Item 7 Enclosure Citizens Advisory Committee March 27, 2013 San Francisco Safe Routes to School Program

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1 Item 7 Enclosure Citizens Advisory Committee March 27, San Francisco Safe Routes to School Program Ana Validzic, MPH SF Department of Public Health

2 2 Safe Routes to School Program Need Fewer kids today walk and bike to school 2008: > 15% walking 1969: < 42% walked (Report to National Safe Routes Task Force, July 2008) Resulting in unintended consequences Injuries Obesity Air quality traffic congestion Crime & violence around school SRTS programs are part of the solution John Muir Elementary Alamo Elementary

3 3 Safe Routes to School Program Overview Goal: to increase safe and active walking and biking to/from school Leading multi-disciplinary team comprised of SFUSD, City agencies, and nonprofits Working in 15 elementary schools, one in each supervisorial district for geographic equity Delivering program elements based on 5 E s: Education Encouragement Enforcement Engineering Evaluation John Muir Elementary Longfellow Elementary School

4 Program Schools

5 5 SRTS Current Education Program Deliverables Kindergarten and 1 st grade classroom lessons on various ways to get to school Focus on benefits of walking and bicycling Reached 50 kindergarten classrooms and 1,039 students in school year Second grade classroom lessons on walking Conduct walk around the block to practice crossing the street Reached 48 classrooms and 973 students in school year Fourth grade classroom lessons on bicycling Practice how to fit a helmet properly and ride a bike on school yard Reached 40 classrooms and 1,069 students in school year th graders learning how to ride a bike safely.

6 6 SRTS Current Encouragement Program Deliverables Walk to School Day International annual event on first Wednesday of October Over 8,500 participants in 2012 Bike to School Week To be held the week of April 22 nd in 2013 Almost 1,700 participants in 2012 Walking School Buses and Bike Trains Groups of students chaperoned by adults that walk or bike together Regular walk/bike events at 10 participating schools Parent and Caregiver Outreach Create positive culture around walking and biking Jefferson Elementary Golden Gate Park

7 7 SRTS Evaluation Student travel tallies Analyze how children get to and from school Parent surveys Analyze parental attitudes towards walking and biking to and from school Distance child lives from school strongly associated with how they get to and from school Three of top 5 concerns are trafficrelated 1. Safety of intersections and crossings 2. Amount of traffic 3. Speed of traffic Jefferson Elementary Golden Gate Park

8 8 SRTS Evaluation Performance Measures Analyze how children get to and from school Overall, 1% increase in walking, 0.5% increase in biking, and 1% decrease in single family vehicle driving For individual schools, 12 out of 15 schools increased rates of walking and biking and 3 schools decreased rates of single family vehicle driving Although modest, this is first time SRTS has seen positive trends in mode shift This is particularly significant because 2011 is the first year we conducted parent/caregiver outreach Jefferson Elementary Golden Gate Park Sunnyside Elementary School

9 9 Accomplishments Partnered with UCSF Pediatrics to conduct district-wide school commute study First study to look at school transportation in SFUSD Elementary school data: Walk/Bike mode share: 25.42% in 2010; 26.30% in 2011; 25.7% in % of students live within ½ mile of school, another 19% live within ½-1 mi Partnered with MTA to establish school prioritization system based on UCSF school commute results and injury data First time MTA has established systematic way to prioritize schools for capital improvements MTA now using this system to pursue funding for school infrastructure changes GW Carver Elementary

10 10 Lessons Learned to Improve SRTS Parent/caregiver outreach is crucial because they are the decisionmakers regarding school commute SRTS team will actively recruit parents/caregivers to participate in program at their child s school SRTS team will reach out to families at school events on weekends and at night Regular, consistent walking and roll events are essential to meet goal School staff unable to lead these events because of liability concerns SRTS team will recruit parents/caregivers to lead these events SRTS team will provide support and training to these parents/caregivers Jefferson Elementary 19 th Avenue & Irving St.

11 11 Proposed SRTS Program Elements Changes to General Program Expand to 40 schools 35 elementary, 3 middle & 2 high schools Provide targeted outreach and community organizing Hire team of bilingual outreach workers to recruit parent volunteers Will recruit and support parent champions and staff monthly task forces Expand focus on underserved communities, mainly in the southeastern sector of SF Jefferson Elementary 19 th Avenue & Irving St. Buena Vista Horace Mann

12 12 Proposed SRTS Program Elements Education Deliverables Shift education in elementary schools from classrooms to assemblies and after-school programming Pressures for in-class time have shifted our focus Provide SRTS Educators Guide for teachers to conduct themselves in classroom Conduct two assemblies: K-2 grades and 3-5 grades Work with after-school programs to promote walking and biking Bike clubs for middle school and high schools Teach youth how to repair bikes, build bikes and safely ride on city streets Connect biking and walking to transit Jefferson Elementary 19 th Avenue & Irving St. GW Carver Elementary

13 13 Proposed SRTS Program Elements Encouragement Deliverables Continue to organize Walk and Roll to School Day Continue to organize Bike to School Week Continue to train and support walking school buses and bike trains Organize fun contests and promotional events at schools Provide tailored information to individual schools Create transportation demand management toolkits to schools outlining walking, biking, transit, and carpool options for each school Market toolkits at schools in diverse languages Evaluation Deliverables Continue to conduct classroom travel tallies Continue to distribute and analyze parent surveys Student on her way to New Traditions Elementary John Muir Elementary

14 14 Thank you! Ana Validzic, MPH San Francisco Department of Public Health 30 Van Ness Ave, Suite 2300 San Francisco, CA (415)