Using Safe Streets for All to Support Safe Routes to Schools

Contact: Jennifer Baldwin, Principal, Alta and Alia Awwad, Principal, Alta

Safety is at the core of all Safe Routes to School (SRTS) efforts, so it is surprising that, of the 622 funded Safe Streets for All (SS4A) projects in 2023, only 37 refer to SRTS or a project that will improve safety near one or more schools. Individually, school-level projects such as constructing crossings or sidewalk infill or developing a SRTS program do not meet the minimum for federal funding; however, districts can bundle these efforts together or jurisdictions can include them in their overall packages to apply for SS4A funding (especially for Demonstration Grant Funding).

Here are ways you can leverage the 2024 SS4A funding to further your community’s goals:

Demonstration Grants are a great opportunity for communities to include SRTS activities

Demonstration Grants can be applied for as a package of safety programs and campaigns, quick-build and demonstration projects, and further safety studies. In the 2023 SS4A cycle, the City of El Paso, TX, was awarded $10 million in funding for their Demonstration Grant that included launching a SRTS Program, expanding El Paso’s Vision Zero Education and Encouragement Campaign, and developing multiple quick-build solutions. Learn more here.

SRTS plans can be developed to meet the specifications of a Safety Action Plan.

This enables communities to apply for the Implementation Grant or Demonstration Grant funding. Consider the following changes to a standard walk audit process to meet the criteria:

1. Leadership commitment: Include a commitment to achieving zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries — with a target date.
2. Planning structure: Make sure your planning structure accounts for monitoring, in addition to implementation.
3. Safety analysis: Include a robust safety analysis.
4. Assess current policies, plans, guidelines, standards, and funding opportunities: Discuss how implementation can be incorporated into a city budget, apply for grant funding, or add implementation to future planning documents.
5. Performance measures: Describe how progress will be measured over time.

SRTS considerations can be incorporated into Safety Action Plans through:

1. Conducting school-specific outreach: Presentations to school boards, PTAs, tabling at arrival or dismissal, and student classroom presentations meet school families where they are.
2. Using school-specific data: Consider an analysis that focuses on youth-involved crashes, Title 1 status, percentage of students receiving free and reduced-price meals, and languages spoken or number of English Language Learners.
3. Including SRTS interventions in recommendations: School-level planning through walk audits, sidewalk and crossing policies, and even maintenance policies have a large impact on student commutes.

SS4A4SRTS Examples

The following examples show how SS4A criteria can be incorporated into SRTS planning to prepare for funding. These are also great examples of the types of projects that can be a part of Demonstration Grant Applications.

San Mateo County Youth-Based High-Injury Network

In San Mateo County, Alta developed a Youth-Based High-Injury Network that shows priority safety concerns and defines the main causes of crashes by jurisdiction.

Tacoma 2023 SRTS Action Plan Update

In the Tacoma 2023 SRTS Action Plan Update, the school prioritization for citywide SRTS interventions incorporated the City’s Vision Zero data and priorities.

Georgia Department of Transportation SRTS Quick-Build Traffic Calming Guidebook

Recognizing this gap, the UrbanTrans Team (now part of Alta) worked with the Georgia Department of Transportation to develop a SRTS Quick-Build Traffic Calming Guidebook to equip partner schools in Georgia with tools and knowledge of safety interventions empowering them to advocate for traffic calming improvements.