Promoting walking and biking in schools

The SF Bicycle Coalition is proud to be a partner in San Francisco's Safe Routes to School Program which aims to raise a new generation of walkers and bikers by making biking, walking and even carpooling to school easier for parents and kids through education, safer streets and incentives. With support from the YBIKE Program the SF Bicycle Coalition provides in-class and experiential lessons on pedestrian safety to 2nd graders and bicycle safety to 4th grade students in 15 program schools across San Francisco reaching over 2500 students thus far. In 2011-2013 we will be launching additional lessons for Kindergarten and 1st grade students. The SF Bicycle Coalition also organizes the yearly San Francisco Bike to School Day event which drew participation from over 2000 youth and adults at 40 schools across the city in 2011. The event will be held this year on April, 12th 2012.

The San Francisco Safe Routes to School program, was initially funded by a $500,000 Safe Routes to School grant from the federal government and Caltrans and is currently funded through 2013 with $500,000 of Climate Action Funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The San Francisco Safe Routes effort is led by the SF Department of Public Health and supported by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the SF Unified School District, SF Municipal Transportation Agency, SF Police Department, Department of Children, Youth and Families, SF Department of Environment, Walk San Francisco, and the YBIKE Program.

The Safe Routes to School program is running at the following elementary schools:

Buena Vista (Mission)
Edward R. Taylor (Portola District)
El Dorado (Visitacion Valley)
Fairmount Elementary (Noe Valley)
Garfield (North Beach)
George Washington Carver (Bayview)
George Peabody (Inner Richmond)
Grattan (Cole Valley)
Leonard Flynn (Mission District)
Longfellow (Excelsior)
Marshall (Mission District)
Monroe (Excelsior)
Sunnyside (Sunnyside)
Sunset (Outer Sunset)
Ulloa (Outer Sunset)

A majority of the students at these schools live within one mile of their school, so there's an excellent opportunity to increase the number of kids who get to school by bike and foot. Starting with the 2011-2012 school year, the SF Unified School District is changing their "student attendance area" policy to allow children to more easily attend their neighborhood school. This change will put most all of San Francisco families within safe walking and bicycling distance of school within a decade.

Why a Safe Routes to School Program is Important

As much as 21 percent of morning traffic is generated from parents driving their children to school.
School district yellow bus service is being phased out over the next few years at all grade levels with the exception of special education programs and families will need to find new and healthier ways to safely commute to school.
50% of SF greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, and a disproportionate amount of automobile pollution occurs in the first few minutes of driving, before pollution control devices work effectively.

Project Overview

Safe Routes to School San Francisco will increase the number of elementary school students who walk or bike to school by implementing an integrated set of services and supports at 5 target elementary schools across the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) in the 2009-10 school year and 15 elementary schools in the 2010-2013 school years.

Watch San Francisco Walks to School by Streetfilms, filmed in October 2009 as part of International Walk to School Day.

Safe Routes to Schools program goals

Increase bicycle, pedestrian, and traffic safety around schools
Decrease traffic congestion around schools
Reduce childhood obesity by increasing number of children walking and biking to school
Improve air quality, community safety and security, and community involvement around school

The Safe Routes to School is a popular nationwide program that has a proven track record at over 11,400 schools for helping more children and communities become healthy, safe, and green. Schools in Oakland, California reported an amazing 10% increase in students walking and biking to school after just one year of launching their Safe Routes to School program. Read success stories from around the country.

The 5 E's of the Safe Routes to School Program

Education
+ education in pedestrian safety to 2nd-grade students
+ education in bike safety to 4th-grade students
+ distribution of traffic safety educational packets to drivers near schools
+ development of maps for students and parents/caregivers that show safe pedestrian and bicycle routes to school

Encouragement
+ International Walk to School Day
+ San Francisco Bike to School Day on Thursday, April 12th, 2012

Enforcement
+ Additional observation of traffic behavior & enforcement of traffic laws by SFPD

Engineering
+ Develop grant applications seeking funds for infrastructure improvements at schools working with the SF Municipal Transportation Agency School Traffic Safety Program

Evaluation

+ Evaluate improvements in transportation to and from school
+ Evaluate children and parent attitudes and knowledge of walking and biking through surveys

Frequently Asked Questions

If my school was not selected for program, what resources are available to us and how can we get involved?
A: All of the Encouragement activities listed above (Walk to School Day and Bike to School) are open to all San Francisco Schools.
More information on starting a Safe Routes to Schools Program can be found on the National Center for Safe Routes to Schools website at saferoutesinfo.org
The program is not recruiting for additional schools, however interested schools are encouraged to join the waiting list for any openings that may arise.

Q: How can my school get bike racks?
A: If your school is having Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades, then bike racks are included in remodeling. In addition, Nik Kaestner at the SFUSD Office of Sustainability obtained funding to install a bike rack able to hold up to 8 bicycles at each public school site in the city. Additional racks are available to schools with demonstrated demand. Nik can clarify the process of ADA upgrades and get your school signed up to receive racks. Email Nik Kaestner, Director of Sustainability for the SF Unified School District.

Email Ana Validzic at the SF Dept. of Health if you have additional questions about the overall SF Safe Routes to School Program in San Francisco.

Email Jason Serafino-Agar at the SF Bicycle Coalition if you would like to help out with our classes, San Francisco Bike to School Day, or have additional ideas for our different Education or Encouragement activities.

Additional Resources

Is your route walkable or bikeable?
See the walkability checklist and the bikeability checklist.

Report parking, sidewalk or roadway concerns in SF at the 311 website or by calling "311" by telephone.

Livable Streets Education in New York is taking the classroom to the street! Read more about this exciting program at: streetseducation.org.