Safe Routes To School planning is necessitated by a number of factors. Chief among them are health and safety concerns for children. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined in 1998 that motor vehicle injury is the leading cause of death for children aged two to eighteen. Recent studies also report the incidence of childhood asthma continue to escalate due in part to exacerbated air pollutants caused by a number of sources including automobile emissions. Childhood obesity rates are also increasing and today one in four kids are over weight and at higher risk for chronic conditions such as diabetes.

In response to these and other deleterious health conditions and statistics, the Safe Routes To School model has been developed to increase the number of kids walking and biking to school safely. Doing so also provides noteworthy ancillary benefits. For one, increasing the number of children who walk or ride bikes to school lessens the amount of traffic congestion placed on local roadways. A recent NHTSA statistic reports between 20-25 percent of morning rush-hour traffic may be parents driving kids to school. At the same time, school districts are facing decreased budgets and rising gas prices. In fact, the National Center for Education Statistics reports school bus transportation is frequently the second largest budget item for school districts after salaries. In light of these and other conditions, Safe Routes To School planning makes good sense in any community working to increase the livability and sustainability of their neighborhoods.

The Safe Routes To School initiative is centered around five core areas, called “The Five E’s”. They include Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Encouragement, and Evaluation.

• Engineering is a broad concept used to describe the design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of traffic control devices or physical measures. It is one of the complementary strategies of SRTS, because engineering alone cannot produce safer routes to school.

• Enforcement includes policies that address safety issues such as speeding or illegal turning, but also includes getting community members to work together to promote safe walking, bicycling, and driving.

• Education includes identifying safe routes, teaching students to look both ways at intersections, and how to handle potentially dangerous situations. This strategy is closely tied to Encouragement strategies.

• Encouragement combines the results of the other “E’s” to improve knowledge, facilities and enforcement to encourage more students to walk or ride safely to school. Most importantly, encouragement activities build interest and enthusiasm. Programs may include “Walk to School Days” or “Mileage Clubs and Contests” with awards to motivate students.

• Evaluation involves monitoring outcomes and documenting trends through data collection before and after SRTS activities. Surveys and audits can help provide quantitative support for improvements brought about through SRTS programming.

Schreiber/Anderson Associates' approach to SRTS planning includes thorough documentation of existing conditions and attitudes and concludes by identifying opportunities for quick implementation, a detailed list of capital improvements, and a series of safe routes maps. SRTS plans also include examples of materials for educational and promotional programming and realistic strategies and timelines for completion. SRTS plans help to identify techniques to change attitudes toward walking and biking to school, and promote these healthy, sustainable transportation choices as safe and effective options.