Safe Routes to School for Schools

The Montgomery County Safe Routes to School program provides Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering, and Evaluation (5 E’s) to support all students.  Families, faculty, and others in the school and neighborhood can join your school’s Safe Routes to School program.  Together you will work on walking and biking education, promotion, and identifying safe ways to get to school.

It’s all about you: your school community, your neighborhood, your perceptions, and your habits. We want your school to be involved!

• Why have a SRTS Programs?
• Creating a Program for Your School
• Request Information
• Resources

Why have a Safe Routes to School program?

Safe Routes to School is a partnership implementing programs that make walking and biking around our neighborhoods and schools fun, easy, safe, and healthy for all students and families in Montgomery County.

Problems

• Nationally 50% of children hit by cars near schools are hit by cars driven by parents of other students
• Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people between 4-34 years
• Nationally 61% of children aged 9-13 years of age do not participate in any physical activity during their non-school hours

Solutions

The Safe Routes to School program encompasses the following strategies in an effort to reduce traffic, improve air quality, and increase the number of students walking and biking to school:
Encouragement – Safe Routes to School provides training opportunities, information, and materials to promote walking and biking more frequently.

Enforcement – Increases awareness and reduces the frequency of traffic safety problems through a partnership with the Montgomery County Police Department.

• School speed zone and Crossing enforcement
• Reinforcement of engineering improvements
• Response to school safety requests

Education – Provides students the skills and information they need to be safe pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicle passengers.

Engineering – Improves walk, bike, and school bus locations for increased safety around schools. School principals can identify concerns and get help with problems like drop-off and pick-up, road crossings, speeding traffic, and other traffic issues. The Safe Routes to School traffic engineers work year round to improve safety near schools by changing and building safety features.  Most improvements have been identified by your school’s Safe Routes to School team or other community led-approach. 

Evaluation – Safe Routes to School measures the projects results through:

• Surveys sent to families at the beginning and end of the school year
• Classroom hand-raising tallies taken for a week at the beginning and end of the school year.

Creating a Safe Routes to School Program

Starting a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is an opportunity to make walking and bicycling to school safer for children and to increase the number of children who choose to walk and bicycle. On a broader level, SRTS programs can enhance children’s health and well-being, ease traffic congestion near the school, improve air quality and improve community members’ overall quality of life.  Use this guide to help you create a program at your school. 

Request more information…

We are happy to have someone speak to your PTA, Parent, School, and/or Youth group about the Safe Routes to School Program and pedestrian/bicycle safety.  To request a speaker, or for more information about the SRTS program, contact the Montgomery County Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Nadji Kirby, nadji.kirby@montgomerycountymd.gov or 240-777-7169