Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a federal, state and local effort

Overview

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a federal, state and local effort to enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school and to make walking and bicycling to school safe and appealing.

In New York, as in other parts of this country, travel to school by walking and bicycling has declined dramatically over the past several decades. The adverse impacts of this trend on air quality, traffic congestion and childhood health are alarming.

The goal of New York’s Safe Routes to School Program is to assist New York communities in developing and implementing projects and programs that encourage walking and bicycling to school while enhancing the safety of these trips.

These programs can bring a wide range of benefits to students and the community. These include an easy way for children to get the regular physical activity they need for good health and even to ease traffic jams and reduce pollution around schools.

A major goal of the program is to increase bicycle, pedestrian and traffic safety. Successful Safe Routes to School programs in the United States usually includes one or more of these approaches engineering, enforcement, education, encouragement.

Local and regional government, schools and community non-profit organizations ready, willing and able to implement SRTS initiatives are eligible to apply for funding.

Applications are available for projects and programs to improve the health and safety of New York children who bike or walk to school. The program is open to all New York municipalities and school districts.