Incorporating shared use into school wellness policies helps students, parents, teachers, and other school district staff understand the important role shared use can play in increasing opportunities for physical activity and creating a healthier school environment. 

This fact sheet is a companion to At the Intersection of Active Transportation and Equity: Joining Forces to Make Communities Healthier and Fairer. 

This model policy focuses on one particular shared use mechanism, the “Open Use Policy.” 

Guidance for parents and caregivers to teach their children (ages 4 and above) safe walking behavior.

This fact sheet is a companion to Taking Back the Streets and Sidewalks: How Safe Routes to School and Community Safety Initiatives Can Overcome Violence and Crime.

This fact sheet is a companion to At the Intersection of Active Transportation and Equity: Joining Forces to Make Communities Healthier and Fairer. 

Across the country, many Native American communities lack safe and affordable spaces for their children to exercise and play. 

This webinar from June 25, 2015 discusses strategies to make routes to school safe from violence and crime.

Key takeaway: Safe Routes to School initiatives can contribute to creating multi-faceted “activity-friendly” environments that provide a range of societal co-benefits; filling gaps in the evidence of co-benefits will further support the importance of active transportation to school.

Key Takeaway: Community-based participatory research activities that engage youth can help create a place-based understanding of how youths perceive their neighborhood environments and inform interventions for improvements.

The Safe Routes Ohio Network put together a series of Lunch and Learns to increase awareness around shared use in Ohio. 

KEY TAKEAWAY:

• Active transportation and physical activity in rural environments may be difficult to achieve, but context-sensitive solutions can help connect residents with other recreational opportunities through schools and other locations.

KEY TAKEAWAY:

• Walking and biking to school is an important part of multi-component comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs).

KEY TAKEAWAY:

• Walking is the most common form of physical activity among high school students, and most students do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines.

KEY TAKEAWAY:

• Park access for youth varies by race/ethnicity, urban-rural classification, median education, and median household income of their home census block group.

KEY TAKEAWAY:

Walking groups among adults can result in improved health outcomes, including blood pressure, heart rate, body fat, BMI, cholesterol, oxygen uptake, and 6-minute walk time.

Key takeaway: SRTS has increased walking and biking and improved safety and can decrease health and school transport costs.

The primary objective of this guide is to provide tips and guidance on how States and communities can effectively deploy pedestrian safety enforcement operations to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities. 

NHTSA has put together this Bicycle Safety Activity Kitto provide parents, caregivers, teachers, community leaders, and children with tools to learn the important basics about bicycle safety. This kit can be used in school or community bicycle safety programs or in conjunction with Safe Routes to School programs. 

ULI’s Building Healthy Places Toolkit: Strategies for Enhancing Health in the Built Environment outlines evidence-supported opportunities for enhancing health outcomes in real estate developments.