The village of Ossining, NY, is located within Westchester County, NY, along the Hudson River. The elementary schools within the town and village of Ossining are divided into two grade increments, and several buses serve each school. The necessary busing program and a lack of physical infrastructure prevent many children from walking to school.
The Denver Osteopathic Foundation partnered with Denver Public Schools to launch a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to increase walking and bicycling at Ellis Elementary and other schools in Denver, Colo. Ellis Elementary School is a kindergarten through fifth grade school with a diverse student population of which more than half of the students live within one mile of the school.
Parents at Bear Creek Elementary School in Boulder, CO., are leading students and the entire school community into life-changing choices. The Car-Free Commute program at the school, only in its second year, has succeeded in engaging 70 percent of students in walking and bicycling to school consistently throughout the school year.
The Riverside County Department of Public Health Injury Prevention Services (IPS) developed a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program at several priority schools, which it identified by mapping youth pedestrian and bicycle injuries and deaths in the county. The mapping process “enables us to strategically map where the SRTS efforts might be beneficial,” says Gail Carlson, Program Coordinator, IPS.
In August 2000, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition was funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to participate in a Safe Routes to School pilot program. Congressman James Oberstar, then the ranking Democrat of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, endorsed the program as a means to reduce traffic congestion around schools and promote healthy alternatives to driving.
Chula Vista is in southwest California and has the largest kindergarten through sixth grade district in the state. In 2007, the city of Chula Vista and the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) applied for and were awarded Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grants. One of the grants was designated for a non-infrastructure program for Otay and Rice Elementary Schools, while the other was for a city infrastructure program.
During the summer months, Yuma, Arizona, is a mid-sized city with approximately 85,000 residents. In the winter months, however, the population increases as people migrate to the city to escape the colder climates. This migration leads to increased traffic congestion and pedestrian safety concerns when students are walking to school. In 2007, the Yuma Elementary School District #1 organized a parade to school at Desert Mesa Elementary School and O.C. Johnson Elementary School to promote safe and healthy places for the children to walk and bicycle to school.
Maybe it’s not feasible to travel by jet pack, but that didn’t stop students from including the idea on a middle school mural that highlights creative, non-car ways to arrive at school. The alternative transportation mural, painted on the corner of Mile High Middle School in Prescott, AZ, just behind the bicycle rack, was part of an encouragement effort, according to Lisa Barnes, Executive Director of Prescott Alternative Transportation (PAT), a non-profit pedestrian and bicycling advocacy organization.
Maricopa County Department of Public Health- Office of Health Promotion and Education in 2008 began working with Griffith Elementary School on “Walk n-Rollers,” a Safe Routes to School program to address parent concerns about traffic, speeding and safety as students walk and bicycle to school. Griffith is a neighborhood school with about 650 students, more than half of whom live within a quarter mile of the school. The school population is predominantly low income, and obesity issues are a concern.
Sometimes, there is great strength in numbers. The Gilbert, Arizona, Safe Routes to School 5Es program thrives due to partnerships among many organizations, including schools, school districts, PTSOs, a local municipality, a regional hospital, a regional public transit agency and local business organizations.