Safe Routes Launch Resources

These resources will help communities that have participated in the Safe Routes to School Launch program continue to grow and sustain a thriving walking and biking program.

Fact Sheet
Safe Routes to School and Childhood Obesity:
A Review of the Research

The rate of childhood obesity has increased four-fold over the past forty years, leading to serious health risks for children. 

Fact Sheet, Case Study
Safe Routes to School:
A Primer for Student Transportation Departments

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing District-Wide Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating School District Transportation Departments" that took place on April 18, 2013.

Fact Sheet
Walking Clubs

A walking club is an easy, inexpensive, and fun way to encourage children to walk by keeping track of their mileage and/or minutes and rewarding them for being physically active.

Report
Safe Routes to School by the Numbers
Using Data to Foster Walking and Biking to School

This report offers insights into how newly expanding access to data can assist in improving walking and biking programs, provides an overview of the current state of data access and its limitations, and highlights case studies of communities and organizations using data to make walking and bicycling programs and policies function more effectively.

Toolkit
Step by Step: How to Start a Walking School Bus at Your School

This toolkit is designed to help parents, educators, and community members plan and organize a walking school bus using adult volunteers as leaders. 

Fact Sheet
Fun Run Planning Checklist

Planning a Fired Up Fun Run is easy! Use our resources and materials to raise and collect funds both in person and online.

Toolkit
Safe Routes to School and Student Leaders:
Facilitator’s Guide to Engaging Middle School Youth

This guide offers practical tools for adult facilitators to support middle school students in the promotion of safe walking, bicycling, and public transit use to and from school. Student-led campaigns can generate enthusiasm and improve the social conditions for a Safe Routes to School program!

Fact Sheet
Safe Routes to School: A Primer to Understanding the Role of Local Elected Officials

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing the Local Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating Local Elected Officials" that took place on March 21, 2013.

Model Policy
Safe Routes to School District Policy Workbook

This tool is designed to help school board members, administrators, families of students, and community members create and implement district policies that support active transportation and Safe Routes to School programs. 

Model Policy
Safe Routes to School Local Policy Guide

The Safe Routes to School Local Policy Guide was published to help local communities and schools create, enact and implement policies which will support active and healthy community environments that encourage safe walking and bicycling and physical activity by children through a Health in All Policies approach. 

Fact Sheet, Case Study
Safe Routes to School:
A Primer for Understanding the Role of Student Transportation Departments

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing District-Wide Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating School District Transportation Departments" that took place on April 18, 2013.

Case Study
Case Studies on Active Transportation Funding, Safe Routes to School, Complete Streets, Shared Use, and Environmental Justice

These new resources tell the stories of state- and local-level campaign wins for active transportation funding, Safe Routes to School, Complete Streets, shared use, and environmental justice policies. 

Fact Sheet, Case Study
Safe Routes to School:
A Primer for Municipal Transportation Departments

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing City Involvement in Safe Routes to School: Educating Municipal Transportation Departments" that took place on June 20, 2013.

Fact Sheet, Case Study
Integrating Safe Walking and Bicycling to School into Comprehensive Planning

This fact sheet illustrates how to include walking and biking into comprehensive plans. 

Fact Sheet
Safe Routes to School: A Primer for Understanding the Role of Municipal Transportation Departments

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing City Involvement in Safe Routes to School: Educating Municipal Transportation Departments" that took place on June 20, 2013. Watch an audio-visual recording here. View Powerpoint slides: Gabe Graff, City of Portland- slides; Nancy Nichols, City of Fort Collins - slides.

Fact Sheet
Cultivating Support for Safe Routes to School
A Guide to Building Relationships with School Board Members and Superintendents

This fact sheet provides an overview of why it is important to engage school district leaders in Safe Routes to School and the results that can be achieved through a strong partnership.

Report
Buses, Boots and Bicycles:
Exploring Collaboration Between Safe Routes to School and School Busing Professionals to Get Children to School Safely and Healthily

Student transportation departments have the potential to focus on more than just busing students to school. 

Fact Sheet
Safe Routes to School: A Primer for School Boards and Principals

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing District-Wide Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating School District Transportation Departments" that took place on April 18, 2013.

Fact Sheet
Healthy Students, Thriving Districts
Including Safe Routes to School in District Policies

One of the best ways to make sure that walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School programs are vigorous and sustained over time in your district is to include these programs in school district policies.

Webinar
Shared Use: Tools You Can Use!

This webinar from September 29, 2014 discusses strategies and best practices for advancing shared use agreements.

Fact Sheet
Safe Routes to School: A Regional Government Primer for Practitioners

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "New Funding, New Partners, New Game 201: How to Build Safe Routes to School into Regional Governments" that took place on January 10, 2013. 

Fact Sheet
Safe Walking Tips

Tips for Walking Safely to School and in Life

Fact Sheet
How to Be A PTA Champion for Safe Routes to School

This document describes ways that parents can get involved in policy change and improvements to the built environment to enable and encourage more walking and bicycling, which is a healthy form of physical activity.

Fact Sheet
Walkability Assessment Checklist

Use this checklist to assess the walkability of your route or neighborhood.

Fact Sheet
Safe Routes to School: A Primer to Understanding the Role of School Boards and Principals

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing District-Wide Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating  Principals and School Boards that took place on May 16, 2013.

Working With Your School District Board to Support Healthy, Active Students

This checklist offers questions and actions to consider when preparing to work with your school board in support of Safe Routes to School, whether through official board policies, revised procedures, or other approaches.

Fact Sheet
Safe Routes to School: A Primer for Regional Governments

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "New Funding, New Partners, New Game 201: How to Build Safe Routes to School into Regional Governments" that took place on January 10, 2013. 

Fact Sheet
Bike Rodeos

A bike rodeo is an event that provides elementary and middle school children with the opportunity to learn, practice, and demonstrate bike handling skills in a fun, safe, and encouraging atmosphere.

Fact Sheet
Safe Bicycling Tips

Tips for Riding a Bicycle to School and in Life

Fact Sheet
Effective Messaging for Promoting Biking and Walking
Best Practices and Media Inventory

This fact sheet includes tips and best practices for effective messaging as well as a media inventory of campaigns promoting biking and walking.

Fact Sheet
Built Environment Policies That Affect Physical Activity

By working with local planners to make your school and community more active, you can help ensure that polices that are in place support, encourage, and sustain healthy lifestyles.

Fact Sheet
School Policies That Affect Physical Activity

School policies can impact the amount of physical activity that children receive on a regular basis. Because of this, it’s important to be able to identify both barrier policies, which discourage, prohibit, or otherwise present barriers to physical activity, and supportive policies, which encourage, support, or enable physical activity opportunities.

Fact Sheet
Ten Fantastic Ways to Fire Up Your Safe Routes to School Program

Ideas to grow and sustain your Safe Routes to School or walking and biking programs.

Fact Sheet
Guide to Creating a Walking Route Map

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for creating walking route maps using free tools.