Our Program
Trailnet's Safe Routes to School Program takes a comprehensive approach that includes the "5 E's": Evaluation, Engineering, Education, Encouragement and Enforcement.

For more information on how Trailnet can help your school develop a Safe Routes to School Program, contact Cindy Mense, Director of Community Services, at 314/436-1324 x 113 or cindy@trailnet.org

Evaluation - Sustainable Safe Routes to School programs start with a thorough evaluation of the situation at the school. Parent surveys help reveal why parents are driving their children to school and what changes might result in a shift in their behavior. Student surveys help show how to design a program that will appeal to children. It’s also important to know what percentages of students are walking, biking, taking the bus, being driven alone, and carpooling to school. Travel to school surveys taken throughout the school year can help gauge the effectiveness of the program.

Engineering - Changes to the built environment through engineering improvements are a critical component of Safe Routes to School. The most successful programs begin with a thorough community assessment of the barriers for children walking and bicycling to school. "Walkability Audits" can help identify everyday problems that children encounter, including complaints such as: it’s impossible to cross the street, the sidewalk ends, there is no bike trail, the cars go too fast, etc. Short and long-term improvements (short-term: landscaping maintenance, altering the timing of traffic lights, painting crosswalks, installing stop signs; long-term: installing sidewalks, pathways, bridges, and reconstructing intersections) can all help improve the safety of children walking and biking to school.

Education - Through educational programs, children are taught important lifelong bicycling and walking safety skills. Skills can be taught by local police during PE classes or during school assemblies or at "bike rodeos." Educational messages are also directed to parents about following the rules of the road when they are driving, and the "green" transportation choices they can make every day.

Encouragement - Special events and contests have been proven effective in inspiring students, parents, elected officials, and school leaders to try something new, which often results in the development of ongoing programs to encourage walking and bicycling. Other successful encouragement programs facilitate ways for parents to walk and bicycle with groups of children who live together in a neighborhood. Through the formation of “walking school buses” and “bike trains,” parents can take turns transporting groups of children, ensuring a supervised commute and creating strong community cooperation.

Enforcement - Enforcement programs can combine partnering with local law enforcement to ensure traffic laws are obeyed in the vicinity of schools (this includes enforcement of speeds, yielding to pedestrians in crossings, and proper walking and bicycling behaviors), and initiating community enforcement such as crossing guard programs.

Source: http://www.saferoutespartnership.org (Safe Routes to School National Partnership)