Northeast Iowa Safe Routes to School
"Creating walkable, bikeable communities..."
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is an international movement to enable and encourage students to safely walk and bicycle to and from school. SRTS programs are the result of parents, schools, communities and government joining forces to improve the health and safety of our children, our future leaders.
SRTS programs focus on the "5E's":
1. Education efforts to teach pedestrian and bicycle safety skills;
2. Encouragement activities to build interest and enthusiasm;
3. Enforcement measures to address safety issues;
4. Engineering solutions to maintain traffic control devices and physical infrastructure;
5. Evaluation methods to monitor impact and identify areas for improvement and growth.
In northeast Iowa, the following SRTS activities help to increase physical activity among students and safety within our communities:
- Walking School Bus. A Walking School Bus is a group of students walking to/from school with responsible supervisors. It can take place daily, weekly or monthly.
- Remote Drop-off. This is a variation of a Walking School Bus. Students who live far from the school can be dropped off at a location away from school grounds to walk the remaining trip to school.
- Bike Rodeo. A Bike Rodeo is a popular and fun event teaching children how to properly and safely ride a bike.
- Mileage Club. Students earn rewards by walking a certain number of laps around a track, gym or school hallway. It could take place at gym class, recess or an after-school club.
- Active Classroom Learning. Sneak physical activity into classroom learning. One example is Stories in Motion, where students act out stories as they are read aloud.
SRTS work in northeast Iowa is truly a unique and exciting adventure because of the region's rural setting. Historically, SRTS efforts have been designed for urban settings so northeast Iowa's program is really one of a kind. It is developing a rural, regional SRTS model which will ultimately lay the foundation for bringing the benefits of SRTS to rural populations all across Iowa.
Want to learn more about SRTS in northeast Iowa? Contact Ashley Christensen, Regional Safe Routes to School Liaison, at achristensen@uerpc.org or 563-382-6171.
Publications:
- No-cost or Low-cost Safe Routes to School Projects (Spanish)
- The Basics of a Walking School Bus (Spanish)
- Walking School Bus Scavenger Hunt
- 2016 Bike Rack Challenge Info NEW!! Entry Form Report Form
- The Basics of a Bike Rodeo (Spanish)
- School-wide Active Living Events
- Active Living Annual Reports and Data Assessments
Resources:
