Welcome
What is SR2S?
Who says we need SR2S?
Portland Citizen Survey | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
Oregon Statewide Physical Activity Plan | Healthy Choices 2010 |
Oregon House Bill 3712 | Neighborhood Traffic Safety Partnership Strategy
Why create a SR2S program?
What are the "4Es?"

Who says we need Safe Routes to School?

Portland Citizen Survey

There is strong public demand and a real need for school traffic safety services that make streets and sidewalks safer for kids to walk and bike to and from school, parks, recreation centers, and friends’ homes. In the annual citizen survey Service Efforts and Accomplishments, Portland residents consistently identify speeding, pedestrian safety, and bike safety as three of their top four neighborhood concerns.

2001 Citizen Survey in Portland, Oregon

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report alarming trends in childhood health. Our youth aren’t achieving the physical activity recommendation of 30 to 60 minutes of age-appropriate physical activity on all or most days of the week. Physical inactivity together with poor eating habits contributes significantly to the development of obesity and Type 2 diabetes – both on the rise among youth in Oregon.

Children walking to school reduced
Children considered obese increased

Oregon Statewide Physical Activity Plan

The Oregon Statewide Physical Activity Plan and its companion document, the Oregon Statewide Public Health Nutrition Plan, are calls to action for all who can have an impact on promoting daily physical activity and healthy eating to improve the health of Oregonians.

• Goal 1: Youth in Oregon participate in daily physical activity.
• Objective 1: Increase the percentage of trips to school that youth make by walking and biking.
• Strategy A: Expand and promote walking and biking to school by implementing designated routes, programs, and promotional events.
• Strategy B: Increase the percentage of schools with safe and accessible sidewalks, bike lanes, and crosswalks.
• Strategy C: Promote retaining existing neighborhood schools and siting new schools in areas that facilitate walking and biking to school.

Healthy Choices 2010, a report produced by The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, identifies two strategies related to Safe Routes to School.

• Children 5-15 years who live within 1 mile of school and regularly walk to school will increase from 30% in 2001 to 50% in 2010.
• Children 5-15 years who live within 2 miles of school and regularly bike to school will increase from 5% in 2001 to 12% in 2010.

Healthy People 2010 Strategies, CDC 2001

Oregon House Bill 3712, passed in 2001, states that "City and county governing bodies shall work with school district personnel to identify barriers and hazards to children walking or cycling to and from school." In its current form, it is unfunded. Subsequent to its passage, the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Department of Human Services/Health Services Division received a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a Safe Routes to School program in Oregon. Six schools, five of which were in Portland, received small grants ($2,000 each) to establish community Task Forces for the development of school plans identifying recommended walking and biking routes.

Neighborhood Traffic Safety Partnership Strategy

Portland Transportation, with the assistance of a citizen advisory committee (Safe Communities Coalition), is currently developing a Community and School Traffic Safety Partnership. The CSTSP is a community-based education, enforcement, and engineering tool designed to minimize traffic safety concerns and support safe, healthy, and efficient transportation choices. It identifies Safe Routes to School as a strategy that will help maximize the ability of our streets, sidewalks, and pathways to support a safe, multi-modal transportation system that enhances neighborhood livability.

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