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Walking and biking to school isn't just a "greener" alternative to driving or riding the bus. It's far more fun! And the mission of Safe Routes to School is to help children and their parents discover that — and enjoy it safely. From ongoing educational programs to the creation of safe walking and biking routes, everything we do is aimed at taking more vehicles off roads and putting more kids on sidewalks.

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> ABOUT SAFE ROUTES

 

Think your classroom is among Connecticut’s best at walking or biking to school? Sign up for our Walk It Bike It competition and you could win prizes for the amount of miles your class accumulates! Click here to learn more.

 

The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is a Federal-aid program created in 2005 by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The program provides funds to the Connecticut Department of Transportation to improve the ability of elementary and middle school students to walk and bicycle to school safely.

Specifically, the SRTS program aims to:

  • Enable and encourage children in kindergarten through eighth grade, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school.
  • Make walking and bicycling to school a safe and appealing transportation alternative, encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age.
  • Facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools.

Levels of physical activity in children (as well as adults) have declined in the past several decades as a result of advances in technology. Childhood obesity is a growing concern. Walking or biking to school could play a valuable part in keeping children physically active. The SRTS program was designed to empower schools and communities to make walking and bicycling to school a safe and routine activity.

The SRTS program is comprised of both non-infrastructure activities and infrastructure activities. Non-infrastructure activities are those that fall under Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and/or Evaluation activities. Infrastructure activities generally are Engineering improvements.  These five types of activities or improvements, called the five “E”s, make up the comprehensive SRTS program and are thus included in all formal SRTS plans and programs adopted by schools and/or districts.

 
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