Safe Routes to School (SRTS)

Healthy students, safe streets, strong communities.

The goal of the Safe Routes to School program is to provide youth with safe and convenient opportunities for walking and bicycling to school to encourage exercise, reduce the risk of injury from traffic collisions, improve community/neighborhood relations, and decrease school commute traffic and air pollution which will lend to a culture shift that embraces active transportation.

Pedestrian safety is a two-way street: both drivers and pedestrians need to remain alert to avoid accidents. Explore the resources below and sign this pledge to make your commitment to safer routes to school:

Resources:

SRTS in Auburn is modeled after the National Safe Routes to School initiative which focuses activities around a 6E framework focused on education, encouragement, engagement, equity, engineering, and evaluation.

Education: Providing students and the community with the skills to walk and bicycle safely, educating them about the benefits of walking and bicycling, and teaching them about the broad range of transportation choices.

Encouragement: Generating enthusiasm and increased walking and bicycling for students through events, activities, and programs.

Engagement: Listening to students, families, teachers, and school leaders and working with existing community organizations to build intentional and ongoing engagement opportunities.

Equity: Ensuring SRTS initiatives are benefiting all demographic groups, with particular attention to ensuring safe, healthy, and fair outcomes for low-income students, students of color, students of all genders, students with disabilities, and others.

Engineering: Creating physical improvements to streets and neighborhoods that make walking and bicycling safer, more comfortable, and more convenient.

Evaluation: Assessing which approaches are more or less successful, ensuring that programs and initiatives are supporting equitable outcomes, and identifying unintended consequences or opportunities to improve the effectiveness of each approach.