress reports will be required. The SRTS coordinator and District engineers designated LPA coordinators oversee all projects to evaluate the success of infrastructure projects and noninfrastructure programs.
Success Stories and Best Practices
Amory, Mississippi: Awarded Grant to Lessen Traffic Volume
All Amory schools are within a 2-mile range of one another. It is a small town where children actually could walk to school without parents having to worry. Yet the closer one gets to the school, the more dangerous it becomes due to high traffic volume. School administrators and the community as a whole are very interested in the project. Twenty nine percent of the students at one school alone have elevated body mass indexes. So, the school is actively implementing programs to address the need for physical activity. In Amory, the SRTS project works in unison with a Community Development Block Grant that was awarded to build an access road to remove busses from the routes students use. Amory Middle School was voted by Health Magazine in 2008 as the 2nd healthiest school in America.
Meridian, Mississippi: Celebrated Calendar Winners
Meridian, Crestwood Elementary, participated in the 2009 Calendar Contest (Winter 2009). Three students from Meridian were selected to become a part of Bike Smart/Walk Smart 2010 Calendar. Meridian embraced their stars with a front page story in the local paper and held an assembly to recognize their winners. A call from the Crestwood Principal revealed just how much excitement the calendar brought to the entire school and community. They’ve committed to putting more focus on SRTS events going forward and look forward to 2010 Walk to School Day!
Contact:
Cookie Leffler
Mississippi DOT SRTS Coordinator
(601) 359-1454
cleffler@mdot.state.ms.us
Achievements
At the heart of the State Network effort is policy change—specifically working to remove policy barriers to walking and bicycling to schools by implementing complete streets, changing statewide school siting and other policies, and by implementing legislation that would result in funding or policy changes.
Achievements List
Below is a selected list of the major achievements of the Mississippi State Network since January, 2010. For more information about these achievements, please contact the state network organizer, Catherine Woodyard.
Promoting and Getting Complete Streets Statewide
Network partners have been promoting complete streets by giving presentations and webinars. They have also initiated a “train the trainers” approach so that training opportunities will be readily available across the state. The success is apparent. The cities of Columbus, Hernando, Oxford, Hattiesburg, Pascagoula, and Tupelo adopted Complete Streets Ordinances in 2010-2011.
Multi-Use Trail and Wide Paved Shoulder Resolution
With the MS Network’s input, MDOT’s Transportation Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution requiring the consideration of multi-use trails or wide-paved shoulders during the planning phases of all new and re-constructed highway facilities.
Getting Better Non-Motorized Infrastructure
The Network has advocated for and promoted bike lanes and multi-use trails. As a result some Mississippi municipalities such as Ridgeland, Madison, Hattiesburg, and Oxford continue to build bike lanes and multi-use trails. With the Network’s assistance several municipalities such as Meridian and Oxford have also been awarded SRTS grants to build sidewalks and implement traffic calming infrastructures changes.
Safe Routes to School Conference
The first annual Mississippi SRTS conference was held in 2010 and 135 participants attended.
Low income Empowerment Initiative
In the fall of 2011, Bike Walk Mississippi and the Mississippi SRTS Network will launch its Low income Empowerment Initiative. Since Mississippi is made of up of many rural and urban low income communities, this initiative will provide one-on-one consultation and assistance empowering citizens to build greater capacity and knowledge allowing them to more easily transform themselves into more livable communities.
SRTS National Conference Presentation by former MS organizer, Abby Gamble. The presentation is a workshop on how to encourage Complete Streets in predominantly rural states.
Other Statewide and Regional Programs
Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools
Mississippi State Department of Health
Mississippi Partner Affiliates
Find out which organizations in your state have pledged their support for the Safe Routes to School movement.