Making the case

Safe Routes to School as a Catalyst for Community Change in Montpelier, Vermont

Safe Routes Matters: 
September/October 2012

Six years ago, Community Connections, a local nonprofit that runs afterschool programs in Montpelier, Vt., public schools, identified a need to get students more physically active during the school day.  The organization saw the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program as the perfect way to get students excited about physical activity.

After receiving a non-infrastructure SRTS grant from the state, Community Connections spent the next two years running programs that concentrated on the five E’s: Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Evaluation and Engineering.

Methods for Estimating the Environmental Health Impacts of SRTS Programs

This report explores environmental health and Safe Routes to School through a review of the relationship between environmental health and school travel, a discussion on measuring the environmental health impacts of school travel, and five examples of methods used by SRTS programs to estimate the impact of their activities on local air quality and carbon dioxide emissions.

Resource File: 
application/pdf iconEnvironmental_Health.pdf

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Getting Results: SRTS Programs That Increase Walking and Bicycling to School

Getting Results: SRTS Programs That Increase Walking and Bicycling to School offers brief summaries of eight programs that measured their walking and bicycling numbers and found an increase.  The resource aims to assist and inspire Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs to measure student travel patterns to look for possible changes over time and measure the progress of their activities.

Put the data to work.

Ultimately, the collection of school travel data and subsequent analysis can enable a SRTS program to measure the efficacy of its programs, determine how successful it is and communicate its success to the community and potential funders.

Getting Results: SRTS Programs That Increase Walking and Bicycling to School is the third installment in a series of resources on getting and measuring results with SRTS programs. To read more about measuring and evaluating the results of an SRTS program, visit Getting Results: SRTS Programs That Reduce Traffic and Getting Results: SRTS Programs That Reduce Speeding and Distracted Driving.

Resource File: 
application/pdf iconsrts_gettingresults_walkbike.pdf

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Getting More Students to Walk and Bicycle: Four Elements of Successful Programs

Though some Safe Routes to School programs have to address safety problems first, most programs ultimately aim to increase walking and bicycling among students. Some programs yield a greater response than imagined; others start out by showing great promise, but end up not reaching their goals.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School, in an effort to better understand what factors might contribute to increases in walking and bicycling, examined programs for elements linked to measured walking and bicycling outcomes.

Authoring Organization: 
National Center for Safe Routes to School
Resource File: 
application/pdf iconGetting-More-Students-to-Walk-and-Bicycle-for-Practitioners.pdf

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Shifting Modes: A Comparative Analysis of SRTS Program Elements and Travel Mode Outcomes

This study explores how school-level dynamics that underlie the planning and implementation of SRTS programs relate to the percentage of students who walk and bicycle between home and school.

Do successful Safe Routes to School programs have something in common?

Shifting Modes: A Comparative Analysis of Safe Routes to School Program Elements and Travel Mode Outcomes identifies the following four key factors that successful SRTS programs share:

Authoring Organization: 
National Center for Safe Routes to School
Resource File: 
application/pdf iconShifting_Modes_Comparative_Analysis.PDF

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Federal Safe Routes to School Program Reaches More Than 10,400 Schools Across All Income Levels

Safe Routes Matters: 
July/August 2011

A Special Thank You to Chairman Oberstar

Safe Routes Matters: 
November/December 2010

Chairman Jim Oberstar's leadership and legacy has been lauded by many in the wake of the recent elections. He truly is a tremendous public servant and has positively impacted the lives and "livability" of all Americans — especially our nation's school children through the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program.

Getting Results: SRTS Programs That Reduce Traffic

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.

Authoring Organization: 
National Center for Safe Routes to School
Resource File: 
application/pdf icongetting_results_reduce_traffic.pdf

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Child Pedestrian Safety Curriculum Teachers Guide

The Child Pedestrian Safety Curriculum, developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, teaches and encourages pedestrian safety for students grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade. It is organized into five lessons: walking near traffic, crossing streets, crossing intersections, parking lot safety, and school bus safety. Each lesson builds upon previous set of skills learned.

Authoring Organization: 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Resource File: 
application/pdf iconCPSC-TeachersGuide.pdf

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Community problems & solutions Education Enforcement & safety management Making the case Program organization

Safe Routes to School and Health: Understanding the Physical Activity Benefits of Walking and Bicycling to School

Walking and biking are two of the easiest ways to be active. The National Center has prepared a new research-based resource that specifically looks at the potential physical activity benefits of a SRTS program and describes strategies for measuring those benefits.

Authoring Organization: 
National Center for Safe Routes to School
Resource File: 
application/pdf iconSRTS and health_final.pdf

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