Safe Routes to School

“In 1969, approximately 50% of children walked or bicycled to school, with approximately 87% of children living within one mile of school walking or bicycling. Today, fewer than 15% of schoolchildren walk or bicycle to school.”

– National Safe Routes to School Partnership

Safe Routes to School is an internationally recognized program dedicated to providing safer routes for students to walk and bike to school. Research has shown that students who walk or bike to school get more daily physical activity, have lower rates of obesity and improves students self-confidence and academic performance.

Safe Routes to School Programming has been successfully implemented across the U.S. and globally. Every Safe Routes to School program aims to meet the core goals or “6Es” of Safe Routes to School.

The 6Es of Safe Routes to School

Evaluation

Evaluation methods are critical to identifying the needs for establishing a Safe Routes to School program and long-term success.

Engineering

Community assessments in road infrastructure around schools help identify needed improvements to support SRTS programs.

Education

Multi-disciplinary programs are a key focus of SRTS. Kids are not only encouraged to walk and bike outside of school but learn valuable lessons and tactics in the classroom as well.

Encouragement

Holding school wide events help provide motivation to establishing programs long term. Bike to School Day and Walk to School Day events support a broader initiative for community-wide support for SRTS.

Enforcement

Partnerships with Law enforcement help increase awareness of traffic safety laws and reduces the presence of crime near schools.

Equity

Equity concerns of safe, active, and healthy opportunities for children and adults in disadvantaged communities are integrated and addressed through the first 5Es to make SRTS programs safe, accessible, and successful.

Why Safe Routes to School Programs Are Important

At their core, Safe Routes to School programs are not just about getting kids to and from school safely, they are about providing children access to opportunity and future success. By encouraging more regular physical activity, SRTS programs create healthier students who perform better in school and stay in school longer. Transportation is also the way that families access jobs, housing, healthcare and other essential needs.

SRTS programs aim to get more children and families walking and biking in their communities, meaning less reliance on motor vehicles, safer neighborhoods, cleaner air, and greater transportation freedom. By creating, safer, healthier, more sustainable communities, SRTS programs not only benefit individuals, but are critical to meeting our state, regional, and local goals around health, air quality, and economic development.

Here are some more specific reasons we think Safe Routes to School programs are critical to individual and community success:

Health

By walking or bicycling to school, students get more physical activity, reduce their risk of obesity and diabetes, and improve their overall health. ^8, ⁹Healthier children miss fewer days of school. ¹⁰

Learning

When students exercise before school, they arrive focused and ready to learn. ¹¹By adopting Safe Routes to School programs, schools can improve students’ health and readiness to learn without taking time away from existing school-day activities or placing additional burdens on teachers. ¹²

Fun and Play

Walking and biking to school with your friends is just plain fun. In many communities where a lack of safe parks or extracurricular activities limit playful interactions, Safe Routes to School programs can help create stronger bonds amongst children and families and help communities reimagine public places to be more playful.

Environment

Because fewer car trips means lower greenhouse gas emissions, walking and bicycling to school reduces air pollution and helps the environment. ^15, ¹⁶

Community

Ten to fourteen percent of morning rush-hour traffic is attributable to families driving their children to school. ¹⁷ Getting children to walk or ride a bike reduces traffic congestion. In addition, by walking or bicycling, children encounter each other (and their other neighbors) on the way to school, increasing the feeling of community and social support.

Safety

With more people out walking and bicycling, neighborhood streets become safer and more welcoming for anyone who is not driving. ¹³ Safe Routes to School infrastructure improvements allow everyone – including children, older adults, and people with disabilities – to walk and bicycle more safely. ¹⁴

What We Do

WALKSacramento works to implement Safe Routes to School programming at schools across the Sacramento Region as a leading Safe Routes to School expert. We have supported over 100 local schools in 7 counties and have secured $8,500,000 in infrastructure improvements, thank to Safe Routes to School programming.

As Safe Routes to School facilitators, we provide comprehensive programming to schools including: Walk to School Day and Bike to School day, School master plans, safe walking and biking maps, community engagement, parent champion training, and more.

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What We Do

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Funding

Safe Routes to School programs have been funded through a number of different sources over the years. At the Federal Level, between 2005 and 2012, Safe Routes to School initiatives were funded through a standalone federal Safe Routes to School program. This program provided more than $1 billion in funding in all states to support infrastructure improvements and programming to make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to and from school.

In 2012, Congress passed Map-21, a new transportation bill which removed the set aside funding for Safe Routes to School programs. This meant that SRTS programs now had to find other sources of funding at the state, regional, and local levels to continue to be successful. Additionally, because set aside funds were eliminated, Safe Routes to school programs like education and encouragement activities often compete against traditional planning efforts and infrastructure projects. The following list includes eligible Federal, statewide, regional, and local funding opportunities specifically for SRTS non-infrastructure programs:

CDC
- Grants and contracts are available for programs and projects that support the mission of promoting health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. (Only non-infrastructure projects are eligible.)
EPA
- Grants are available for environmental education projects that enhance the public's awareness, knowledge, and skills to help people make informed decisions that affect environmental quality. (Non- Infrastructure Only)
History of Federal Funding Infographic

State Active Transportation Funds
- The State Active Transportation Program (ATP) has funded both infrastructure and non-infrastructure SRTS programs in the past. Non-infrastructure programs can be included with infrastructure projects.
California Department of Public Health Kid’s Plates Program
- The Kid’s Plates program has historically funded both SRTS programming and equipment.
Office of Traffic Safety
- The Office of Traffic Safety distributes grants statewide to establish new traffic safety programs or fund ongoing safety programs. OTS grants may only be applied to non-infrastructure projects, such as Walk Safe, Bike Safe Train the Trainer Programs. (Non-Infrastructure Only)
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program
- The Cap and Trade funded Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program included a requirement that a certain portion of project funds must be spent on increasing access to low-carbon transportation options such as walking, biking and transit.
Caltrans Planning Grants
- Caltrans also administers Transportation Planning Grant awards that improve mobility by innovatively solving problems or deficiencies in the transportation system. (Infrastructure and Non-Infrastructure)

Regional ATP Program
- Each MPO allocates a certain portion of Active Transportation Program funds locally. Safe Routes to School programs are eligible to apply separately or as part of infrastructure projects.
OBAG
- MTC’s One Bay Area Grant program — or OBAG — is a funding approach that aligns the Commission's investments with support for focused growth. The OBAG program distributes funding to county Congestion Management Agencies to implement Safe Routes to School programs and projects.
SCAG
- The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) provides Sustainability Planning Grants, which are opportunities for local planning efforts to become regional showcases for great planning. Grants are available in three categories for Active Transportation Projects. (Non-Infrastructure Only)

Foundations
- Several California specific and national foundations including The California Endowment, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have funded Safe Routes to School programs in the past
Local Government
- Local governments are often a good source of funding for Safe Routes to School projects at individual schools or a collection of schools. Grants and funds from local governments and individual elected officials are often used to leverage large grant requests.