SRTS reports and more

This report serves as an educational piece for Congressional members on the progress of Safe Routes to School. The report includes an executive summary, successes of the federal SRTS program, lessons learned, challenges, funding information, and recommendations for the future of SRTS.

Encouragement is one of the complementary strategies that Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs use to increase the number of children who walk and bicycle to school safely. In particular, encouragement and education strategies are closely intertwined, working together to promote walking and bicycling. 

WalkBoston and (MAPC) developed a tool for schools in Massachusetts to assess walking and biking potential. The tool reveals whether  children living nearby are currently arriving in cars  or whether most nearby students are already arriving on foot. A discussion of the tool can be found http://walkboston.org/what-we-do/initiatives/research.

This report provides an update on major State Network Project accomplishments in 2008, lessons learned, state summaries, and the Local School Project.

The Safe Routes Partnership has released a new national report showing how SRTS programs can be harnessed to keep children safe from traffic dangers while walking and bicycling to school. 

This report demonstrates how Safe Routes to School is a collaborative effort involving multiple organizations, including state Departments of Education and state Departments of Public Health. 

A March 2012 research brief by Active Living Research, Impact of the Walking School Bus Program on Children’s Pedestrian Safety Behaviors, reported that parents listed their children’s safety as one of the top concerns regarding walking to school, and that improving safety may lead more parents to allow their children to walk to school. 

With support provided by the Barr Foundation, WalkBoston and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) developed a spatial framework for the following: