City of Santa Rosa Pilot Safe Routes to School Program Julia Gonzalez Grant Administrator, City of Santa Rosa, Safe Routes to School Program

Santa Rosa SRTS Program  A pilot project in partnership with the Santa Rosa City School District  The first and largest SRTS program in the Sonoma County  Serving 13 elementary and 5 middle schools  A component of the Street Smarts campaign  Federal SRTS grant $250,000  Concludes this academic year

Events and Activities  Walk-n-Roll to School Events  Bicycle Rodeos  School Assemblies  Community Events and Fairs

Outreach Components  Promotional ads in various local publications  Radio Campaign – The Roads of Our Lives  Facebook ads with walking and cycling safety tips

Partnerships and Resources  All materials developed by the City of Santa Rosa are being utilized by the County SRTS Program.  Scripts for school assembly presentations, props, graphics, artwork, music, posters, etc.  Santa Rosa PD Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program.  Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition.

What We Learned  Sustainability of these programs relies heavily on a commitment from educators and parent volunteers.  High level of interest from the community.  Economic factors influence the level of parent participation.  Safety (both real and perceived) is the primary factor influencing whether a student walks or is driven to school.

What We Learned (cont.)  Other influencing factors include weather conditions and the amount of day light hours.  While events such as Walking Wednesdays or Walk-n-Roll to School Days are valuable tools for generating interest in walking and cycling among students – Parents are an equally, if not more important audience to focus on.

Safe Routes to School Improving Health, Safety and Transportation Beth Dadko Co-Coordinator Countywide SRTS Workgroup

School Commute Trends Kids ages 5 to 14: Usually walked or biked to school 48%13% Arrived in a private auto12%44% Rode school bus38%40% Live within 1 mile of school41%31% Live within 1 mile of school who walk/bike to school 88%38% Source: 2009 National Household Travel Survey

Greenhouse Gas Impact FROM 1990 LEVELS  Transportation = 60% of total emissions in 2007  4 of 5 trips in Sonoma County are single-occupant automobiles  School transportation: 20-25% of morning traffic nationally  Sonoma County committed to GHG reduction target of 25% below 1990 levels by 2015

Why Should We Care?  Children need physical activity  Safer with less traffic  Pedestrian and bicycle safety are life lessons  Classroom benefits “You cannot educate a child who is not healthy and you cannot keep a child healthy who is not educated.” - Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General

Part of the Solution… Sonoma County is taking action on behalf of children through Safe Routes to School

Current SRTS Programs  Measure M Transportation Tax: current base for countywide SRTS Program ($45K/yr)  Current Federal SRTS 5E’s programs South Santa Rosa (7 schools) Sebastopol (4 schools) Rohnert Park (5 schools)  SRTS Countywide Workgroup

Elements of SRTS programs  Evaluation  Education  Enforcement  Engineering  Encouragement

Evaluation (pre and post data collection)

Evaluation – GIS Maps Kawana Elementary School, South Santa Rosa

 Increases popularity of walking and bicycling  Is an easy way to start SRTS programs  Emphasizes fun Encouragement

Education  Imparts safety skills and awareness  Develops understanding of benefits of walking/bicycling  Fosters life-long safety and healthy habits  Includes parents, neighbors and other drivers Chicago, IL

Enforcement  Increases awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists  Improves driver behavior  Helps children follow traffic rules and helmet compliance

Engineering  Creates safer conditions for walking and bicycling  Can influence the way people behave West Valley City, UT

South Santa Rosa SRTS Program BeforeAfter

South Santa Rosa SRTS Program BeforeAfter

Safe Routes to School is Effective

Attitude Shifts: the first step Strongly Encourage EncourageNeutralDiscourageStrongly Discourage Fall %27.6%44.8%1.7%5.2% Spring %47.9%15.1%0% Percentage of Parents Who Feel that Kawana Elementary School Encourages or Discourages Walking and Biking to/from School Number of Parents at Kawana Reporting the Level of Fun Walking and Biking to/from School is for Their Child Very FunFunNeutralBoringVery Boring Fall %55.7%26.2%1.6%3.3% Spring %41.9%25.7%1.4%0%

Sustainable Funding Opportunities  MTC Regional SRTS by Oct 2011  SRTS Grants Federal Cycle 3- released in spring 2011 State Cycle 10- released in fall 2011

What Can Schools/Parents Do?  Promote Walk & Roll to School Day Wednesday, October 6 th, 2011  “Walking Wednesdays”  Start walking school buses or bike trains  Bike rodeos  Resources on website  School newsletters  Assemblies  Prizes for participation

What Can Santa Rosa City Council Do?  Assign someone to represent SR on the Countywide SRTS Workgroup  Support the formation of a Santa Rosa SRTS Task Force  Participate in Walk & Roll to School Day Wednesday, October 5, 2011