This document discusses challenges and opportunities for promoting walking and bicycling in low-income communities. It notes that low-income families face greater barriers to active transportation due to risks in the built environment and limited resources. However, partnerships between Safe Routes to School, Complete Streets initiatives, and community organizations can help address these issues. The document promotes a new resource guide for implementing Safe Routes to School programs in low-income areas and calls for additional support for active transportation in low-income communities.

1. Safe Routes to School and
Complete Streets:
Partnerships for Low-Income
Communities
Margo Pedroso, Deputy Director
Safe Routes to School National Partnership

2. Walking and Bicycling in Low-Income
Communities
The numbers
 Poverty line is $22,000 for a family of 4;
low-income is twice that
 40 million people (13.2%) live in poverty
 41% of children (29.9 million children) are from
low-income families
 Half of children in rural areas are low-income and half of children in
urban areas are low-income
Income and Transportation
 Low-income families spend one-third of their budgets on
transportation and have lower rates of car ownership
 Children from low-income families are twice as likely to walk
to school as children from higher-income families

3. Walking and Bicycling in Low-Income
Communities
 Low-income neighborhoods or communities have greater traffic-
related risks
 Urban challenges include higher numbers of busy through streets and
poor pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure
 In rural areas, distances are greater, high-speed state highways often
bisect communities, and sidewalks/crosswalks are lacking
 These built environment challenges impact health and safety:
 Children from low-income households have a higher risk of being injured
or killed as pedestrians
 Residents in low-income communities have lower activity levels and
higher BMIs
 In spite of the risks:

4. Challenges to Walking and Bicycling in
Low-Income Communities
Personal Safety: Crime and Violence
 19% of students in one study feared being
attacked while walking and bicycling to school
 Children are 5 times more likely to walk and
bicycle to school when safety is not a primary
concern for parents
Community Readiness: Awareness and Attitudes
 Walking and bicycling is not always commonplace or familiar in some
communities and cultures; messages must be culturally sensitive
 Parents who perceive physical activity as important to health
who walk regularly themselves are more likely to have their
children walk or bicycle to school

5. Challenges to Walking and Bicycling in Low-
Income Communities
Traffic Safety and Shortage of Professional Expertise
 Low-income neighborhoods have greater traffic-
related risks
 Children from low-income families are more
likely to be injured or killed while walking.
 But – low-income communities have less access to
planners and engineers
 This limits the ability to apply for and implement
transportation projects to improve safety
Limited Parental Involvement
 Many SRTS programs rely on parent volunteers, but
in low-income communities, parents can be hard
to engage due to language barriers, lack of free time, and
a lack of connection to the school
 51 percent of low-income parents say they have jobs
that prevent them from becoming involved in school
activities

6. SRTS and Low-Income Communities
New resource guide attempts to fill
that gap
 Called “Implementing Safe Routes
to School in Low-Income Schools
and Communities”
 Available at
http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/
lowincomeguide
 Funded by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and
the American Public Health
Association

7. Moving Forward
Solving these challenges takes partnerships
 The potential benefits to low-income communities
from SRTS and Complete Streets are great
 But, these are big challenges that require many
partners to solve
 It’s important for us all to ensure that low-income
communities are able to safely walk and bicycle
 Hope that more nonprofits, DOTs, MPOs, school districts, and
community leaders offer assistance to low-income schools and
communities

8. For More Information
 Questions or comments? Contact:
Margo Pedroso
Deputy Director
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
margo@saferoutespartnership.org
301-292-1043
 Go to www.saferoutespartnership.org and sign
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