Safe Routes to School Program Information
Pima
County and the City of Tucson
have launched a pilot program at
seven local elementary schools
to develop safe routes for children
to walk or bicycle
to school,
and to educate them about walking
and bicycling safely. This pilot
program is funded by a federal
grant, with matching funds from
the county and city. It aims to
encourage
children to engage
in more physical activity, and
reduce traffic collisions involving
children.
The Safe Routes to School
program is modeled after other
successful
programs in the country, including
a nationally recognized program
in Marin County, Calif.
Second-grade students at the
pilot schools learn about pedestrian
safety,
while
fourth-graders learn
about
bicycle safety.
In addition to
educating children, the program
engages parents,
teachers,
school staffers, transportation
officials, law-enforcement
officers and school district
officials
to identify the travel
habits of students and develop
safe
routes for students to use
while
walking or bicycling to
school. Needed facility improvements,
such as the
addition of bicycle racks
or sidewalk ramps, are
being
identified.
Training programs will be
implemented for teachers and
school staffers, along
with enhanced police enforcement
measures.
Educational
and promotional materials
will reinforce the message
of pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Pilot Elementary Schools
The seven
schools participating in the pilot
study represent four
local school districts, including
the Flowing Wells Unified School
District, the Marana Unified School
District,
the Tanque Verde Unified School District
and the Tucson Unified School District.
• Agua Caliente Elementary, 11420 E.
Limberlost Road
• Brichta Elementary, 2110 W. Brichta
Drive
• Butterfield Elementary, 3400 W. Massingale
Road
• Homer Davis Elementary, 4250 N. Romero
Road
• Howell Elementary, 401 N. Irving
Avenue
• Hughes Elementary, 700 N. Wilson
Avenue
• Laguna Elementary, 5001 N. Shannon
Road
• Santa Clara Elementary, 6910 S. Santa Clara Ave.
Program Schedule and Contact Information
The
program’s
first phase focuses on the educational
component, along
with the identification of both
minor and major infrastructure
improvements
needed to enhance pedestrian and
bicyclist safety.
The second phase
will include the complete design
of a limited number
of small improvement projects
at the schools, and the preliminary
design
for larger improvement
projects. Additional funding
will
be needed to construct the infrastructure
improvements.
Pima County and City of Tucson
officials believe the Safe Routes
to School
program will offer many benefits
to the schools and the community.
They
hope to extend the program to
other schools in the future.
Additional schools cannot be
added to the
pilot program at
this time, but informational
materials may be provided to
people interested
in instituting some of
the principles of Safe Routes
to Schools in other schools.
For more
information,
please contact Donna
Lewandowski at 740-6496, or Donna.Lewandowski@dot.pima.gov.
