Safe Routes to School
The Safe Routes to School Program encourages students from kindergarten through 8th grade to safely walk or bike to school by using a variety of education methods and incentives. The program also addresses parents’ safety concerns by encouraging greater enforcement of traffic laws; exploring ways to create safer streets; and educating the public about safe biking, walking, and driving practices. The overall goals of the Safe Routes to School Program are to reduce traffic near schools, enhance air quality, and improve children’s health through increased physical activity. This is important because physical exercise, especially biking and walking, can help prevent heart disease
(the nation’s #1 killer), as well as other chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and depression.
Health care officials agree that children need at least thirty minutes of physical activity every day. Unfortunately, only about twenty percent of children nationwide meet this minimum standard.
The NHDOT administers the Safe Routes to School Program in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and NRPC. Federal reimbursement funding for local projects is authorized under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
NRPC recommends the following steps for starting a Safe Routes to School program in your community:
1. Notify NRPC of your intention to begin a program. We have assisted a number of communities and schools in our region with the funding application process and the development of travel plans. Please contact Matt Waitkins at 424-2240 extension 18 or mattw@nashuarpc.org.
2. Visit the New Hampshire Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School website, which provides information on the application process, funding criteria, and more.
The development of a Safe Routes to School Travel Plan is a great way for schools and communities to build consensus about the key issues and concerns that are preventing children from biking and walking to school. Travel Plans also identify solutions to key issues and develop an action plan and timeline for implementing these solutions.
Hollis
Hollis Travel Plan
Nashua
Ledge Street Elementary Infrastructure Project ~ raised crosswalks, pavement markings, bump outs
Bicentennial Elementary Infrastructure Project ~ rebuilding the Rosecliff walking path (100 ft), installing radar speed feedback sign
Birch Hill Elementary Infrastructure Project ~ radar speed feedback signs
Travel Plan Development ~ Bicentennial Elementary, Birch Hill Elementary, New Searles Elementary
Brookline
Richard Maghakian Memorial School Infrastructure Project ~ installing radar speed feedback signs, 1220 feet of sidewalk
Captain Samuel Douglas Academy Infrastructure Project ~ 200 feet of sidewalk
Fresh Air Fridays ~ as a group, participants in "Fresh Air Fridays" have walked 375 miles during the 2008-2009 school year. This is almost the distance of walking from Brookline to Washington, DC. A certified bike trainer also conducted a training session in May for grades 3-6.
Final Products
All Safe Routes to School documents produced by NRPC can be found here.
Links
Nashua Regional Planning Commission
9 Executive Park Drive, Suite 201
Merrimack, NH 03054
Phone ~ 603.424.2240 | Fax ~ 603.424.2230