Case Studies
SRTS programs are making a difference.
Throughout the country, successful Safe Routes to School programs are changing the attitudes and habits of parents and schoolchildren. Dozens of case studies prove well-designed and implemented SRTS programs can make a difference in our communities and our children’s lives.
In August 2000 in Marin County, California, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provided funds for a Safe Routes to School pilot program in nine elementary schools. The first of its kind in the United States, the comprehensive program included education, contests and prizes to encourage children to walk or bike to school, safety enforcement and infrastructure plans.
The result?
- 64% increase in the number of students walking to school
- 114% increase in the number of children bicycling to school
- Participation has grown from 9 to 49 schools with the goal to involve all of the county’s elementary and middle schools
Similar programs have proven successful in other communities across the United States:
Huntsville, Alabama: more than 50 percent of the students at Challenger Elementary participated in the fall 2007 “Walk to School Day.”
Anchorage, Alaska: the challenges of a long winter dark period resulted in the use of reflective tape on backpacks and jackets and a reflective gear “fashion show” in the Anchorage School District. The efforts led to a 70 percent increase in students walking and wearing reflective gear on “Walk to School Day.”
Newark, Delaware: a Frequent Walker/Biker punch card program motivates students at Downes Elementary to walk or bicycle to school regularly.
Norwalk, Connecticut: the installation of a new traffic signal, a new pedestrian crosswalk, curb ramps, bicycle lanes, raised intersections and lane striping will all be completed in the summer of 2008 – to increase safety for Naramake Elementary and Nathan Hale Middle School student walkers and cyclists along busy Strawberry Hill Avenue.
To read more case studies, or to submit your own, visit www.saferoutesinfo.org
