Last year, the Safe Routes to School Coalition launched the program to promote safe and active walking and bicycling for students and their families. The goals of this grant are to:
- Increase bicycle, pedestrian, and traffic safety around schools;
- Decrease traffic congestion around schools;
- Reduce childhood obesity by increasing number of children walking and biking to school; and
- Improve air quality, community safety and security, and community involvement around school.
This will be achieved by implementing the “5 E’s”in 5 pilot schools:
- Education
- Encouragement
- Enforcement
- Engineering
- Evaluation
We worked with 5 elementary schools in the first year of this program and are adding 10 more schools this year! We invite your school to participate in the Safe Routes to School Program for 2010-2011.
What schools need to do to participate in Safe Routes to School:
- Participate in Walk to School Day on October 6, 2010
- Participate in the 10 week Walking Challenge in spring 2011
- Participate in Bike to School Day in April 2011
- Participate in evaluation feedback of transportation to and from school
- Ask teachers and/or school staff to be stipended liasions for the program to coordinate services listed below (and additional services if necessary)
What schools will receive for participating in Safe Routes to School:
Education:
- Pedestrian safety to 2nd-grade students
- Bike safety to 4th-grade students
- Distribution of traffic safety educational packets to drivers near schools
- Development of maps for students and parents/caregivers that show safe pedestrian and bicycle routes to school
Encouragement:
Assistance with the Walking Challenge, Walk to School Day, and Bike to School Day as well as other motivating activities
Enforcement:
Additional observation of traffic behavior & enforcement of traffic laws by SFPD
Engineering:
Walk audits by MTA that will help identify transportation barriers and possible solutions
Evaluation:
- Evaluate improvements in transportation to and from school
- Evaluate children and parents’ attitudes and knowledge of walking and biking through surveys
We are offering $3,000 to each school site council of participating schools plus an $800 stipend for a liaison at each school.
The application deadline was August 23, 2010. Thank you for your interest and we will be announcing the additional 10 schools shortly. Any questions? Contact Martha Adriasola at (415) 242-2615 x3225 or adriasolam@sfusd.edu