Commentaries on Physical Activity and Health
Transforming Active Transportation:
Impacts of Safe Routes to School
A Conversation with Cass Isidro, Executive Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership works to ensure communities where children can walk and bike to school without harm, feeling confident and safe in doing so. Only 13% of children currently walk and bike to school. Safe Routes to School aims to make walking and biking to school a cultural norm. The NPAPA sat down with Cass Isidro, the executive director of Safe Routes to School National Partnership, to discuss the role of policies and partnership on the success and evolution of the Safe Routes movement.
Safe Routes to School – Impacting Communities Nationwide
“The great thing about the work of Safe Routes to School is that all of the impacts are linked. At the individual level we impact physical activity for our youngest citizens. We are focused on promoting kids independence and confidence about their ability to walk and bike to work. This translates into families’ perceptions and interactions with their communities. Communities are in turn made safer for all. The work of Safe Routes to School also promotes interconnectedness. Safe Routes to School makes its biggest impact in that all of these benefits are happening concurrently; they can’t be pulled apart. Safe Routes to School creates multiple benefits from a single intervention.
So much of the work that creates these impacts happens at the community level. Safe Routes to School Initiatives are really different for each community. In some situations there is some sort of impetus for walking and biking, a groundswell that creates demand, and Safe Routes to School is a part of the solution. Each community receives customized planning and solutions in relation to their Safe Routes to School initiative. Our model is community vision driven. We start with the community perspective and engage directly with community members throughout the process. This allows each situation to be approached with that community in mind, understanding the unique experiences, barriers, policy environment, and funding situation at play. Each Safe Routes to School solution may look a bit different; this flexibility is a large part of the model’s success.” These on the ground efforts in communities across the country are further supported by the work being done at the national policy level.
The Importance of Policy in Safe Routes to School
“Policy is at the core of what we do, part of our founding mission. Years ago there were increases in federal funds related to alternative transportation methods; Safe Routes to School National Partnership saw the need to protect and sustain these funds. More recently our policy efforts have been centered on how policy can improve, or hinder, active transportation for specific groups within in a community. Policy issues must be examined with an equity focus. Some policies tend to impact certain groups of people or certain geographic regions more than others. At Safe Routes to School National Partnership we are examining unintended consequences of policies and beginning to understand what can be done to improve policies – for all – moving forward.” This work is not done alone; partners are a big part of these efforts.
A Partnership Network as a Key to Success
“We work with over 800 partners nationwide, at all different levels. At the local level we work with leader advisory committees. These groups are comprised of people, many of whom are Safe Routes to School state coordinators, who manage Safe Routes projects and interact with local communities. At the state and metropolitan level we interact with many cross sector partners (such as Departments of Transportation, Departments of Health, and Education Departments) to pursue common goals. Finally, at the federal level we are working with groups like America Walks, Girl Trek, National Recreation and Park Association, and American Heart Association. With these partners one of our key objectives is to create a unified voice. It is really important that we don’t occasionally check in on those in the lane next to us, but instead are right there with them all the time. Schools districts and education centers are subject to diverse demands; they are repeatedly approached by all types of organizations. It is critical to the success of the partners various missions that we not contradict each other, but rather present a unified voice that can help improve the lives children and communities on multiple levels.
As you can see, at Safe Routes to School we work with all types of partners, across geographic scope and sector of focus. Recently our work has evolved to begin working with some new and interesting partners, increasing the impact and reach of the Safe Routes to School model.
Street Harassment and Bullying: Recently we’ve begun working on with partners related to street harassment and bullying that prevent kids from walking to school, particularly for middle and high school children.
Food Access and Active Transportation: Our newly developed cross-sector relationships have looked at ways to impact food access through active transportation. How can walking and biking help people get to the food in their community?
Physical Activity Focus: Finally, we are focusing on Safe Routes to School as a specific physical activity solution. In the beginning we were solely looking at Safe Routes to School as a way to get kids outside and lessen dependence on cars. With our partners we’ve expanded to consider the way Safe Routes to School can help kids achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day.
Our partners, old and new, continue to play a fundamental role in the work of Safe Routes to School. As we look back and celebrate the work that has been accomplished it is impossible to separate the work from the partnerships critical to the success.”
The Evolution and Future of Safe Routes to School
“Throughout the years Safe Routes to School has naturally evolved as the work is being done. As we worked and engaged with communities Safe Routes to School became safe routes for everyone else too – to work, to parks, to food. Safe Routes to School broadened the way we operate and are now engaging at a level beyond Safe Routes to School, we’re looking at community wide issues. We are thinking about how we, as an organization, function as a citizen in the larger world. How we can tackle some of the big issues society is facing such as racism and poverty and division? How can we bring our collaborative efforts and dynamic team to impact these larger issues beyond Safe Routes to School? Because these larger issues fundamentally impact our original Safe Routes to School mission as well.”