Safe Routes to School: A community-led and data-driven approach to walking and biking to school

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is an evidence-based strategy with a goal to increase the health and safety of children and improve environmental quality. SRTS encourages children to walk, bike, and participate in other forms of active transportation on the way to and from school. The Pasadena and Baytown SRTS programs have been modified to address the specific needs of each community. However, both SRTS programs aim to create safe, convenient and fun opportunities for children to bike and walk to and from school. The Pasadena SRTS and Baytown SRTS programs were designed to achieve the following outcomes:

·         Increase the number of children walking and biking to school

·         Increase knowledge of and support for SRTS among teachers, parents, students, and community members

·         Increase physical activity in children

·         Increase the number of safe street segments in school zones

·         Foster safer neighborhoods

·         Decrease the likelihood of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and injuries

·         Reduce childhood obesity and risk for chronic disease in the long term

 Pasadena SRTS – The creation of the Pasadena SRTS plan began from grassroots efforts led by HLM- Pasadena to tackle childhood obesity and increase physical activity in students. In 2014, SRTS education and encouragement activities were discussed and implemented by HCPH, HLM-Pasadena partners and Pasadena ISD, leading to discussions on creating an SRTS plan. In 2017, efforts to create a formal Pasadena SRTS plan began and the plan was completed in 2018. The community partners and the SRTS team met monthly and worked closely to create opportunities to increase the number of children walking and biking to school. More specifically, the community partners collaborated with the SRTS team to create the Pasadena SRTS plan using the 6 E's:

·         Evaluation: An initial environmental assessment was conducted in 2012-2013 prior to the creation of HLM-Pasadena to determine barriers to walking and biking around priority elementary schools. Following the establishment of HLM-Pasadena, it was determined that a number of schools did not have bike racks, thus presenting a barrier to riding a bike to school without a safe place to store it. Lastly, during the data collection phase of the SRTS plan, parent perception surveys were distributed to parents of all 4^th grade students, principal interviews were conducted, and an infrastructure assessment using the EST was completed around the seven priority schools.

·         Engineering: As a result of environmental assessments, walk audits, and EST findings a number of engineering changes have taken place. In 2014, bike racks for eight Pasadena ISD schools were purchased and installed. In 2017, a pedestrian bridge in unsafe conditions at Gardens elementary school was replaced with a new steel-beam bridge. Sidewalk connections to this bridge were later completed in 2019. After the completion of the SRTS plan, the city installed a new pedestrian esplanade with mid-block crossing on Richey Street in front of Richey Elementary and has committed to utilizing engineering and sidewalk improvement recommendations in the future. All engineering recommendations were vetted by the City of Pasadena and Harris County Precinct 2 prior to completion of the plan.

·         Encouragement: The SRTS team developed a Bike Fairy program to reward and encourage students who rode their bikes to school. On various days throughout the school year, the Bike Fairies would leave goody bags filled with fun and educational materials on bikes parked at the schools. The priority schools began hosting walk and bike to school events in 2017 with two schools participating. In the 2019-2020 school year, that number increased to 13 schools hosting events with 1,154 students participating. There were an additional six walks scheduled between March-May 2020 that were unable to occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in events is a direct result of Pasadena ISD incorporating the hosting of walk and bike to school events into their school health policies, contributing to the sustainability of SRTS efforts.

·         Equity: Equity considerations were included and prioritized throughout the SRTS Pasadena plan and recommendations. The SRTS Plan identified seven priority schools located in north Pasadena schools that did not offer bus service and students either had to walk or bike to school or be transported in a family vehicle. To reach the approximately 18% of residents in this area that do not speak English well, all educational and encouragement materials were developed in English and Spanish. Lastly, these selected schools have higher rates of poverty and low-income families so all SRTS events and resources were provided at no cost.

·         Enforcement: HLM-Pasadena and the SRTS team established a partnership with Pasadena Police Department to ensure the safety of students, families, and school staff during SRTS events and provide education and program materials to the community on ordinances related to pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Law enforcement was present at walk and bike to school days to assist with traffic management and event safety. In June 2020, the SRTS national partnership amended the 6 E's by dropping Enforcement and replacing it with Engagement.

·         Education: In order to highlight the importance of walkability, HLM-Pasadena and the SRTS team provided SRTS technical assistance and education to all district PE teachers and crossing guards, hosted community workshops on conducting walk audits, and led stakeholder workshops on planning for economic and fiscal health with an emphasis on walkable communities. The SRTS team also participated in community events to promote SRTS, to provide information on walk and bike safety and to distribute bike helmets and safety lights.

The Pasadena SRTS plan also included implementation recommendations and strategies based on feedback and input from parents, environmental assessments, the school district, Pasadena elected officials,  HLM-Pasadena Community Task Force members, and participants at community events and outreach opportunities, such as, health fairs and the Child Health Town Hall. Since completion of the Pasadena SRTS plan with strategies and recommendations, the SRTS team has continued to work with Pasadena ISD and HLM-Pasadena on SRTS efforts. Near-term commitments from the City of Pasadena include: 1) using its annual sidewalk maintenance budget to replace and repair sidewalks where possible; 2) incorporating pedestrian and bicyclist improvements in its Capital Improvement Plan projects where possible; and 3) exploring additional funding sources to improve infrastructure and promote active transportation. SRTS funding through the Pasadena Vibrant Community initiative also supported the creation of a school district staff member to support SRTS activities and other district health programs. Pasadena ISD has committed to maintaining this position after grant funding expires as they have witnessed the benefits that this program has for their students.

The success of the Pasadena SRTS program led to the opportunity to engage and begin SRTS efforts in Baytown in 2019. In partnership with the Be Well Baytown steering committee, a collaborative of 23 community organizations including GCCISD and the City of Baytown funded by MD Anderson Cancer Center, the SRTS team comprised of EPH's BE Unit and staff from NCDP Division, began a 3-year initiative to create SRTS and Safe Routes to Parks (SRTP) Plans. Baytown SRTS efforts are currently still in the engagement and planning phase, but the Baytown SRTS plan was completed in December 2020. The Baytown SRTS plan was developed for six priority elementary schools within GCCISD. According to a school district official, GCCISD serves 23,701 students on 28 campuses. A majority of the students (63%) are of Hispanic and Latino race/ethnicity, and 69% of the total student population is enrolled in the free and reduced-price lunch program. The Baytown SRTS plan identifies current barriers to walking and biking to school and offers tangible, implementable, and prioritized steps for addressing the barriers.

In June 2020, the SRTS National Partnership amended the 6 E's by dropping Enforcement and replacing it with Engagement. The Baytown SRTS plan will incorporate Enforcement within Education, Encouragement, and Engineering by creating a collaborative environment where parents, crossing guards, teachers, and law enforcement work together to promote safety awareness, safety education, and if needed, enforce traffic laws. Using the 6 E's model, the following activities have been completed to date:

·         Engagement: The SRTS team has built strong relationships with diverse stakeholders at different stages in the SRTS planning process. Collaboration with Be Well Baytown, GCCISD, the City of Baytown, Baytown Parks Department, and Baytown Planning Department have worked to maximize outreach and community guidance and assisted with efforts to develop the SRTS Baytown plan and recommendations. The next steps include comprehensive community engagement to promote SRTS, safe walking and biking, and opportunities for active transportation.

·         Equity: In the Baytown SRTS plan, equity measures have been used to identify priority schools and areas that may need additional resources, such as education materials, programming, and infrastructure improvements. Next steps include prioritizing outreach in communities of color and historically underserved areas as well as developing SRTS program materials and activities that reflect the community and culture within and around the schools.

·         Engineering: The SRTS team conducted infrastructure assessments using the EST in 2019. Using the findings and results from this assessment, a list of infrastructure and engineering recommendations were created and provided to the City of Baytown, GCCISD, and Harris County Engineering Department to create a safer walking and biking environment. The next steps include working with community partners and project stakeholders to explore the feasibility of protected or shared bike lanes as well as implementing tactical urbanism projects. Continued collaboration will need to occur to discuss implementation of recommended infrastructure improvements and to identify long-term funding opportunities.

·         Encouragement: Currently, community stakeholders and partners are working with GCCISD priority schools to host Walk to School Day events in the Spring of 2021. Next steps include developing a plan for school districts to monitor progress and evaluate SRTS success, develop recognition criteria to celebrate schools and champions who have excelled in their SRTS efforts, and create tools and techniques that schools can use to encourage students and parents to walk or bike outside of SRTS events.

·         Education: The SRTS team hosted a virtual SRTS training for GCCISD PE teachers in September 2020. The training provided an overview of SRTS and the Baytown SRTS plan, encouraged teachers to motivate students to meet physical education objectives, and offered tips for applying pedestrian and bicycle safety into virtual and in-person curriculum. The SRTS team has also presented at several informational events for Baytown community members and local community organizations. The next steps include hosting safety education and train the trainer events, presenting at School Health Advisory Council or PTO/PTA meetings, providing informational materials to parents, and informing the residents of Baytown about the opportunity and resources for reporting issues or concerns related to city infrastructure.

·         Evaluation: In order to create the SRTS plan, a number of initial evaluation activities were conducted between 2019 and early 2020, including parent perception surveys, infrastructure assessments, a neighborhood survey, principal interviews, and crossing guard surveys. This information was combined with data on GCCISD and student travel findings to create data-driven recommendations in the plan. The plan also includes future evaluation metrics to assess the success of the SRTS program after recommendations and activities have been implemented.

The SRTS team received funding from MD Anderson Cancer Center to create both SRTS plans and to implement education and encouragement activities in Pasadena and Baytown. Funding for the Pasadena SRTS program over one year totaled $77,500 and funded staff, training and technical assistance, engagement incentives, and materials and supplies. Funding for the Baytown Safe Routes program totals $265,000 over three years to fund both a Safe Routes to School plan and Safe Routes to Parks plan. The grant funds two additional program staff, purchase of promotional and educational materials for encouragement and education activities, technical assistance and training opportunities, mileage reimbursements and expenses related to data collection activities.

An evaluation for the Pasadena SRTS program is in progress with future meetings scheduled to formally evaluate the implementation of SRTS strategies and recommendations. Preliminary data from Pasadena ISD has indicated an increase in the number of walk and bike to school events as well as an increase in the number of students participating in these events. In the 2016-2017 school year, only two schools hosted a walk to school day. In the 2019-2020 school year, that number increased to 13 schools hosting events with 1,154 students participating. There were an additional six walks scheduled between March-May 2020 but were unable to occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first bike to school day was hosted in Spring of 2018 and the school has continued to independently host additional bike to school days. The increase in events is a direct result of Pasadena ISD incorporating the plan recommendation of hosting walk and bike to school events into their school health policies and speaks to the sustainability of SRTS programming and efforts. Through conversations with both the city and county planning and engineering offices, the SRTS team has been notified that the sidewalk and infrastructure recommendations are being utilized to allocate funding for annual sidewalk improvements and new installations. The SRTS team has also seen the installation of infrastructure improvements near two priority schools. Near Richey Elementary, a 1.3-mile section of Richey Street was redeveloped to improve drainage, widen sidewalks, improve crosswalks and signals, and improve the mid-block pedestrian crossing directly adjacent to Richey Elementary. This new esplanade features enhanced lighting and signage, a physical median, and a clear pedestrian space to improve safety for the children that walk to school daily. A new steel beam pedestrian bridge at Gardens Elementary was installed in 2018 and recently, the city completed new sidewalk connections from the bridge entrance to nearby sidewalks in the adjacent neighborhoods. These infrastructure improvements show the city's responsiveness and support for SRTS efforts across Pasadena. The SRTS team received funding in Fall 2020 to implement an artistic crosswalk contest, furthering the recommendation of installing artistic crosswalks near the priority schools included the SRTS plan.

The Pasadena SRTS plan includes evaluation metrics to review and assess the success of SRTS efforts in Pasadena and to ensure that the plan is meeting the CDC HI-5 initiative goals. The evaluation metrics include:

·         Collecting annual student transportation data from Pasadena ISD and compare findings across years

·         Collecting parent perception surveys every three years and entering the data into the National Safe Routes database

·         Conducting principal and facilities management interviews every three years to review ongoing support and sustainability for SRTS

·         Reviewing pedestrian and bicycle crash reports and data every five years

·         Monitoring sidewalk and infrastructure projects around the priority elementary schools every five years

The Pasadena SRTS plan has only been in place since 2018 and the evaluation strategies included in the plan are designed to be conducted at 1, 3 and 5-year intervals. The above preliminary results demonstrate the positive impact SRTS has had on the students and surrounding communities. This validates the CDC HI-5 initiative that results will come to fruition within five years.

The Baytown SRTS plan was completed in December 2020 and the strategies have yet to be implemented. As a result, the SRTS team is unable to evaluate implementation of SRTS efforts in Baytown. While a formal evaluation cannot yet be completed, the SRTS has received positive feedback as a result of the collaborative effort in creating the plan. In reviewing preliminary recommendations with the City of Baytown planning departments and Harris County Precinct 2 Engineering Office, they have indicated incorporating the SRTS recommendations into future city plans and the precinct will incorporate sidewalk recommendations into their next funding cycle. The sidewalk and environmental data and community feedback in determining where to focus future infrastructure improvements was valued by both departments. The plan also includes future evaluation metrics to measure the success of the SRTS program after recommendations and activities have begun and been completed. This evaluation plan includes:

·         Collecting annual student transportation data from GCCISD

·         Presenting Baytown SRTS updates regularly with stakeholders

·         Collecting parent perception surveys every three years and entering the data into the National Safe Routes database

·         Conducting principal and facilities management interviews every three years to review ongoing support and sustainability for SRTS

·         Reviewing pedestrian and bicycle crash reports and data every five years

·         Monitoring sidewalk and infrastructure projects around the priority elementary schools every five years

HCPH is committed to sustaining and growing SRTS programs and efforts across the county and the state. The key to sustaining an SRTS program is focusing on efforts that institutionalize SRTS activities in schools, promoting a culture of active transportation in communities and creating safe, convenient and fun opportunities for children to bike and walk to and from school.

The efforts in Pasadena have demonstrated that the equitable implementation of education, encouragement, and engineering strategies can make a difference in the number of students walking and biking to school while also effectively informing and influencing policy changes at the district, city and county level. The HLM – Pasadena work will transition over to the City of Pasadena's Parks and Recreation Department in January 2021 and will become the Pasadena Health Coalition, giving the city more ownership over their health and wellness efforts. The city will continue supporting Safe Routes to School as a priority strategy by improving walkability and bikeability. HCPH will continue to have a seat at the table, supporting as needed to ensure that efforts move forward. With continued monthly meetings, partners have an opportunity to engage in all projects, invest in sustainability, and maintain connections and ideas. MD Anderson Cancer Center invested in creating a Safe Routes to School Coordinator position for Pasadena ISD that advocates, teaches, and coordinates SRTS programming throughout the district. Pasadena ISD has seen the success and importance of this position and has committed to maintaining the position once grant funding expires, thus ensuring the sustainability of SRTS at the district level.

The SRTS team has already expanded SRTS efforts in Baytown establishing a partnership with City of Baytown, GCCISD, and other community organizations through Be Well Baytown. Similar to the transition in Pasadena, the SRTS team plans to facilitate a transition of SRTS activities, programming, and communications to GCCISD and the City of Baytown.

The SRTS team has been approached by Harris County Precinct 2, which covers both Pasadena and Baytown, to create a broader precinct wide SRTS Plan or explore opportunities to conduct additional focused SRTS Plans for the remaining ISDs within the precinct. Recently, the SRTS team approached the City of Houston to partner on a proposed SRTS opportunity within a new target population. The city was open and receptive to increasing their capacity and knowledge to implement SRTS within the City. This partnership will demonstrate the importance of having collaboration between a local health department and city agencies. HCPH has been invited to present at School Health Advisory Council meetings in various school districts across the county to showcase how HCPH can expand SRTS efforts by supporting new initiatives and programming. The SRTS team has also made strides in expanding efforts outside the county. In November 2019, two members of the SRTS team were flown to El Paso, TX by Texas Action for Healthy Kids to lead a one-day workshop on starting a SRTS program. The SRTS team members discussed key strategies, lessons learned, and successful elements of the Pasadena SRTS plan. They provided technical assistance on community partnerships, developing program goals, and identified initial steps to assist Action for Healthy Kids and local El Paso organizations to begin their own SRTS program. The feedback from the El Paso community was positive and they have since used the goals, list of potential partners, and initial strategies to draft a proposal for a strategic planning grant. The collaboration with Action for Healthy Kids in El Paso is one way to grow meaningful connections across organizations and foster sustainability for SRTS efforts and programs across the state. In October 2019, two members of the team presented at the Safe Routes to School national conference to share best practices and lessons learned with attendees from all over the nation. This conference also provided the SRTS team with best practices, resources, and tools to support SRTS efforts in Harris County.

While working with a team of partners to facilitate SRTS programming, including the walk or bike to school events, the SRTS team has learned a number of lessons, including the importance of evaluating events with participating partners and applying lessons learned to future events. For example, after implementation of a walk to school day, the coalition documented what went right about the event, such as getting an elected official to participate, and what improvements were needed, such as including more school officials in the planning process. The SRTS team then took these lessons and invited more partners to the table to help coordinate the next school-based event, a bike to school day. For the bike to school day, the PE teachers of the elementary school aided in a majority of the planning process.

The Baytown SRTS plan was drafted prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though COVID-19 has altered the way communities live, learn, work, worship, play and interact, the pandemic has shined a spotlight on the importance of walking and biking in communities across the country, as well as having safe spaces to walk and bike outdoors. This was a valuable lesson for the school districts as they were encouraged to reduce the number of students who ride the bus to school and create distance between children on school busses in compliance with CDC guidelines and recommendations.¹ Implementing a SRTS program would help mitigate the effects of school districts decreasing school bus transportation. As a result of the pandemic, the SRTS team had to shift from in-person to virtual community outreach, collaboration, and educational trainings. The SRTS team maintained monthly virtual meetings with the Be Well Baytown Steering Committee in order to meet project objectives and timelines as well as maintain established relationships. The shift was made from scheduled in-person meetings to work on the Baytown SRTS plan to sharing the document and establishing a virtual method for writing, reviewing and sharing ideas for the SRTS Baytown plan. The SRTS team took this lesson and obstacle and developed new innovative ways to conduct community outreach and continue SRTS efforts in Baytown.

References:

1. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html