Safe Routes to Parks Consulting Services

Parks are places where people can be active, spend time in nature, and connect with friends and neighbors. Studies show that people in communities with safe ways to walk, bicycle, or take transit to parks are more likely to use parks and be physically active. But, often park design and maintenance stop at the park boundaries and access is considered separately. The Safe Routes Partnership’s Consulting Services Team is comprised of experts who are experienced with the challenges of making change on the local level and creating Safe Routes to Parks to maximize the use and benefits of parks in a community. Call on our expertise for tailored assistance with improving safe, equitable local park access.

Each community is unique. Through our individualized consulting, we provide strategic support to local, regional, and state program and policy leaders. Once we understand your needs, our expert staff can help guide your policy, planning, and programmatic efforts, including:

Community and Stakeholder Engagement

Developing an authentic community engagement plan and facilitating community engagement activities
Assisting in building bridges between stakeholders such as departments of health, planning, transportation, and residents
Developing a marketing and communications plan to promote efforts and build advocates
Conducting Pathways to Influence research to figure out how to inspire decision makers to support Safe Routes to Parks efforts
Helping coordinate a pop-up tactical urbanism event
Facilitating meetings with law enforcement to discuss policies and programs to build trust and relationships and increase safety
Creating visually appealing informational sheets and other materials to use in engaging stakeholders and decision makers

Implementation Assistance

Identifying funding opportunities, developing materials for grant applications, and helping to leverage additional funding for infrastructure improvements
Developing language for formal agreements with partners (e.g., shared use, roles, responsibilities, and other logistics related to community planning efforts)
Assisting with program implementation including engineering and technical consultant selection

Analysis and Planning

Facilitating data collection and evaluation
Assessing assets and barriers to park access in your community
Conducting a policy assessment and recommending and writing policies focusing on topics such as Complete Streets, Vision Zero, policing, maintenance, and zoning
Assisting with community identification of Safe Routes to Parks priorities and translating priorities into action
Developing a customized Safe Routes to Parks action plan that identifies goals, objectives, specific implementation steps, and key leaders and partners.
Providing recommendations to incorporate Safe Routes to Parks priorities into system-wide planning and policies (e.g., Park and Recreation Master plan, Safe Routes to School Travel plan, Transportation plan, HEAL policy, Vision Zero policy, Complete Streets policy)

Webinars and Trainings

Inspiring and useful interactive webinars and in-person trainings on topics such as:
- The benefits of Safe Routes to Parks, barriers that communities face in creating safe access, and strategies to facilitate access to parks through walking, bicycling, or transit
- Walkability and accessibility audits
- Crime Prevention through Environmental Design techniques
- Shared use
- Incorporating equity into Safe Routes to Parks with concrete steps to take to ensure equity is part of creating safe access to parks, and examples of how communities have worked toward equitable park access