New Mexico

New Mexico SRTS Program

Managed by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), New Mexico’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.

Quick Links

In the News  |  New Mexico SRTS Federal Funding
Application Guidelines  |  State Advisory Committee
State Outreach Programs  |  Success Stories
Evaluation Methods  |  New Mexico Partner Affiliates

In the News

Safe Routes to School Blazes Forward in New Mexico

Child pedestrian safety curriculum to be released in Fall of 2010.

In Santa Fe, the NMDOT is working with 10 communities, moving them from the planning phase into implementation with project selection anticipated in fall 2010. Planned projects include sidewalks, a pedestrian bridge and traffic calming, as well as educational and encouragement programs. These communities have worked for the past two to three years to establish local SRTS programs and develop action plans that identify barriers to walking and bicycling, as well as prioritized solutions. Several of these communities also received engineering assistance through the New Mexico SRTS program. Approximately 25 other communities are actively working on action plans in hopes of a shot at future funding in spring 2011.

The University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center (UNM PRC), recently completed an extensive evaluation of the New Mexico SRTS program that will be used to revise the program. The UNM PRC is also working on a child pedestrian safety curriculum, to be released in fall of 2010, along with teacher training and information about setting up walking school bus programs.

In the southern part of the state, the Regional SRTS Coordinator at the Las Cruces Metropolitan Planning Organization continues to develop a school district-wide action plan identifying and prioritizing SRTS projects and programs needed at area schools. The City has supported these efforts by addressing some of the identified issues, such as repainting crosswalks and installing traffic calming infrastructure. The school district is also on board with SRTS, and it has conducted parent surveys and student travel tallies at all K-8 schools.

Many local communities are keeping SRTS on the front burner by holding bike rodeos and repair classes. Several schools are already working on Walk to School Day events and others are gearing up to conduct Parent Surveys as part of back to school events. When it comes to SRTS, there are no cold feet in New Mexico.

New Mexico SRTS Federal Funding

New Mexico’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2009* totals $5,112,276 and includes the following annual apportionments:

* Funding for SRTS is being continued into FY2010 and FY2011 at FY2009 levels.

Application Guidelines

In December 2010, New Mexico DOT awarded $1.1 million in funds to four communities. Click here to view the press release.

New Mexico has a phased program with Phase 1 providing up to $15,000 to communities and school districts for the development of SRTS Action Plans. Phase 2 provides awards for the implementation of the SRTS Action Plan, including up to $25,000 for non-infrastructure activities and up to $250,000 for infrastructure projects. An approved SRTS Action Plan is required prior to applying for Phase 2 funds. The NMDOT also provides engineering assistance to funded communities to help develop a prioritized list of Phase 2 infrastructure projects. Currently, 22 communities are being transitioned into Phase 2 and the program is not accepting Phase 1 applications. For more information on current program activities, funded communities and future funding opportunities please visit www.nmsaferoutes.com.

In March 2009, the New Mexico Department of Transportation announced the third round of funding awards for the NM SRTS program. The following entities were selected to receive Phase 1 awards: Albuquerque Public Schools (two applications for three schools), Village of Cimarron, City of Farmington, City of al, Rio Rancho Public Schools, City of Socorro and Town of Taos. For a complete list of all communities participating in the NM SRTS program, visit www.nmsaferoutes.com.

State Advisory Committee

New Mexico does not utilize a state advisory committee. Applications are reviewed and vetted by representatives of NMDOT, FHWA-NM office, and other agencies, as needed.

NMDOT provides annual training on how to develop the SRTS Action Plan using the NM SRTS Handbook and provides engineering assistance to funded communities. The NMDOT contracts with the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center (UNM PRC) to produce a quarterly SRTS newsletter and develop annual reports. The UNM PRC is currently developing a child pedestrian safety program to be launched in fall 2010. Newsletters and reports are available at www.nmsaferoutes.com.

State Outreach Programs

A number of outreach materials can be dowloaded from New Mexico's SRTS website.

In addition, NMDOT provides annual training on how to develop the SRTS Action Plan using the NM SRTS Handbook, created in 2008 and also provides engineering assistance to funded communities. In addition, the NMDOT partnered with the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center (UNM PRC) to produce a quarterly SRTS newsletter and set up a listserv for funded communities. The UNM PRC conducted an evaluation of the NM SRTS program in 2009-2010 and the report is available on the NM SRTS website, along with other reports and the quarterly newsletter. UNM PRC also developed the NM SRTS Resource Notebook, released in September 2010, which includes resources for schools, parents, and teachers, as well as a K-6 grade curriculum on pedestrian safety. The NM SRTS program is working with UNM PRC to distribute the Resource Notebook to funded communities, as well as other communities interested in starting local SRTS programs. The Resource Notebook is available for download on the NM SRTS website. The NMDOT is also planning to hold Walking School Bus training workshops in fall 2011. These workshops will be open to anyone interested in organizing Walking School Bus programs.

Success Stories

Las Cruces, NM

Hillrise Elementary in Las Cruces, NM conducted a pilot to document the environmental impact of reducing car trips to school as more children walk and bicycle to school. A survey showed a 7.3 percentage point reduction in trips to school made by parents, equivalent to 38 fewer cars arriving at school each morning to drop children off. Assuming an average trip length of three-quarters of a mile one-way, that is a reduction of 5,130 miles driven on trips to school throughout the school year—which equates to a reduction of 2 tons of carbon dioxide and 283 pounds of other harmful pollutants. Starting off with just a few students walking and bicycling can still make a huge difference in a community. The city was so impressed with the initial pilot results that they are expanding Safe Routes to School efforts throughout the entire school district.

A number of success stories are highlighted in New Mexico's quarterly SRTS newsletter.

Evaluation Methods

Funded communities are required to gather data using the National Center for Safe Routes to School Student Arrival and Departure Talley Sheet and Parent Survey.

New Mexico Partner Affiliates

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