WICHITA AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is an essential program that aims to create secure pathways for students to commute to and from school using active modes of transportation, such as walking and biking. By ensuring safe travel routes for students, we not only encourage healthier lifestyles but also work towards alleviating traffic congestion and reducing the community’s carbon footprint.

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WAMPO is committed to safety and is dedicating funds to assist public and private schools in developing SRTS plans. WAMPO is hiring a consultant that will assist schools with developing a comprehensive plan.

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The SRTS framework is built around the Seven Es, which summarize the key components of the program. These approaches are often known as the Es. An SRTS plan should include each component of the framework:

• Education- Ensure that everyone learns how to travel safely through classes, training, and events that teach the skills needed to walk, bike, and roll safely.

• Encouragement - Promote and generate enthusiasm around walking and bicycling as ways to travel using events, activities, and programs.

• Engineering - Provide infrastructure like sidewalks, paths, and crossings that allow people to walk, bike, and roll safely within the community and to and from schools.

• Engagement - Listen to and empower students, families, teachers, community groups, and school leaders in creating a SRTS program that works uniquely for them.

• Evaluation - Track progress toward achieving goals by reporting on and assessing what approaches work (or don't) and identifying program changes that can improve outcomes.

• Equity - While improving safety for everyone, pay special attention to ensure safe, healthy, and fair outcomes for students with disabilities, low-income communities, communities of color, English language learners, and families experiencing homelessness.

• Enforcement - Deter unsafe behaviors of drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists and encourage all road users to obey traffic laws and share the road safely.

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Two surveys will need to be distributed to evaluate the impact of the SRTS Plan:

• Parent Survey - Information collected from this survey includes whether parents allow their children to walk or bike to or from school, safety concerns along routes to school, and factors that may prohibit or permit nonmotorized travel to or from school. This data collection effort will most likely be done once over a couple of years.

• Student Travel Tally - This is to be completed by classroom teachers by asking for shows of hands from students on designated dates. Information to be collected includes modes of transportation to/from school for each student on the designated date. Teachers will also note restrictive factors, such as weather conditions. This data collection effort will be done every semester.

 

Visit https://saferoutes.ksdot.gov/ to learn more about Kansas Safe Routes to School.