Safe Routes to School

What is "Safe Routes to School"? 

Safe Routes to School (SR2S) is a nationwide movement to make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school.  SR2S promotes walking and bicycling to school through targeted education, encouragement, enforcement, and engineering projects. SR2S programs are alive and active in Humboldt County.
 
SR2S tools help solve infrastructure and safety barriers that keep kids from walking and biking to school. SR2S programs create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to walk, bike, roll, and bus to and from school.
 
People active in the SR2S movement include kids, school teachers and staff, parents, neighbors, city planners, engineers, law enforcement, crossing guards, bus drivers, and bicyclists, as well as local, state, and national governments.
 
Some Safe Routes to School benefits include reduced traffic, reduced emmissions, improved health, improved grades, improved community relations, and helps promote and active lifestyle and livable community for everyone!
 

Starting A Walking School Bus: The Basics

During these uncertain times, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for schools and districts to transport the same number of students on school buses while following social distancing guidelines. This may be the perfect time to start a Walking School Bus to help fill the transportation gap caused by COVID-19.
 

SR2S Regional Task Force

The Humboldt County SR2S Task Force focuses on SR2S efforts throughout the County. They work closely with schools throughout the County in needs assessments and grant applications.  The Task Force is made up of RCAA, Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, HCAOG, California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, BikesThere, Humboldt County Public Works, the City of Arcata, and teachers, principals, and parents. 
 

SRTS Task Force is meeting on Zoom!

(usually the 3rd Wednesday on even months)
The Humboldt County SRTS Task Force has been successfully collaborating on strategies to increase the safety and numbers of local youth walking and bicycling to school through engineering improvements, education and encouragement programs.  To get on the e-list, contact Natural Resources Services Division-Redwood Community Action Agency (707) 269-2062 or email: SafeRoutesHumboldt <<at>> gmail "dot" com (capital letters not required).

Click here for prior Meeting Minutes

SR2S Data, Reports, and Resources:

Archive: Active Transportation & Safe Routes to School E-newsletter:  September 2020 August 2020  July 2020  June 2020  May 2020   April 2020

Smart Ways To Walk and Bike While Socially Distancing - While you walk and roll in your immediate neighborhood, limit the spread of COVID-19 by following public health recommendations. 
An Evaluation of Locations for Bicycle Skills Courses in McKinleyville, California, and of Strategies for Sustaining Bicycle Skills Training in Eureka, California (2020) -  Developed by Melanie Williams of BikesThere through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) administered by Humboldt County DHHS Public Health. 
 
SR2S PRIORITIZATION TOOLKIT (2012): The SR2S Toolkit was created in 2012 to assist local agencies with determining need and prioritizing their potential projects for Safe Routes to School grant submittals and is a resource available to any school seeking SR2S funding.  The key project deliverable is the Prioritization Tool, which ranks schools to determine external and internal need, and school readiness to implement SR2S projects.  This tool has helped deliver key projects through SR2S programs and Active Transportation Program (ATP) grant applications by streamlining the decision making process in local funding efforts.  The toolkit has also been utilized by schools internally to prioritize projects with their limited funding. Customized GIS maps are available by request to HCAOG.  Please contact HCAOG for more information.  

Final Report (2012) (3.3 MB pdf)  Appendices A-D (1 MB pdf)   Appendix E (7.6 MB pdf)

WALK AND ROLL TOOLKIT: A pedestrian and bicycle safety education toolkit was developed through an Active Transportation Program grant.  There are toolkits available, complete with lesson plans and materials, for any school or district to borrow from Humboldt County Office of Education's Humboldt Educational Resource Center (901 Myrtle Avenue, Eureka).  For more information, please contact the Humboldt Educational Resource Center at 707-445-7074.
 
SR2S LOCAL ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES: In Humboldt County and around the globe, schools, organizations, and local government bodies are implementing and encouraging SR2S programs.
 
SR2S SURVEYS - Parent surveys are an ongoing part of the SR2S effort, led by the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services.  The surveys go home with students, filled out by parents/caregivers and returned to school with students. Parent surveys help examine school, district, and county-wide behavior patterns and safety issues in getting children to and from school. 
 
HAND TALLIES - Student “hand tallies” are another SR2S effort, also led by the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services.  The tallies are performed in class by administration asking for responses from students, resulting in a high response rate. Travel mode is looked at specifically.  Children’s responses help examine school, district, and county-wide behavior patterns in getting children to and from school. They also help evaluate programs before, during, and after implementation.
 
WALKABILITY AUDITS - Walkability audits have been conducted both within and outside of the SR2S Prioritization Toolkit program.  HCAOG has a small amount of funds set aside annually for Walkability Audits. When there is more than one agency requesting funding, the tool assists HCAOG in channeling such funding. Walkability Audits have also been performed outside this framework based upon need and available funding.  These Walkability Audits provide the chance for school administrators, parents, law enforcement, elected officials and SR2S advocates to analyze the walking environment at the selected schools and recommend potential SR2S projects. Such audits have helped deliver many projects, big and small. 

SCHOOL WALKING MAPS/ MAPAS DE PASEOS A LAS ESCUELAS - Walk to school!  Walking maps and arrival/dismissal maps (mapas de carga y descarga de estudiantes).

SR2S INVENTORY UPDATES: The SR2S Priortization Toolkit has been maintained through "Inventory Updates" until 2019.  Two updates have been performed since 2012, with a third planned.  The first 2014-15 Inventory Update was performed in 2014/15.  22 schools were contacted.  In 2016/17, 40 schools were contacted.  In the original Prioritization Toolkit, inventory calls addressed 24 questions.  These questions were answered in narrative form, referred to as “school summaries.”   In an effort to make the school summaries more accessible and intuitive, the narratives were converted into a data-friendly table format.  These new data-friendly tables can be found in the 2019 SR2S Prioritization Toolkit Update, soon to be released.  
 

Other Resources: 

Videos:

In 1969, 50% of school children in the United States walked to school (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Today in Humboldt County, 20% of school children walk or bike to school.