About Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes to School programs aim to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and encourage more walking and biking where safety is not a barrier. Transportation, public health and planning professionals, school communities, community groups and families all have roles to play using education, encouragement, engineering, and engagement to meet a local community’s needs. |
6 Es of Safe Routes to School
EquityEquity refers to how decisions impact communities, ensuring that benefits and burdens are shared appropriately. SRTS programs should reduce disparities by prioritizing schools with the highest need.
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EngineeringEngineering is the infrastructure improvements (signage, crosswalks, signals, etc.) designed to improve the safety of peopling walking, rolling, and driving along school routes.
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EncouragementEncouragement refers to events and activities that spark interest in both guardians and students in walking and rolling to school, with programs that reward participation.
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EducationClasses and activities that teach children bicycle, pedestrian, and traffic safety skills, along with the positive impacts these activities have on personal health and the environment. Education can also refer to teaching drivers why they have an important responsibility to follow the rules of the road.
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EngagementEngagement is listening to students, families, teachers, and school leaders and working with existing community organizations, to build intentional, ongoing engagement opportunities into the program structure.
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EvaluationAssessing which approaches are more or less successful, ensuring that programs and initiatives are supporting equitable outcomes, and identifying unintended consequences or opportunities to improve the effectiveness of each approach.
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