Safe Routes To School

1. Safe Routes To School Improving Health, Safety and Transportation Lenexa, KS

2. Today’s Agenda • Introductions • Follow up from last meeting • Parent, Student, & Teacher Surveys • Walkability & Bikability Checklists • Brief Safe Routes To School (SRTS) intro. • Create Walking Audits END

3. SRTS Planning Timeline • March – Applied for Planning Grant • August – Planning Grant Awarded • October – Walk To School Day • October – SRTS Kick-Off Meeting (#1) • Intro, vision, goals, assign tasks • November – Meeting #2 • Walking Audits of each school 2008:

4. SRTS Planning Timeline • January 2009 – Meeting #3 (Community Mtg.) • Present data results & solicit feedback. • Spring 2009 – Meeting #4 • Develop alternatives. • Spring 2009 – Meeting #5 • Present draft SRTS Plan. • April or May Final SRTS Plan delivered. END

5. Rapids’ SRTS Vision & Goal • Vision: Encourage parents to have their children walk or bike to school safely—all year round. • Goal: Have 10% more children walking and biking to school by 2010.

6. Fewer kids are biking and walking. More parents are driving. • 1969: 42% walked • 2001: 16% walked (CDC, 2005)

7. What caused the shift?

8. What caused the shift? Students who live within 1 mile and walk or bike: 1969: 87% 2001: 63% (CDC, 2005) END

9. SRTS Walking Audit • What is it? • Task Force assessment of walking conditions within ¼ mile of each school. • Why use audits? • Physically makes people aware of local conditions, and local behaviors. • How to create audits?

10. Creating Walking Audit • Review your map and legend. • Start with the assumption that your Walking Audit area (quadrant) has sidewalks. • Check out this sample:

11. Creating Walking Audit x x x Note: A10 was overgrown and no signs existed at either end.

12. Creating Walking Audit • What does overgrown look like? • Branches that obstruct your view to walk.

13. Creating Walking Audit • What kind of signs am I looking for? • Official designations.

14. Creating Walking Audit • What does an un-even sidewalk look like?

15. Creating Walking Audit • What does an un-even sidewalk look like?

16. Creating Walking Audit • What does a broken sidewalk look like?

17. Creating Walking Audit • NOT a broken sidewalk.

18. Creating Walking Audit • NOT a broken sidewalk.

19. Creating Walking Audit • This is a broken sidewalk. • But a wheelchair has no problems crossing this.

20. Creating Walking Audit • This is a broken sidewalk. • But a wheelchair has no problems crossing this.

21. Creating Walking Audit • This IS a broken and un-even sidewalk. • A wheelchair will have problems using this section.

22. Creating Walking Audit • Broken sidewalk. • A wheelchair will have problems using this section.

23. Creating Walking Audit • A missing ramp? • A wheelchair cannot use this.

24. Creating Walking Audit • No ramp. • A wheelchair cannot use this.

25. Creating Walking Audit • Broken ramp. • A wheelchair cannot use this. R-2 broken

26. Creating Walking Audit • Accessible ramp. • A wheelchair can use this.

27. Creating Walking Audit • Make notes on map. • An alley is narrow, and has no sidewalks

28. Creating Walking Audit • Safely cross streets. “I-3”

29. Creating Walking Audit • Behavior Notes at student departure

30. SRTS Walking Audit • Drive attentively. • Watch out for children.