In association with the FHWA Safe Route to School program, the Department of Public Works Suggested Routes to School (SRTS) program purposes to enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school; to make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age; and to facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools.
Suggested Routes to School is a cross-cutting program. There are many possible outcomes from successfully implementing projects and activities at the State and local level. These desired outcomes help clarify the broad purposes stated in the legislation and can assist implementation, including the overall development and administration of State programs. They can be used to help evaluate potential projects and understand the factors that affect the success of different activities, projects, and programs.
Desired outcomes of the SRTS Program include:
- Increased bicycle, pedestrian, and traffic safety
- More children walking and bicycling to and from schools
- Decreased traffic congestion
- Improved childhood health
- Reduced childhood obesity
- Encouragement of healthy and active lifestyles
- Improved air quality
- Improved community safety
- Reduced fuel consumption
- Increased community security
- Enhanced community accessibility
- Increased community involvement
- Improvements to the physical environment that increase the ability to walk and bicycle to and from schools
- Improved partnerships among schools, local municipalities, parents, and other community groups, including non-profit organizations
- Increased interest in bicycle and pedestrian accommodations throughout a community
FHWA recommends that SRTS efforts in the United States incorporate – directly or indirectly – five components, often called the “4 E’s”. The 4 E’s are:
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Engineering – Creating operational and physical improvements to the infrastructure surrounding schools that reduce speeds and potential conflicts with motor vehicle traffic and establish safer and fully accessible crossings, walkways, trails, and bikeways.
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Education – Teaching children about the broad range of transportation choices, instructing them in important lifelong bicycling and walking safety skills, and launching driver safety campaigns near schools.
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Enforcement – Partnering with local law enforcement to ensure traffic laws are obeyed in the vicinity of schools (including speed enforcement, yielding to pedestrians in crossings, and proper walking and bicycling behaviors) and initiating community enforcement such as crossing guard programs.
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Emergency Response – Using technological solutions such as E-Call, international help numbers, target response times for incidents, and Level 1 trauma centers to aid and assist constituents in time of need or service.
The Department of Public Works maintains an inventory of school-related traffic control devices within a two-mile walking radius of elementary and middle schools located within unincorporated Clark County jurisdiction.
The 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) contains national standards for the installation and maintenance of traffic control devices and is published by the Federal Highway Administration under the Code of Federal Regulation. Some MUTCD statements are considered mandatory, while others are recommended practices, permissive practices, or simply statements of support. Part 7 of the MUTCD addresses Traffic Controls for School Areas (See Resources).
Resources:
MUTCD - Part 7CCSD SRTSNevada Safe Route to SchoolNational Center for Safe Routes to SchoolSafe Routes PartnershipsFHWA Safe Routes to School
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