Policy & funding

Applying for funds from the federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program will vary by state since each state's department of transportation is responsible for setting up and administering their SRTS program.

Yes. To see where Safe Routes to School funds have been awarded, visit our SRTS Interactive Map. Here, you can discover which schools, school districts, and communities have or will benefit from federal SRTS funding.

The Federal Highway Administration's Office of Policy has published Travel to School: The Distance Factor. The independent research using data from the National Household Travel Survey explores how children's mode of travel to school has changed over time. Highlights include:

Resource File: 

Travel_To_School.pdf

Big Ridge Elementary School is located in a suburban area designed for motor vehicles. The area around the school lacks sidewalks, so most children cannot walk or bicycle safely to school. The few students that do walk must pass through the campus of a church located across the street and then cross the street with the help of a traffic control officer.

Safe Kids Tucson, through the Tucson Medical Center in Pima County, AZ, recently was awarded $40,790 in federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) funds to set up SRTS pedestrian and bicycle safety education and encouragement programs at seven schools in the county. These schools are Bloom Elementary School, Johnson Primary School, Lawrence Intermediate School, Rattlesnake Ridge Elementary School, Whitmore Elementary School, Keeling Elementary School and Davis Primary Magnet School.

With regarding to the federal Safe Routes to School Program, Section III (Eligible Activities) of the federal program guidelines states, "Program funds should not be used to pay crossing guard salaries, as these are reoccurring costs (although funds may be used for crossing guard training programs)."

The short answer is we believe an SRTS Program can help. However, please keep in mind that an SRTS program is more than a sidewalk and infrastructure program. For SRTS programs to be most effective they should be comprehensive and include most if not all of the 5 E's (engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation). Visit our comprehensive SRTS Guide online for more on each of the E's and to see how they work together.

There is no federal law setting a legal age minimum before children can walk to school alone. For a law specific to your state, contact the Safe Routes to School Coordinator local with in your state's Department of Transportation. You may also want to contact the school district or school where the child attends to determine if they have a policy that prohibits children under a certain age from walking to school alone.