Safe Routes To School
Michigan’s Safe Routes to School Program
The statewide Safe Routes to School program began in 2003 to help stem the escalating rate of obesity and health problems related to a lack of physical inactivity in Michigan’s school-age children. Representatives from a wide range of disciplines, including health, education, transportation, law enforcement, university, and non-profit groups developed a program, encompassing the 5 E’s: encouragement, enforcement, engineering, education, and economics. Thus far, 420 schools across the state have participated in the program. Clean-up of abandoned houses, increased traffic signage, painted crosswalks, increased crossing guards, realignment of parking lots for safety and improved procedures for student drop-offs and pick-ups are some of the early wins experienced by the schools. Many other longer-term improvements have been planned, and many schoolchildren across the state are experiencing the joys of biking and walking to school, some for the first time. For more about Michigan’s Safe Routes to School program, visit www.saferoutesmichigan.org
Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance and Michigan State University teamed up last year to map the trails and their proximity to Michigan’s elementary and middle schools. If a trail is aligned between the school and the neighborhood where a student lives, a trail may only need a short connector in order to become a prime “safe route to school.” Look for your county and your school on the map and see if you have trails nearby that could serve as a starting point for your safe routes to school program. Also included below is an analysis of those schools who have trails or on-road bicycle facilities which line up well for use as a primary arteries for travel to school. Contact your school principal to enroll in the Safe Routes to School Program, and your school could be awarded grant dollars to accomplish new projects in the area of encouragement, engineering, law enforcement, education, and evaluation. The Michigan Fitness Foundation will help you every step of the way.
Michigan Counties
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