The Safe Routes to School program aims to increase walking and biking to school through education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering, and evaluation. Fewer children now walk or bike to school, resulting in issues like obesity, traffic injuries, and air pollution. The program partners with schools and agencies to provide safety lessons, events, infrastructure improvements, and enforcement. Evaluation through surveys shows the program has increased non-motorized school transportation but more parent involvement is still needed. Future plans include expanding to more schools and focusing on assemblies, after school programs, and recruiting parent volunteers.

1. San Francisco
Safe Routes to School Program
Ana Validzic, MPH
SF Department
of Public Health

2. Safe Routes to School Program Need
John Muir
Elementary
 Fewer kids today walk
and bike to school
• 2008: > 15% walking
• 1969: < 42% walked
(Report to National Safe Routes Task Force, July 2008)
 Resulting in unintended
consequences
 Traffic Injuries
 Obesity
traffic congestion Air quality
 Crime & violence around school
 SRTS programs are part of
the solution Alamo Elementary

3. Safe Routes to School Program Overview
John Muir
Elementary
Goal: to increase walking, biking
to/from school
• Leading multi-disciplinary team
comprised of SFUSD, City agencies, and
nonprofits
• Worked in 15 elementary schools, one in
each supervisorial district for geographic
equity
• Will expand to 40 schools starting SY 14-15
Longfellow Elementary School

4. 2013-2014 Program Schools

5. The FIVE E’s
Education
Encouragement
Engineering
Enforcement
Evaluation

6. The Five Es- Education
• Sets the foundation for safe
behavior and engages
students
• Creates safety awareness
• Fosters life-long safety
habits
• Engages parents, neighbors
and drivers
Key Products:
• Classroom lessons on
pedestrian and bicycle
safety
Longfellow Elementary Pedestrian Safety Class

7. The Five Es- Encouragement
 Increases popularity of
walking and bicycling
 Is an easy way to start SRTS
programs
 Emphasizes FUN
Key products:
 Walking school buses and
bike trains
 Parent and caregiver
outreach
 Walk and Roll to School Day
 Bike and Roll to School Week

8. The Five Es- Enforcement
• Increases awareness of
pedestrians and bicyclists
• Improves driver behavior
• Helps children follow traffic
rules
Key Product:
• Traffic Enforcement
Geary Boulevard
Jefferson Elementary
19th Avenue & Irving St.

9. The Five Es- Engineering
• Creates safer conditions
for walking and bicycling
• Can influence the way
people behave
Key Products:
• School Prioritization
System for capital
improvement projects
• Walk/Bike Maps
• School walk audits
Geary Boulevard
Jefferson Elementary
19th Avenue & Irving St.
Geary Boulevard & Jordan
15th and Capp
Walk audit

10. The Five Es- Evaluation
 Collect and analyze
how schoolchildren
get to and from
school
 Collect and analyze
surveys from parents
on knowledge and
attitudes towards
walking and biking
Geary Boulevard
Jefferson Elementary
19th Avenue & Irving St.
Geary Boulevard & Jordan

11. Accomplishments
• Partnered with UCSF Pediatrics to
conduct annual district-wide school
commute study
• First study to look at school
transportation in SFUSD
• Elementary school data:
• Walk/Bike mode share: 25% in 2010;
26% in 2011; 26% in 2012
• 23% of students live within ½ mile of
school, another 19% live within ½-1 mi
• Partnered with MTA to establish school
prioritization system based on UCSF
school commute results and injury data
• First time MTA has established
systematic way to prioritize schools for
capital improvements
• MTA now using this system to pursue
funding for school infrastructure
changes GW Carver Elementary

12. Lessons Learned to Improve SRTS
• Parent/caregiver outreach is crucial
because they are the decision-
makers regarding school commute
• SRTS team will actively recruit
parents/caregivers to participate in
program at their child’s school
• SRTS team will reach out to
families at school events on
weekends and at night
• Regular, consistent walking and roll
events are essential to meet goal
• School staff unable to lead these
events because of liability concerns
• SRTS team will recruit
parents/caregivers to lead these
events
• SRTS team will provide support
and training to these
parents/caregivers Jefferson Elementary
19th Avenue & Irving St.

13. SRTS Program Elements 2014-2017
Changes to General Program
• Expand to 40 schools
• 35 elementary, 3 middle & 2 high
schools
• Provide targeted outreach and
community organizing
• Hired team of bilingual outreach
workers to recruit parent volunteers
• Will recruit and support parent
champions
Jefferson Elementary
19th Avenue & Irving St.
Buena Vista Horace Mann

14. SRTS Program Elements 2014-2017
Education Deliverables
• Shift education in elementary schools
from classrooms to assemblies and
after-school programming
• Pressures for in-class time have
shifted our focus
• Provide SRTS Educators Guide for
teachers to conduct themselves in
classroom
• Conduct two assemblies: K-2 grades
and 3-5 grades
• Conduct bike rodeos at school events
• Bike clubs for middle school and high
schools
• Teach youth how to repair bikes, build
bikes and safely ride on city streets
• Connect biking and walking to transit
Jefferson Elementary
19th Avenue & Irving St.
GW Carver Elementary

15. SRTS Program Elements 2014-2017
Encouragement Deliverables
• Organize Walk and Roll to School Day and Bike
to School Week
• Train and support walking school buses and
bike trains
• Organize fun contests and promotional events
at schools
• Provide tailored information to individual schools
• Create school transportation toolkits to schools
outlining walking, biking, transit, and carpool
options for each school
• Market toolkits at schools in diverse languages
Evaluation Deliverables
• Conduct classroom travel tallies
• Distribute and analyze parent surveys
John Muir Elementary
Student on her way to
New Traditions
Elementary

16. Thank you!
Ana Validzic
SF Dept. of Public Health
30 Van Ness Ave, Suite 2300
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 581-2478
ana.validzic@sfdph.org