History of SRTS
Research on the safety of children walking and bicycling to school began in the U.S. in the early 1970s and was highlighted by release of the US DOT publication “School Trip Safety and Urban Play Areas” in 1975. The term “Safe Routes to School” was first used in Denmark in the late 1970s as part of a very successful initiative to reduce the number of children killed while walking and bicycling to school. Safe Routes to School spread internationally, with programs springing up throughout Europe and in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.
The first modern Safe Routes to School program in the U.S. began in 1997 in the Bronx, NY. In 1998, Congress funded two pilot SRTS programs through the US DOT. NHTSA issued $50,000 each for Safe Routes to School pilot programs in Marin County, California and Arlington, Massachusetts. Within a year after the launch of the pilot programs, many other grassroots Safe Routes to School efforts were started throughout the United States.
As word spread in the pedestrian and bicyclist community of success with the NHTSA pilot programs, interest in a broader program grew. Efforts to include a larger SRTS program in federal legislation began in earnest in 2002. In 2003, the League of American Bicyclists organized the first meeting of leaders in pedestrian and bicycle issues to talk about SRTS issues and how a national program might work. At the same time, a number of states were developing their own SRTS programs, continuing to build momentum for the movement.
In July 2005, Congress passed federal legislation that established a National Safe Routes to School program. The program, which was signed into law in August 2005, dedicates a total of $612 million towards SRTS from 2005 to 2009. The Federal Highway Administration administers the Safe Routes to School program funds and provides guidance and regulations about SRTS programs. Federal SRTS funds will be distributed to states based on student enrollment, with no state receiving less than $1 million per year. SRTS funds can be used for both infrastructure projects and non-infrastructure activities. The legislation also requires each state to have a Safe Routes to School Coordinator to serve as a central point of contact for the state.
With the federal Safe Routes to School program, there will be a significant increase in funds and institutional support to implement SRTS programs in states and communities across the country. So a new chapter in the history of Safe Routes to School programs might soon be written as the benefits of communities and States establishing and advancing Safe Routes programs and issues are learned.
