Safe Routes to School

A movement to encourage and enable elementary school children to safely walk and ride bicycles between home and school has served the Granite State for more than a decade. The NH Department of Transportation (NHDOT) encourages more communities to get involved. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) helped communities by reimbursing them for the costs of bringing new balance to our transportation system.

Leaders at the local level are recognized that getting kids outside and active is one way to counteract a sedentary lifestyle. In recent decades, the use of private motor vehicles for getting kids to school and back has increased dramatically. There has been a corresponding decline in the number of students walking or riding bicycles to school. Getting stuck in a school-zone traffic jam tends to raise the blood pressure instead of the heart rate. It’s not healthy for kids or drivers. It wastes time, contributes to an epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity, burns expensive fuel, and pollutes the air.

As an independent, specialized program, SRTS was designed for children from kindergarten through eighth grade, including those with disabilities, who live within approximately two miles of school. All funds available under the program have been awarded, but infrastructure projects (sidewalks and bike lanes, for example) related to schools are eligible under the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

Schools interested in the program should begin the planning and organizing effort as soon as possible. Successful SRTS programs rely on close cooperation among school and municipal leaders, parents, children, and organizations and individuals dedicated to improving their communities and promoting safe bicycling and walking. 

School-oriented planning can support an application for funding under TAP.