Safe Routes to Schools

Safe Routes to Schools is spreading across the nation as a means of reducing traffic congestion, increasing physical activity and encouraging community involvement in solving complex problems. The Marin County Bicycle Coalition is a recognized national leader in this movement. The principle goal of the program is to get more children walking and biking to school safely. The program includes education, incentives, engineering and partnerships with parents, town government, schools and law enforcement. A key component of the program involves classroom education that teaches children traffic safety skills. Contests and events encourage students and their parents to shift their travel behavior through fun community activities.

History of the Marin County Program

Safe Routes to Schools began in Marin in 2000 with a combination of grants from the Marin Community Foundation, The California Department of Health as part of their pilot programs and from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as one of two national pilot programs. We started with 9 schools and added five more in the first year. By the end of the first two years we were able to increase the number of students traveling to school from 21% walking and biking to 38%.

In 2001, the Marin Community Foundation provided a bridge grant of $175,000 to keep the program alive while it went through a transition to become an official Marin County government sponsored program.

During the 2002-2003 school year, we worked with 25 schools, reaching 10,000 students (thanks to funding from Transportation Enhancements through the Marin CMA and the City of San Rafael .) During the next two years, the program was funded through Transportation for Clean Air funding from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Then in 2004, the voters of Marin passed a transportation sales tax which included 11% funding for Safe Routes to Schools including crossing guards and infrastructure. The program is now under the auspices of the Transportation Authority of Marin, and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition continues to run the day to day activities through a contractual agreement. Almost 50 schools now participate in the program including preschools, almost every elementary school in Marin, middle schools and even high schools. The program has expanded to include a diverse offering of classes and opportunities to encourage more walking and biking, carpool and transit use in the journey to and from school.

National Safe Routes to Schools

On August 10, 2005 , SAFETEA-LU, the new federal transportation bill that provides $286.5 billion in funding through September 2009, became law. It includes a $612 million appropriation for a new national Safe Routes to School program that will provide benefits in all 50 states. Communities will use this funding to construct new bike lanes, pathways, and sidewalks, as well as to launch Safe Routes education and promotion campaigns in elementary and middle schools. Each state is required to hire a full time Safe Routes to Schools coordinator. Many states have already issued requests for projects.

Through it's national model status, Marin's Safe Routes to Schools program is helping to set a new trend for the nation. Congressman James Oberstar (D-Minn), a founder of the program at the federal level, proclaims that Safe Routes to Schools is, "changing the habits of an entire generation."

Safe Routes to Schools is a program that is exploding across America . To find out how you can start a Safe Routes to Schools in your community and get expert training and advice, contact us at wendi@marinbike.org