The Problems Students bicycling/walking to school dropped from 50% to 10%, 1960s to now

2. The Problems • Students bicycling/walking to school dropped from 50% to 10%, 1960s to now • Loss of children’s independence and free play time outdoors • Impact on physical health: physical fitness/obesity – MO 9th in obesity • Impact on mental health • Reduction in community livability • Missouri historically trailing edge

3. Our Solutions • Increase walking/biking to school • Build partnerships • Institutionalize SRTS • Policy change in support of SRTS • Improve built environment • Make Missouri a leader

4. Missouri Safe Routes to School Network Bridging the Gap, Kansas City Cape Girardeau Safe Communities City of Columbia, Missouri City of Gladstone City of Independence Parks and Recreation City of Kansas City, Missouri City of Raymore City of Springfield Public Works Department Columbia/Boone County Health Department Platte County, Missouri Federal Highway Administration, Missouri Division Great Rivers Greenway District Greater St. Joseph Area MPO Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City Heartland Health Incarnate Word Foundation Jefferson County Missouri Health Department Kansas City Bicycle Club Kansas Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School Program KC Healthy Kids Let's Go KC Mayor Darwin Hindman, Columbia Mayor Mark Funkhouser, Kansas City Mid-America Regional Council Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation M-SLICE Office of Congressman Russ Carnahan • Missouri Convergence Partnership • Missouri Coordinated School Health Coalition • Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition • Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education • Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services • Missouri Department of Natural Resources • Missouri Department of Transportation, Office of Highway Safety, Safe Routes to School Program • Missouri Foundation for Bicycling & Walking • Missouri Foundation for Health • Missouri Park and Recreation Association • Missouri PTA • Missouri School Boards Association • Office of Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder • Ozark Family Resource Agency • Ozark Foothills Child Advocacy Center • Ozark Greenways • Ozark Heart Health Program, Washington University Bureau of Health Promotion • Ozarks Transportation Organization, Springfield • PedNet Coalition, Columbia • Raytown C-2 School District • Representative Charlie Denison, Springfield • Representative Charlie Norr, Springfield • Representative Chris Carter, St. Louis • Representative Jeanne Kirkton, Webster Groves • Representative Sara Lampe, Springfield • Revolve • Reynolds County Health Center • Safe Routes to School National Partnership • Scenic Missouri • Soulard Renaissance (newspaper) • Springfield-Greene County Health Department • STAR Team, Springfield • St Joseph Metropolitan Planning Organization • St Joseph Police Department • St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation • Steve Petrehn, Active Lifestyles Advocate • Superintendent, Hurley R-1 School District • Superintendent, Raytown C-2 School District • The Whole Person • Trailnet, St. Louis • Transtria, St. Louis • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Region VII Office of Minority Health • University of Missouri Extension • Urban Kansas City Community of Cycling • Warsaw Missouri Parks and Recreation Over 80 organizations, agencies, officials, individuals

5. Missouri Safe Routes to School Network National funding: Robert Wood Johnson Kaiser Permanente Bikes Belong Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Missouri funding: Missouri Foundation for Health Incarnate Word Foundation • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Region VII Office of Minority Health

6. Missouri Routes to School Network • Monthly meetings via teleconference • Email list/discussion in between • Action Plan/Action Teams • Policy change in support of SRTS

7. 12 Action Items – 12 Action Teams • Complete Streets Policies across MO • SRTS Champions • Bicycle/Pedestrian Curriculum & Large Scale Instruction • SRTS Statewide Non-Infrastructure Plan) • SRTS Mass Communication • Underserved Communities • Personal Safety • School Wellness Policies • Educating key decision-makers about SRTS • Joint Use Agreements • School Siting Policies • School transportation funding • SRTS Data Gathering & Analysis • MoDOT’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan

8. Maryland SRTS Network Brent Hugh Missouri SRTS Network John Schaefer SRTS Coordinator MoDOT

9. 501(c)(3) Education, encouragement, safety 501(c)(4) Promote bicycling & walking, advocacy By Foundation, under contract Policy change

10. SRTS Issues • Multi-disciplinary • Multi-jurisdictional • Result of good intentions • Require broad community support to address • But—one person can often make a BIG difference

11. Complete Streets Policies • Complete Streets needed for safe walking/biking to school • Greater awareness of Complete Streets policies &impact on schools • Complete Streets at local, MPO/RPC, county, state, & federal levels • Support Missouri Livable Streets initiative

12. Complete Streets Policies – What You Can Do • Host a Complete Streets seminar or webinar • Work for Complete Streets policies in your city, county, MPO, RPC, etc • Invite bicycle, pedestrian groups to participate in public input for projects & plans

13. SRTS Champions • Champion is the local parent/teacher/neighbor who gets SRTS done • Identify existing Champions, encourage new Champions • Information sharing, support, training • Recognition

14. SRTS Champions – What You Can Do • Become a SRTS Champion in your local school or city • Organize Walk to School event (October/April) • Bring Walking School Bus Training to your local community (PedNet/MoDOT)

15. SRTS Curriculum & Large Scale Instruction • Bike/Ped skills education to every student • Pilot Bike Ed program underway • Hope to take it statewide • Develop standard bike/ped curriculum • Train the trainer programs for bike/ped skills & safety Photo courtesy BikePortland

16. SRTS Statewide Non-Infrastructure Plan • 10-30% of MoDOT funding on Non-Infrastructure • Non-Infrastructure = Education, Encouragement, Enforcement • Goal: Improve the effectiveness of MoDOT’s SRTS non-infrastructure funding

17. SRTS Mass Communication • Create web site, enewsletter, print newsletter, SRTS Guidebook • Media, social media • Improve visibility of SRTS statewide • Work together with/amplify all other Action Items Image courtesy Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers University

18. Underserved Communities/Personal Safety • Obesity/health/environmental issues disproportionately affect low income & minority groups • Typically they receive less of the funding/programs to address the problem • Is this happening with SRTS funding & programs? • How can we address the problem?

19. Underserved Communities/ Personal Safety – What You Can Do • Join our Underserved Communities Action Team

20. School Wellness Policies • Every school must have one • Several model policies in MO • Do model policies include SRTS elements? Can they be improved? • Are schools including SRTS elements? • Can we help schools implement SRTS elements they have included? Image courtesy Kentucky Beef Council

21. Educate Key Decision Makers about SRTS • Create materials/presentations • Speakers bureau • Meetings between local SRTS champions and key leaders

22. Educate Key Decision Makers about SRTS – What You Can Do • Join our Action Team • Help us identify the key decision makers • Work with us to speak or give presentations about SRTS

23. Joint Use Agreements • Use of school facilities by the community after hours • Playgrounds, courts, fields, track, swimming pools, etc • Legal issues, liability, funding • Research existing agreements in MO • Publicize model agreements, case studies Image courtesy Renee Kuhlman, National Trust for Historic Preservation

24. School Siting Policies

25. What can you do with 100 acres?

26. School Siting Policies • Full cost of school siting decision: • – Land Acquisition • – Demolition or Security • – Transportation • - More Buses • - More Lanes • – Infrastructure • - Sewer • - Roads - Sidewalks – Walkability www.azdot.gov/srts – Health - Obesity - Asthma – Local Housing Values

27. School Siting Policies • Educate (recent webinar now online, MoBikeFed.org/SchoolSiting) • Update Missouri state school construction guidelines to include broader considerations • Possible School Siting Summit

28. School Siting Policies – What You Can Do • Start/Join our Action Team • Raise issues whenever new schools are planned in your area

29. School Transportation Funding Formulas • Expert from NPLAN (National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity) analyzed MO’s transportation funding formulas • Conclusion: Structural problems in our school transportation funding discourage bicycling & walking

30. School Transportation Funding Formulas • Possible solutions: • Require as a condition of transportation funding that districts put rigorous SRTS and bicycle and pedestrian education programs into effect • Provide transportation aid for each student pedestrian and bicyclist, not just eligible bused students

31. School Transportation Funding Formulas • Possible solutions: • Provide a set amount of state aid for use for transportation (perhaps based on total students in district) and allow districts to allocate money not used for busing to nontransportation needs • Allow schools to work with municipalities to use student transportation funding to fix walking or bicycling hazards

32. School Transportation Funding Formulas • Possible solutions: • Hazard busing: • Require plan to deal with hazard before allowing funding for busing • Allow use of transportation budget to fix hazards.

33. School Transportation Funding Formulas – What You Can Do • Join our Action Team

34. SRTS Data Gathering & Analysis • No one gathers/analyzes comprehensive stats about school biking/walking in MO • Work to develop basic data & collect it regularly over time • Analyze/publicize existing data

35. SRTS Data Gathering & Analysis – What You Can Do • Start/join our Action Team

36. SRTS in MO’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan • Increase number of SRTS Network members participating as Blueprint for Safer Roadways partners • Develop more specific goals related to bicycling, walking, and SRTS as part of the Blueprint • Explore the possibility of using highwaysafety funding for specific SRTS needs

37. What You Can Do – Overall • Join the MO Safe Routes to School Network • Join a specific Action Team • Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter • Join our Facebook page • Speak up for Safe Routes to School MoBikeFed.org/SafeRoutes

38. Brent Hugh • Missouri Network Organizer • Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian • Federation • saferoutespartnership.org/missouri • MoBikeFed.org/SafeRoutes • missouri@saferoutespartnership.org • 816-695-6736 • Missouri Network Meetings • 4th Tuesdays of Month, 9:30 a.m.