==
Bike-Walk Alliance of NH ==
Safe Routes
to School News, December 2007
Encouraging
Safe Bicycling and Walking to School
Round One recipients
are:
Andover, Concord, Farmington, Gorham, Hopkinton, Lebanon, Nashua, New Ipswich,
Portsmouth, Weare, and the NH BikeSmart program.
NHDOT
Awards Nearly Half Million in SRTS Funding
Ten New Hampshire communities have been recognized for their efforts to encourage children to safely walk and ride bicycles to school.
Their projects have been approved for $495,952 in federal funds under the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program administered by the N.H. Department of Transportation (NHDOT) in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Following the recommendations of a Statewide Advisory Committee and guided by the Regional Planning Commissions, NHDOT announced the awards on Dec. 3, 2007.
The department also encourages unsuccessful applicants and new participants to initiate or continue planning efforts.
Comprehensive
Program
Communities participating in SRTS take a comprehensive approach to safe walking and cycling to school. Planning, education, encouragement, and law enforcement efforts complement construction projects.
Projects approved in the first round include crosswalk and path improvements in Portsmouth, new sidewalks on school property in Andover, Concord, Gorham and Hopkinton. Upgrades and repairs to the “Tiger Trail” sidewalk network have been approved for Farmington. Nashua will make the streets and sidewalks safer around the Ledge Street School. New Ipswich plans to build a new sidewalk along a busy state highway. Weare has begun the planning process, and will conduct several education and encouragement programs. Lebanon has initiated walking school buses and will purchase a speed trailer to remind drivers to slow down near schools. SRTS will also help fund BikeSmart, an organization providing bicycle safety education to schools throughout the state.
“We hope that more communities will get involved when the department announces a second round of funding in early 2008,” said John W. Corrigan, SRTS coordinator for NHDOT. “This program will help reduce traffic congestion around schools while helping to overcome an epidemic in childhood overweight and obesity.”
Planning
Process
Successful applicants in the first round are at various stages in developing their SRTS program. In general, their approach followed the “5Es” in making it possible for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, including those with disabilities, to walk and ride bicycles to from home to school:
Evaluation
Education
Encouragement
Enforcement
Engineering
SRTS is much more than a “sidewalk program,” although “engineering” or infrastructure projects are an important part of making safe walking and cycling to school possible.
At the community level, SRTS efforts are organized by local task forces that bring together school and municipal leaders, parents, children, representatives of community organizations and anyone else interested in the program. Their task is to assess local conditions and find ways to make improvements.
In the evaluation phase, the local task force identifies residential neighborhoods within two miles of a school and determines existing and potential walking and cycling routes. Surveys of parents and students gauge attitudes about walking and biking.
The education and encouragement parts of the program teach safe pedestrian and cyclist behavior and promote the health effects of physical activity.
Fear of crime, bullying and traffic hazards prompts parents to load kids into private vehicles for the commute from home to school. Organizing escort programs such as “walking school buses” and “rolling bike trains” provide safety in numbers.
Enforcement efforts by local police can help reduce dangerous driving practices in school zones.
A comprehensive program incorporating the 5Es is described in what is known as a school travel plan. Applications for infrastructure projects that do not include such as plan are at a significant disadvantage when programs are selected for reimbursement funding. NHDOT will develop greater guidance in this area for the second round of funding.
Reimbursement funding is available to support the efforts of a task force to prepare a plan and engage in other non-infrastructure programs.
Outreach Continues
NHDOT invites all elementary and middle schools (public, parochial and private) and their communities to participate in SRTS. John Corrigan, the coordinator, will travel to communities to meet with local leaders, explain the program, answer any questions, and initiate a discussion about local conditions.
A first step is to complete and submit the “preliminary school survey form” found on the “getting started” page on the state SRTS Web site (address below).
Comments Welcome
Organizations and individuals are invited to submit comments about the process and criteria used in the first round of funding. Suggestions for improving SRTS for the second round are also welcome.
Spread the Word
This electronic newsletter is available for anyone interested in SRTS and related issues. Feel free to forward it. If you would like to be added to our distribution list, or if you would prefer to be removed, send e-mail with your name and electronic address to the coordinator at jcorrigan@dot.state.nh.us.
John W. Corrigan
Safe Routes to School Coordinator
Bureau of Planning and Community Assistance
N.H. Department of Transportation
7 Hazen Drive, PO Box 483
Concord, NH 03302-0483
(603) 271-1980
jcorrigan@dot.state.nh.us
SRTS Web site: http://www.nh.gov/dot/bureaus/planning/SRTS_home.htm
