Tennessee

Tennessee SRTS State Network
Tennessee 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.

Tennessee SRTS Program
Managed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), Tennessee’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.

Success Stories and Best Practices

Tennessee Partner Affiliates
Find out which organizations in your state have pledged their support as partner affiliates of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

Tennessee SRTS State Network

Tennessee 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.

Tennessee State Network Policy Achievements:

This promotional piece highlights Tennessee's state network policy achievements.

Tennessee SRTS State Network Partners

Bike Walk Tennessee
Chattanooga Hamilton County North Georgia Transportation Planning Organization
City of Bristol
City of Lebanon
Corp of Engineers
Governor’s Highway Safety Council
Jeff Roth Cycling Foundation
Kingsport City Schools
Kingsport Metropolitan Planning Organization
Kingsport Tomorrow
Knox Area TPO
Knox County Health Department
Memphis MPO
Metro Nashville Department of Health
Monroe Carroll Jr. Children’s Hospital
Nashville MPO
Outdoor Chattanooga
Outdoor Encounter
Safe Kids Tennessee
Tennessee Advisory Commission on intergovernment relations (TACIR)
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Tennessee Department of Transportation
Tennessee Obesity Taskforce
Tennessee Department of Education, Office of Coordinated School Health
Tennessee Department of Health
The TMA Group
University of Memphis Civil Engineering Department
University of Tennessee Center for Transportation
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Williamson County Bike Ped Coalition (WCBPCO)
Williamson County Department of Health
YMCA of Middle Tennessee

Tennessee has a lot going on in terms of SRTS related activity. Here are some of the highlights:

• State Network Calls: The State Network holds a network call on the first Thursday of each month at 10:00am CST. Anyone who is a part of the network or interested in becoming a part of the network may attend the call. Our network is always recruiting individuals who are interested in SRTS. To join the Tennessee State Network or to find out more information about the network contact Millie Halvorson, Tennessee State Network Organizer at tennessee@saferoutespartnership.org.
• TDOT SRTS Website Update: Network Partner and State SRTS Coordinator Diana Benedict, recently updated the TDOT SRTS website. To check out the updated information and to stay current on Tennessee’s State SRTS program, click here: http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/bikeped/saferoutes.htm.
• School Siting Symposium:The Nashville Area MPO sponsored the area’s first ever school siting symposium. The symposium brought together well over 100 elected officials, architects, planners, school officials and community members to discuss issues related to school facilities. Speakers included Dr. David Salvesen of UNC, Matt Dalbey from the U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program and Sharon Roerty, Executive Director of the National Center on Bicycling and Walking. Breakouts included the following topics as they relate to school siting:
  • Transportation
  • Health
  • Historic Preservation
  • LEED Certification
  • Parks
  • Intergovernmental Collaboration
• Complete Streets Workshop: For two days, January 28 and 29, 2010, the MPO and the TMA Group co-hosted the Nashville Area Complete Streets Symposium and Workshop aimed at helping the region move beyond the usual focus on design specifics, towards an improved understanding of how we might transform decision-making processes so that Complete Streets policies are adopted throughout Middle Tennessee. Speakers included Michael Ronkin and Randy Neufield.

For more information about either the School Siting Symposium or the Complete Streets Workshop, visit www.nashvillempo.org.

Tennessee SRTS Program

Managed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), Tennessee’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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Tennessee SRTS Federal Funding  |  Success Stories and Best Practices
Tennessee Partner Affiliates

Tennessee SRTS Federal Funding

Tennessee’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2011 totals $18,075,504 and includes the following annual apportionments:

Application Guidelines

As of March 2011, TDOT has received 201 applications requesting over $37 million. The applications represent a good mix of educational activities, major projects such as sidewalk segments and shared-use paths and minor improvements such as sign packages, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals. Tennessee’s SRTS Program has awarded 51 projects totaling over $8.5 million. View a complete listing of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 award recipients. 2010 grant applications will be reviewed in the summer or fall of 2011.

Applications for the next round of funding will be accepted beginning January 2012, ending March 30, 2012. For more information, please review the application packet or contact Diana Benedict at 615-253-2421 or Diana.Benedict@tn.gov.

Success Stories and Best Practices

Tennessee State Network rallies to support student bicyclist and mom

In August, a mom in Eastern Tennessee was surprised when her daughter, who normally rides her bike to and from school, was brought home in a police car. The policeman had stopped her daughter on her way home and asked her to get into his car. The policeman then told the mother that she would be arrested and reported to Child Protective Services if she continued to allow her daughter to bike to school. The mom, being an avid cyclist contacted the League of American Bicyclists, who then referred her to the Tennessee Safe Routes to School Network. The State Network immediately rallied in support of the mom and daughter and saw this as a wonderful opportunity to provide support and education to a community in need. The daughter had previously attended a bike rodeo sponsored by the League of American cyclists and was knowledgeable of the rules of the road and also always wore her helmet when cycling. But the community in general was not knowledgeable or supportive of the rights of cyclists or of children biking to school.

On September 1, 2011 The State Network had one of its largest levels of participation during its monthly network meeting. The network showed amazing support and energy for this opportunity. The website for Walk Bike Tennessee, which is actively involved with the state network, had thousands of comments on its blog, including one from Lance Armstrong, showing support for the mom and daughter and for children biking to school in general. The Network contacted the police department and Mayor’s office to offer support and education. A Senior Planner with the Metropolitan Planning Organization in Nashville and network member, offered to train officers about the laws governing bicyclists in Tennessee. Another network member who works for the Economic Development Council in a county near the community offered his services as a League of American Bicyclists Instructor. As a result of these efforts, the daughter is still being allowed to bike to school. The town is actively working to establish a Safe Routes to School Committee and is planning to apply for a Safe Routes to School grant during the next round of funding in 2012.

Because of the national attention that this incident received, the national TV program “The Doctors” interviewed the mom during one of their shows. The mom gave credit to working with the Safe Routes to School Network and the panel of doctors unanimously agreed that more children should be biking to school and communities need to build roads that make it safer.

This is a wonderful example of how a state network can provide support and education to promote children biking and walking to school and change the habits and minds of a community!

Medina, Tennessee: Walking & Biking to School - Safely

Medina, a small city in West Tennessee, has had growth of 155% in just five years. City officials, school faculty, and local citizens are concerned with safe and active school travel in the community. Students walk on narrow, grassy, and often muddy street banks or cross and walk along busy, congested two-lane rural streets. By including a variety of stakeholders during the school travel plan process, Medina applied for and received a Safe Routes to School Grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Medina identified strategies involving the five “Es” of Safe Routes to School to address the barriers of walking and biking to school. By creating educational materials, encouraging and promoting a Walk to School Day, and enforcing lower speed limits in the school vicinity, students can make use of safe, physically active transportation. This grant will allow for the engineering of sidewalks and street crossing improvements and assist with programs to teach safe pedestrian and cycling skills as well as active lifestyles. Evaluation strategies will be utilized to gauge the success of this project.

Medina Middle School is proud to showcase it “Power 90” fitness program that encourages students to exercise cooperatively in a more concentrated way. By partnering with the Safe Routes to School Program, Medina is “On the Move” and committed to improving the health and safety of children.

Medina Middle School featured in Scholastic News Magazine for its "Power 90" Fitness Program

Memphis, Tennessee: Safe Routes to School (SRTS) - Frayser Elementary School

Frayser Elementary School is located in an area with a high concentration of inexperienced teenage drivers from the adjacent high school. The area surrounding the school is predominantly single family residential and includes commercial development and excessive traffic volume. The primary safety issues include U-turns, speeding vehicles, pick-up and drop-off traffic, left turning vehicles conflicting with student pedestrians, faded crosswalks, and jaywalking students.

Frayser was awarded $250,000 by the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s SRTS Program to package a comprehensive plan addressing the needs of an inner city walkable neighborhood. Dr. Susan Roakes, Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning and her students coordinated a number of planning meetings with multiple project partners. This collaborative effort created a Safe Routes program focused on safety and convenience for the Frayser community.

Engineering activities for Frayser include a raised median, two crosswalks, and three restriped crosswalks. Education activities include programs to develop an age-appropriate curriculum with lesson plans that use games and puzzles, whereby children are encouraged to make appropriate choices in described scenarios. The safe driving campaign will have as its goal changing the social acceptability of speeding, U-turns, and not stopping for crosswalks. Enforcement activities include monitoring and enforcement of speed limits, no U-turns, stopping at crosswalks, and pedestrian safety practices by the Memphis Police Department North Precinct. Encouragement activities include the creation and maintenance of walking “school busses” of students and parents and special events that highlight walking and make participation fun. This includes a monthly "Walk to School Day”, each with a different theme. Evaluation activities include a multi-faceted protocol that addresses multiple measures to determine the program’s success. Data will be collected before, during, and at the end of the grant period.

Frayser is an area seeking to revitalize itself through building neighborhood organizations, dealing with crime and other safety issues, cleaning up physical obstacles, improving community health, and enhancing educational opportunities. This project not only addresses concerns about the safety of children attending Frayser Elementary but is a significant step in neighborhood capacity building, as partners join together to meet mutual goals.

Contact:

Diana Benedict
(615) 253-2421
Diana.Benedict@tn.gov

Nashville, Tennessee: School Zone Signage Made Possible

A small private school in east Nashville operated for six years without a designated school zone. Private schools in Nashville are required to pay for their own school signage, and this particular school had limited funds due to the population it served and the small number of students in attendance. Upon examination of the area surrounding the school, Music City Moves! made a simple recommendation in order to address speeding in the area. With a small portion of funds set aside for infrastructure improvements through grant monies, the Partnership was able to offer the school signage for a school zone, and helped arrange for Nashville Public Works to put the signage in place.

Music City Moves! and Walk/Bike Nashville have been serving low-income schools in the Nashville area for approximately 5 years now. The SRTS program was initially set into motion with funds from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s, Active Living by Design grant.

Tennessee Partner Affiliates

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