Presented at the 2010 ITE Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC

1. Attitudinal Barriers in the Development ofSafe Routes to Schools ProgramsAugust 10, 2010 ITE Annual MeetingVancouver, British Columbia

3. Agenda A Scenario Safe Routes to School -- What? Why? The City of Maricopa Program SR2S Parents’ Surveys – Assessing Attitudes

4. A scenario City planner requests Safe Routes to School funding from City Council

5. A scenario follow-up The city planner received his funding & implemented lots of improvements, but there was no increase in the number of students walking or bicycling to school….

6. The need for safe routes to school Fewer kids today walk and bike to school Unintended consequences have resulted SR2S programs are part of the solution

7. 1. Fewer kids are biking and walking; more parents are driving. 2001: 16% walked 1969: 42% walked (CDC, 2005)

8. 2. What are the unintended consequences of less walking and bicycling? For the environment For individual health

9. 3. Good news! Communities are taking action on behalf of children through Safe Routes to School Winston-Salem, NC Alhambra, CA Phoenix, AZ

10. More benefits of SR2S programs Reduce congestion around schools Can lead to cost savings for schools(by reducing the need for “hazard” busing) Others: increase child’s sense of freedom, help establish lifetime habits, teach pedestrian and bicyclist skills

11. City of Maricopa goals Where it’s safe, get children walking and biking Where it’s not safe, make changes

12. City of Maricopa program Develop program framework Identify barriers Assess attitudes Prepare guidelines Formulate implementation strategy

13. Maricopa participants City staff Police Fire MUSD School administrators Teachers Parents Public

14. Maricopa’s SR2S program Education Encouragement Enforcement Engineering Evaluation Lenexa, KS

15. Education Imparts safety skills Creates safety awareness Fosters life-long safety habits Includes parents, neighbors and other drivers

16. Encouragement Increases popularity of walking and bicycling Is an easy way to start SR2S programs Emphasizes fun

17. Enforcement Increases awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists Improves driver behavior Helps children follow traffic rules Richmond, VA Denver, CO

18. Engineering Creates safer conditions for walking and bicycling Can influence the way people behave

19. SR2S parents’ surveys Distributed on December 14th to all MUSD elementary and middle school students 471 surveys completed and returned 459 from Elementary Schools (K-5) 12 from Middle School (6-8) Results focus on the elementary schools

20. Elementary school commute Potential Walk or Bike to SchoolPopulation

21. Elementary commute type(Home to School) All Respondees Respondees living within 1 mile

22. Elementary commute type(School to Home) All Respondees Respondees living within 1 mile

23. Child asked permission to walk/bike?

24. Constraints to walking/biking

25. Parents’ written comments Free-form comments fell into six key areas: Safety (crime potential, safety in numbers) Safety (traffic volumes, driver speeds, time of day) Operations (pickup/drop-off procedures, bus availability, crossing guards, police presence) Distance to school Age Facilities (crosswalks, sidewalks, bike storage)

26. A scenario, revisited City planner requests Safe Routes to School funding from City Council

27. He has assessed community attitudes and ….

28. …. developed a local toolbox

32. And an implementation plan

33. A scenario follow-up The city planner received his funding and implemented his plan Dramatic increase in the number of students walking or bicycling to school

34. Why the dramatic difference? Community/parental attitudes addressed Physical barriers removed Route safety enhanced Cooperative effort by everyone Encompassed all five Es

36. Involve everyone in the planning and implementation of a program

37. Assemble a program framework

38. Incorporate all five Es

42. Parents driving Parents driving children to school: 20%-25% of morning traffic (NHTSA 2003; Dept. of Environment)

43. School siting issues: A generation ago Small schools Located in community centers (EPA, 2003)

44. School siting issues: Today Mega-schools Built on edges of towns and cities

45. School consolidation has lengthened the trip between home and school

46. It’s not just distance Students who live within 1 mile and walk or bike: 2001: 63% 1969: 87% (CDC, 2005)

47. Most common barriers to walking and bicycling to school Long distances 62% Traffic danger 30% Adverse weather 19% Fear of crime danger 12% (CDC, 2005)

48. Traffic danger

49. Adverse weather Howard’s Grove, WI Centreville, VA

50. Fear of crime (both real and perceived) Abandoned buildings Other reasons Individual community issues

51. 1996 Summer Olympic Games banned single occupant cars in downtown Atlanta Atlanta, GA

52. Results of the ban Morning traffic – ä 23% Peak ozone – ä 28% Asthma-related events for kids – ä 42% (Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA], 2001)

53. U.S. youth overweight rates (National Center for Health Statistics)

54. Overweight children have an increased risk of… Type 2 Diabetes Low self esteem Decreased physical functioning Obesity in adulthood Many other negative emotional & physical effects (Institute of Medicine, 2005)

55. 3. Safe Routes to School programs are part of the solution… ...to improve walking and bicycling conditions ...to increase physical activity ...to decrease air pollution Dallas, TX

56. What caused the shift?

57. Air quality Measurably better around schools with more walkers and bicyclists (EPA, 2003) Chicago, IL

58. Physical inactivity Most kids aren’t getting the physical activity they need Recommend 60 minutes on most, preferably all, days of the week (US Depts. of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, 2005)

59. Evaluation Is the program making a difference?

60. Federal program $612 million to States 2005-2009 Funds infrastructure and non-infrastructure activities Requires State SR2S Coordinators More information: www.saferoutesinfo.org

61. Addressing attitudes Weather (shaded routes) Speed/volume of traffic (enforcement, separated paths, speed studies) Distance (neighborhood school siting) Crime/safety (block watch, parent chaperons) Intersection safety (crossing guards, engineering solutions)

62. Discussion