How Policy Drives Mode Choice in Children s Transportation to School Physical Activity through Active Transportation Ruth L. Steiner 2011 Technical Conference and Exhibit Lake Buena Vista, FL April 3-6, 2011
Outline Background Childhood obesity Policies/programs impacting school siting and active transportation to and from school Methodology Findings County-wide 40 school sample Conclusion/Discussion
Background Rising childhood obesity 1 in 3 U.S. kids between 6 and 19 are overweight or obese Decline in physical activity 1969: 48% walk to school 1992: in Florida 1 in 6 walk/bike to school 2001: only 15% walk to school 1/3 of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their life Cost of busing students $56 million per year in Hillsborough County
Background Multitude of factors impacting a parent s decision about child s travel to school each day The location of the school The location of the residence The characteristics of the roadway network The location of major roads and highways The walking environment, including perception of safety and risk What combination of factors offers the most opportunities for the safe movement of children?
Background Optimal situation for student transportation to school: A continuous bicycle and pedestrian network with the most direct connections between residences and schools How can this be achieved? Coordination among Land use planning School planning Transportation planning
Background Policy Areas Influencing School Transportation Three areas of coordinated planning: 1. Multimodal Planning 2. Coordinated School Siting 3. Safe Routes to School
Background Multimodal Planning Intersection of land use planning and transportation planning Four guiding principles: 1. Complementary mix of land uses 2. Appropriate density and intensity of development 3. High level of network connectivity 4. Good urban design connecting complementary land uses
Background Coordinated school siting Intersection of land use planning and school planning Seeks to locate schools near residential areas where students will live School concurrency: Adequate school facilities must be in place within three years of construction of residential development
Background Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Designed to empower communities to make walking and bicycling to school a safe and routine activity SRTS programs may consist of building safer street crossings or establishing programs to encourage walking and bicycling 2005: SAFETEA-LU legislation $29.1 million for SRTS programs in Florida Funds distributed by FDOT 10-30% of funds must be used for non-infrastructure programs i.e. walking safety program Remaining funds to be used for bike/ped infrastructure improvements i.e. sidewalks
Focus of the Research How are coordinated planning policies/programs affecting mode choice in children s travel to school? Multimodal planning Coordinated school planning SRTS Context: Elementary and middle schools in Hillsborough, Orange, Pasco, and Seminole School Districts
Methodology Three areas of analysis for each school district: 1. Relevant policy Policy relating to school location Interviews with district superintendents and school facilities planners 2. Potential for walking and bicycling Analyzing the built environment with GIS analysis 3. Actual levels of walking and bicycling In-school transportation surveys at a sampling of schools
Methodology Potential for walking and bicycling Pedestrian Shed created around each school using GIS 2, 1, &.5-mile Crow & Network buffers created Indicators collected for adjusted & unadjusted pedestrian sheds Adjusted sheds take school attendance boundaries into consideration 40 pedestrian sheds are also further refined by incorporating barriers and facilitators identified during site visits/aerial photo inspections
Methodology Some Indicators collected via GIS: Impediments to walking introduced by major roads Proximity of residential parcels to their zoned school Spatial relationship between the pedestrian shed and the school attendance zone Proportion of students assigned to a school that live within its pedestrian shed (using geocoded student locations) Residential density Connectivity indicators: street density, intersection density, pedestrian directness ratio
Methodology Actual Levels of Walking and Bicycling Teacher-administered in-school surveys, in which the teacher recorded the number of students corresponding to each transportation mode 32 elementary schools randomly selected 8 middle schools selected based on feeder patterns from selected elementary schools
FINDINGS Measuring the potential for walking and bicycling at the district-wide level
Overview of Elementary School Grouping
General pattern High Walkability Low Walkability Historic Schools Pre-1950 Early Suburban Schools 1950-1985 Early Growth Management Schools 1986-1995 Recent Schools Post-1995
Comparing Hillsborough and Orange Street Connectivity Index Hillsborough Orange Average Percentage of Enrolled Students Residing Within Pedestrian Shed 9 Hillsborough Orange SCI = Intersections / Road Miles 8.5 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 Historic Pre-Growth Management Pre-School Coordination Post-School Coordination Percentage of Students 25 20 15 10 5 0 Historic Pre-Growth Management Pre-School Coordination Post-School Coordination Pre-1950 1950-1985 1986-1995 Post-1995 Pre-1950 1950-1985 1986-1995 Post-1995 Time Group (schools grouped by year built) Time Group (schools grouped by year built)
Selected pedestrian sheds Built Pre-1950 1950-1985 1986-1995 Post-1995
FINDINGS Measuring actual levels of walking and bicycling at a sample of schools General overview of school districts and selected examples of schools
In-school transportation survey results Actual Levels of Walking and Bicycling Hillsborough 6.2 1.4 School District Pasco Orange 8.2 11.4 2.8 4.4 Walk Bicycle Seminole 8 5.4 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Percentage of Students
Hillsborough County School District One of the oldest inventories of schools in the state One of the oldest inventories of schools in the state Pilot community for coordinated school planning Administrators committed to creating neighborhood elementary schools and incorporating walking safety considerations into school site plans At issue: Hazardous Walking Conditions More prevalent here than in any other selected county Result: greater need for courtesy busing > 11,000 students courtesy bused in Hillsborough < 1,600 students courtesy bused in each of Orange, Pasco, or Seminole counties
Hillsborough County School District Demographics Stability of student populations The middle class walk for exercise, the poor walk out of necessity - Tampa-area principal More walkers in lowincome neighborhoods Strawberry fields adjacent to Dover Elementary School
Hillsborough County District Schools Informal walking paths The Cut Giunta Middle School
Orange County School District School board and local governments have maintained formal partnership in school planning for at least the past 10 years 1996 school siting ordinance Began tying residential development to school capacity in 2000: Martinez Doctrine
Orange County School District Riverdale Elementary School Barrier
Pasco County School District Suburban haven for workers commuting to Tampa along I-75 2007: ranked 50 th fastest-growing county in the USA by the Census Bureau Population boom School enrollment boom Backlogged need for school facilities
Pasco County School District Chasco Elementary School and Chasco Middle School Elementary school attendance zone boundary Half-mile pedestrian shed, adjusted to the school attendance zone boundary and the roadway network Pedestrian shed after adjusting for barriers/facilitators
Pasco County School District Chasco Elementary School and Chasco Middle School Apartment complex across the street (SR 54) from the school Schools built in 1999 and 2000 Zero elementary school walkers/bikers and few middle school walkers/bikers No crossing guards
Seminole County School District Nearly 90% of the population size of Seminole County contained in less than half the land area Very little undeveloped land Commitment to coordinated school planning since the early 1990s
Seminole County School District Formal pedestrian paths to schools Back entrances Bear Lake Elementary School Teague Middle School
Overall comparisons Potential walkability indicators tended to fall in line with survey results Walking or bicycling more prevalent in Orlando-area Suburban counties have somewhat higher walk rates than more urban counties Hillsborough has the lowest actual levels of walking and bicycling Seminole and Orange have the highest actual levels of walking and bicycling
Discussion Walkability is not necessarily a priority in the decision-making process for determining new school locations. School siting and attendance zone boundaries decisions should utilize a methodology that maximizes all relevant factors, including walkabilty.
Potential Implications School Boards and Local Governments Findings may encourage agencies to add walkability to their list of school siting requirements Determine policies that are working to maximize walkability and encourage their implementation Adding to the knowledge base Help identify or create a set of policies and decision-making processes that would maximize the ability of children to walk to school
Thank you! For additional information, please contact: Ruth Steiner rsteiner@dcp.ufl.edu Research was performed with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Living Research Program and the Florida Department of Transportation