Seek to expand Safe Routes to School program

The director of Trailnet's Safe Routes to School program is looking to broaden the effort to get more kids to walk or ride their bikes to school.

Cindy Mense is Trailnet's community outreach programs manager. Trailnet is a non-profit organization that is broadening the number of hiking-biking trails in metro St. Louis. It also sponsors family-friendly biking tours in the area.

But, Trailnet also has a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) to organize Safe Routes to School programs at individual St. Louis-area schools. Trailnet also is working with Illinois schools in Mascoutah and O'Fallon to set up programs on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.

Ms. Mense said, "We want to have Safe Routes groups set up in at least a dozen schools in this school year."

She said she's especially interested to hear from kids who'd like their schools to have such a program.

Each school program involves a committee to explore the best walking or biking routes to school from surrounding neighborhoods. The emphasis is on finding direct routes that have a minimum of traffic obstacles and hazards.

The search identifies "collection points" where a number of kids can meet early and walk to school as a group. The spots are identified with signs and groups call themselves "walking school buses."

There would be several routes that approach the school from different directions.

(If your school would like to investigate a Safe Routes to School program, contact Ms. Mense at (314) 436-1324, ext. 113. Of visit www.trailnet.org/saferoutes.php.)

The Safe Routes to School program has four elements, called the "Four E's."

The first is Encouragement, which calls for promoting participation among kids. The second is Enforcement, calling for getting police involved.

The third is Engineering, which involves making physical changes to insure route safety. And the fourth is Education, letting kids know the values of the program to them.

The Missouri MODOT grant does include some funds to improve route infrastructure.

Ms. Mense is already working with Edgar Road Elementary and Hudson Elementary in Webster Groves, Fairway Elementary in Rockwood and Clark Elementary in the St. Louis Public Schools.

Schools in the program also participate in several national and state biking and hiking programs. The first will be the International Walk/Bike to School day in October. Others include Heart Healthy Month and the Spring Walk/Bike to School Day.

Some schools also sponsor Bicycle Safety Rodeos or bike safety demonstrations.

Todd Messenger, the MODOT Safe Routes to School coordinator, said, "The Safe Routes program encourages children to walk, ride or wheel to school. The goal is to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle for these kids. An added benefit is to reduce traffic and air pollution around schools."

Ms. Mense said the "walking school bus" grouping helps kids socialize while they are getting needed exercise.

The team of adults that plan and supervise the Safe Routes to School program at each school includes parents, teachers, school administrators and local police. Ms. Mense said, "We especially like to have community policing officers involved."

Last year, Clark Elementary in the City of St. Louis was one of the most active schools in the Safe Routes to School program.

In addition to establishing regular "walking school bus" routes, the school's kids participated in both the international and spring Walk to School days. Also, they took part in the Heart Healthy Month program and held bike safety rodeos.

Clark officials said 170 of the school's 260 students took part in the International Walk to School event. Fairway Elementary in Rockwood had the largest participation, with 492 of the school's 550 students taking part.

(Young Saint Louis.com has covered the Safe Routes to School program previously. If you'd like to read about Fairway Elementary's participation in a Walk to School event, go to the top of the Home Page and click on Past Stories. Then, go to October, 2005.)

(You can also follow developments for the 2007 Walk to School program in the United States. Just click on www.walktoschool-usa.org. They give a state-by-state rundown of activities in different states.)