St. Thomas Aquinas School is located in an urban neighborhood approximately four miles north of downtown Indianapolis. It serves 221 students in kindergarten to 8th grade. Officials estimate that 85 percent of the students live within two miles of the school and could walk or bicycle to school if conditions were better. However, surveys taken prior to instituting an SRTS program showed that less than 15 percent of students walked or biked to school.
Communities initiate Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs for a variety of reasons. In an attempt to reduce the barriers for students to walk and bicycle to school, some programs focus on reducing traffic congestion and the number of cars around schools.
One of the greatest challenges for many schools and neighborhoods is finding the appropriate measures to slow traffic in the areas where pedestrians cross the street. Which devices will be most effective? What are the costs? What are the maintenance requirements? Are there liability issues?
Engineering approaches can improve children's safety to enable more bicycling and walking. Engineering is a broad concept used to describe the design, implementation, operation and maintenance of traffic control devices or physical measures. This chapter of the SRTS Guide serves as a toolbox of various engineering techniques aimed at creating safe routes to school. It focuses on tools that work to create safe routes by improving paths, creating safer crossings and slowing down traffic.
The following tip sheets offer guidance for assessing and mapping walking and bicycling routes.
The following tip sheets offer guidance for assessing and mapping walking and bicycling routes.
The Bicycle Countermeasure Selection System (BIKESAFE) is an expert system that allows the user to select appropriate countermeasures or treatments to address specific problems. BIKESAFE also includes a large number of case studies to illustrate treatments implemented in communities throughout the United States.
The Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System (PEDSAFE) is intended to provide practitioners with the latest information available for improving the safety and mobility of those who walk. The online tools provide the user with a list of possible engineering, education, or enforcement treatments to improve pedestrian safety and/or mobility based on user input about a specific location.
In 1995, the Auburn School District linked concerns about the high cost of transportation and increased childhood obesity to create cooperation that has led to 20 percent of its district’s students walking to school.
“The key to our program is the partnership,” said Jim Denton, Director of Transportation for the Auburn School District in Auburn, WA, for 12 years.
