Texas

Texas SRTS Program

Managed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Texas’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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In the News  |  SRTS Federal Funding
Application Guidelines  |  State Advisory Committee
State Outreach Programs  |  Evaluation Methods
Success Stories  |  Other Statewide and Regional Programs
Texas Partner Affiliates  |  Legislation and Policies

In the News

Texas Awards More Than $54 Million in SRTS Funding

200 new projects awarded funding

On May 27, 2010, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced $54 million in local Safe Routes to School awards approved by the Texas Transportation Commission for 200 new federal Safe Routes to School projects. Funding will be used by local communities for educational programs and infrastructure improvements that make it safer for Texas children to walk or bicycle to school in more than 73 communities.

TxDOT originally received more than 280 project applications in their 2009 Safe Routes to School call for applications, a total of $78.7 million in funding requests from communities around the state. 119 of the 198 infrastructure proposals submitted were awarded. 77 of the 82 non-infrastructure proposals submitted were awarded. All four of the applicants for statewide services proposals were also selected for funding. Applications were reviewed by both TxDOT staff and the department’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. Examples of the three types of projects follow.

The City of Austin received funding to carry out non-infrastructure activities at 16 schools. The City of Austin Public Works Department’s Child Safety Program will teach bicycle and pedestrian safety to children in school, through after-school programs and at summer camps. Teachers will also receive training on bicycle safety curricula, conducting bicycle skills courses and how to include messages about pedestrian or bicycle safety in regular curriculum. The Austin Safe Routes to School Coalition will promote Safe Routes to School in the community, gain community support and feedback about initiatives at selected schools and serve as a liaison between schools, the community and the Safe Routes to School project staff.

The City of Socorro was awarded funding to construct, replace and repair sidewalks with accessible curb ramps on four neighborhood streets leading to Escontrias Elementary School. Students walking to school now have to walk in the streets or along the dirt shoulders of these busy roads. The project also includes widening of a bridge to provide safer pedestrian crossing. School flashers and signs will be installed to slow traffic down and to keep cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alert to the presence of students walking and bicycling to school along these routes. The City projects a 50% increase in the number of students walking and bicycling to school once these safety improvements are made.

The BikeTexas Education Fund will be able to carry out a statewide initiative to help reduce the number of motor vehicle-related pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities among children. It will pursue this goal by building on and incorporating key components of its previous SuperCyclist and SuperCollege Projects with the implementation of the Safe Routes to School Statewide Teacher Certification Program and distribution of 15-unit SRTS Bike/Walk Safety Curriculum. The proposed SRTS teacher certification program includes continued training and certification of elementary physical education teachers and public safety professionals in the Bike/Walk Safety curriculum, distribution of the 15-unit Bike/Walk Safety curriculum and related printed, DVD and other supporting materials to certified teachers, encouragement and support to certified teachers and timely revisions and distribution of the curriculum and related materials.

Texas SRTS Federal Funding

Texas’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2009* totals $44,751,640 and includes the following annual apportionments:

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

Application Guidelines

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced its second round for project proposals with its 2009 Program Call for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program in the Texas Register on August 28, 2009. Approved SRTS funding allocation for 2009 is $13,500,000. The Department must receive completed applications at the location specified in the register notice no later than 5:00 p.m., Monday, November 30, 2009. The timing of the next call will be determined after this cycle is completed.

The Texas Transportation Commission approved the 2009 Safe Routes to School projects. TxDOT received 284 proposals which totaled funding requests of $78.7 million. Two hundred of these were awarded today at approximately $54.1 million. 119 of the 198 infrastructure proposals submitted were awarded. 77 of the 82 non-infrastructure proposals submitted were awarded. All four of the statewide services proposals submitted were also awarded.

There are three different types of applications: Non-Infrastructure Plan Implementation, Non-Infrastructure Statewide Services, and Infrastructure Projects. The Non-Infrastructure and Infrastructure applications required a Safe Routes to School Plan be submitted for consideration of funding.

The first program call for project proposals ended in May 2007 and projects were awarded September 27, 2007. The Texas Transportation Commission approved approximately $24.7 million in projects. Statewide, 244 projects in more than 66 communities were approved.

For more information, please see the TxDOT SRTS program.

State Advisory Committee

Texas does not have a State SRTS Advisory Committee but instead utilizes the knowledge and skills of our 25 District SRTS local contacts, the Bicycle Advisory Committee, and the TxDOT SRTS Review Committee. There are plans to propose that the TxDOT administration set up a State SRTS Advisory Committee in the near future.

State Outreach Programs

The TxDOT SRTS State Coordinator and regional SRTS staff have hosted dozens of meetings around the state to explain the new SRTS application process.

Evaluation Methods

Grantees are required to complete evaluation and scoring forms with each application. Texas also utilizes the Texas Transportation Institute to formally evaluate the success of the program. Forms and guidelines are available on the Texas SRTS program call page.

Success Stories

The City of Austin (COA) Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program under the Health and Human Services Department has successfully implemented SRTS programs in eight elementary and two middle schools in 2007. COA was awarded additional funding under the 2009 SRTS Program Call to implement SRTS activities in ten other elementary and two middle schools. COA began a monthly SRTS coalition and newsletter, conducted media campaigns, provided bike/pedestrian safety skill/awareness training for children and adults. Click here for more information on City of Austin's SRTS program.

BikeTexas released a press release announcing its award of three Safe Routes to School grants totaling approximately $1.4 million from the Texas Transportation Commission.

Amarillo, Texas: Safe Kids Week 2007

To celebrate the 2007 Safe Kids Week, Amarillo hosted an event at Will Rogers Elementary School on Friday, May 4th, 2007. The event provided fun ways for families to learn that close supervision, proper safety devices, and other simple prevention measures help children avoid injury. Over 500 students rotated through the booths to receive precautionary advice at the day-long event. The Texas Bicycle Coalition SRTS program provided tips on helmet and bicycle safety and bicycle maintenance.

Contact:
Robin Stallings
Texas Bicycle Coalition
(512) 476-7433
robin@biketexas.org
www.biketexas.org

Other Statewide and Regional Programs

RWJF Awards Texas with a $2 Million Childhood Obesity Grant

Grant will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of childhood obesity prevention policies

Texas is one of three states recently awarded $2 million by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to evaluate the effectiveness of childhood obesity prevention policies. Other states named with Texas to receive the current grants were New York and Mississippi.

Two key childhood obesity prevention policies will be evaluated: Texas Safe Routes to School program, a program encouraging students to be more physically active by walking to school, and food allocation package revisions administered through Texas Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program. The purpose of the grants is to inform decision makers about the effectiveness of these two childhood obesity prevention policies. These studies will also help local, state and national policymakers identify policies that work toward promoting children’s healthy eating and increased physical activity.

This grant is unique in that the size and diversity of Texas will allow for a large study of underserved populations, determining how these policies affect different segments of the at-risk population, including the Hispanic/Latino population along the Texas/Mexico border. This award builds on previous work conducted in Texas to combat childhood obesity, including the School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) survey, a statewide surveillance system that monitors the prevalence of obesity in school-aged children. States previously awarded similar grants from RWJF were Arkansas, Delaware, and West Virginia.

Co-leading the program will be Deanna Hoelscher, Ph.D., R.D., professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus and director of the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, and Marcia Ory, Ph.D., Regents Professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health. Project director will be Diane Dowdy, Ph.D., from the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health. Dr. Hoelscher stated: "This grant is historic in that it brings together researchers from both the University of Texas School of Public Health and Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, as well as a statewide consortium of other academic institutions, community groups and stakeholders in a focused effort to address one of the most significant public health issues of our time- childhood obesity."

BikeTexas SRTS Program

Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund has operated the BikeTexas Safe Routes to School program since 2004 with funding from a U.S. Department of Education, Carol M. White Physical Education Program grant. The BikeTexas SRTS regional program concentrates on SRTS encouragement and education activities in Lubbock, Amarillo, Fort Worth, Witchita Falls, and surrounding towns.

Texas SuperCyclist Project

Since 1998 the Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund has managed the Texas SuperCyclist project with traffic safety funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Over 500,000 Texas 4th and 5th grade school children have received at least five hours of bicycle and pedestrian safety instruction from their elementary P.E. teachers. The SuperCyclist project has trained over 3,000 elementary P.E. teachers in the “train the trainer” type program. The SuperCyclist project is the nucleus of the BikeTexas Safe Routes to School program.

Texas Partner Affiliates

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

Legislation and Policies

Matthew Brown Act

The Texas Legislature passed the Matthew Brown Act in 2001 and laid the foundation for the state Safe Routes to School infrastructure program. Twenty-seven awards were given in a 2003 call for infrastructure projects. The lessons learned from that pilot program helped establish the current TxDOT Safe Routes to School program.

Wellness

In 2003 and 2007 the Texas Legislature passed bills that require 30 minutes per day of physical activity for K-8.

Curriculum

In 1993 the Texas Legislature passed a bill requiring the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to develop a bicycle safety curriculum. The SuperCyclist curriculum was developed in partnership with the Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund.