What is Safe Routes to School?

Our Safe Routes to School program or Safe Routes Minnesota is here to help.

 

We provide funding to schools to make improvements to the routes children use to walk and bike to school. These improvements may include physical infrastructure changes (like sidewalks and pathways) or non infrastructure programs (like incentives and educational materials for families).

 

We also provide:

• bicycle and pedestrian curriculum to several pilot locations across the state
• technical assistance and training to schools
• and, support for planning assistance and non-infrastructure implementation grants

 

Communities are basically given the opportunity to improve the built environment and to promote bicycling and walking to school with infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects. The goals of the program are threefold:

• 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
• 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

 

Safe Routes to School projects are funded at 100 percent with no local match required. The SRTS Program is a reimbursable grant program meaning that recipients of the funds will front the cost of the project and will be reimbursed during the course of the project. All costs submitted for reimbursement are subject to eligibility requirements.

 

 Print Safe Routes to School across Minnesota flyer (PDF)

 

 

How was Safe Routes to School created?

The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was created in Section 1404 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Act (SAFETEA-LU). The legislation was signed into law on Aug. 10, 2005, and provides State DOTs with five federal fiscal years (FY2005-FY2009) of funding for the SRTS program. In 2010 a Continuing Resolution provided more funds for the program.