Safe Routes to School

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington is available to hold full-day Safe Routes to School Training classes throughout the state, with training facilitated by:

Participants will learn engineering, enforcement, education and encouragement strategies for designing and implementing Safe Routes for their school neighborhood.

These classes are open to parents, teachers, school administrators, healthcare professionals, transportation professionals, and others who are interested in making it easier for children to walk and bike to school. See detailed Workshop description below.

The training is free but space is limited. See schedule below for dates and contact information.

Upcoming classes:

Previous classes:

Planning and Partnerships Classes - late summer and fall of 2006

Fifteen free 2-hour classes were offered by WSDOT, with instructors Charlotte Claybrooke, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Washington Department of Transportation and Dave Janis, Safe and Active Routes to School Program Manager, Bicycle Alliance of Washington.

The instructors described the current grant funding opportunities offered by the WSDOT; including the importance of community partnerships for developing safe routes to school projects, how to prepare an application, what free assistance is available, and examples of successful projects.

26 July 2006 - Mount Vernon, WA
Wednesday, July 26th, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington hosted an all day Safe Routes to School Training session in Mount Vernon. The 20 participants represented a wide-range of organizations and municipalities throughout Northwest Washington. The day started with a walkabout at Lincoln Elementary School. They also shared their vision of safe routes to school, including that in 10 years biking and walking to school is the social norm, there are smaller parking lots at high schools, there is a presidential physical fitness requirement, and no children that live within � mile of a school are bused. Participants learned engineering, enforcement, education and encouragement strategies for designing and implementing safe routes for their school neighborhood. There was also a lot of discussion about applying for Washington Department of Transportation safe routes to school grants.

The training was facilitated by: Barbara Culp, Executive Director and Dave Janis, Safe and Active Routes to School Program Manager from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, and David Levinger, Executive Director Feet First. Liz McNett Crowl with Skagit Valley Hospital and James Mastin with the Skagit Council of Governments assisted with organizing the training.

24 April 2006 - Bremerton, WA
Monday, April 24th the Bicycle Alliance of Washington hosted an all day Safe Routes to School Training session in Bremerton. The 34 participants represented 4 schools, 3 school districts, the Washington Department of Health, and multiple city and county agencies including law enforcement, and PTAs. The county health district was very well represented. Participants observed student drop off at nearby West Hills Elementary School, then during the training reported on what they observed and proposed solutions. The highly energized and enthusiastic participants shared their visions of safe routes to school. This included standardizing school zone speed limits and signage, more sidewalks and less busing, and focusing on getting more students that live within 1 mile of their school biking and walking. The West Hills Principal attended the training and worked with participants to develop a "to do list" of school projects and actions to encourage more kids to bike and walk to West Hills. In addition, participants were given an overview of engineering, enforcement, education and encouragement strategies for designing and implementing safe routes for their school neighborhood. They left with lots of ideas and encouragement.

The training was facilitated by Barbara Culp, Executive Director and Dave Janis, Safe Routes Program Manager from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, David Levinger, Executive Director of Feet First, and Charlotte Claybrooke, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Washington State Department of Transportation. Pat Degracia, Melinda Harmon, Jackie Fojtik, and Belinda Jackley of the Kitsap County Health District did a lot of work to help organize the training.

23 March 2006 - Wenatchee, WA
Thursday, March 23rd the Bicycle Alliance of Washington hosted an all day Safe Routes to School Training session in Wenatchee. The 26 participants represented 3 schools, 2 school districts, the Washington Department of Transportation, and multiple city and county agencies. Participants observed student drop off at Mission View Elementary School, then during the training reported on what they observed and proposed solutions. The highly energized and enthusiastic participants shared their visions of safe routes to school. This included extending the Riverfront Trail north and south closer to schools, shorter and safer paths between developments, and a community culture where biking and walking to school is the norm. As with other trainings, participants were given an overview of engineering, enforcement, education and encouragement strategies for designing and implementing safe routes for their school neighborhood. They left with a long "to do" list of local projects and actions.

The training was facilitated by Barbara Culp, Executive Director and Dave Janis, Safe Routes Program Manager from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, and David Levinger, Executive Director of Feet First. JoEllen Colson with the North Central Educational Service District assisted in organizing the training.

7 March 2006 - Moses Lake, WA
Tuesday, March 7th the Bicycle Alliance of Washington hosted an all day Safe Routes to School Training session in Moses Lake. The 20 participants represented a wide-range of organizations and municipalities throughout the Grant County area. Participants observed student drop off at Peninsula Elementary School, then during the training reported on what they observed and proposed solutions. These included expanding the Activity Trail to Peninsula Elementary, improving crosswalks, and adding pedestrian crossing signals. They also shared their vision of safe routes to school, including more parental participation and more encouragement. Participants learned engineering, enforcement, education and encouragement strategies for designing and implementing safe routes for their school neighborhood.

The training was facilitated by: Barbara Culp, Executive Director and Dave Janis, Safe Routes Program Manager from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, David Levinger, Executive Director Feet First, and Charlotte Claybrooke, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Washington Department of Transportation. Lori Barlow with the City of Moses Lake assisted in organizing the training.

15 February 2006, Spokane, WA
Wednesday, February 15th the Bicycle Alliance of Washington hosted an eight hour Safe Routes to School Training session in Spokane. Twenty-four people attended, including representatives from local law enforcement agencies, school districts, and citizen advisory organizations. Participants observed student drop off at Holms Elementary then during the training reported on what they observed and proposed solutions. They also shared their vision of safe routes to school. Many wanted students to be able to bike and walk to school like they were able to do as kids. Participants learned engineering, enforcement, education and encouragement strategies for designing and implementing safe routes for their school neighborhood.

The training was facilitated by: Barbara Culp, Executive Director and Dave Janis, Safe Routes Program Manager from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, David Levinger, Executive Director Feet First, and Charlotte Claybrooke, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Washington Department of Transportation. Ana Matthews with the Spokane Regional Health District assisted in organizing the training.

1 November 2005, Tacoma, WA
(as part of the Footprints and Bike Tracks Conference at the Sheraton Hotel)
Over 146 bicycle and pedestrian professionals gathered at the Tacoma Sheraton November 1-3. The conference attendees flocked to the day long Safe Routes to School workshop. The nationally certified course was taught by Pete Lagerwey and Megan Hoyt of Seattle Department of Transportation, David Levinger, Executive Director of Feet First, and Barbara Culp of the Bicycle Alliance.

9 May 2005, at the N. Seatac Community Center
120 people (plus trainers and support staff) participated in this one-day free workshop. The trainers were with the Bicycle Alliance, Feet First, and Seattle Department of Transportation. It was funded by a grant from the WSDOH. Participants included public works and transportation planners and engineers, teachers, school staff, and community activists. Several trainers and participants met at nearby Hilltop Elementary School to observe student drop-off. As part of the training, participants walked around the community center grounds and adjacent streets and were asked to critique it as if it were a school.

Workshop Description

Communities across the country are looking for ways to make walking and bicycling safe and appealing ways for children to get to school. Safe Routes to School Programs (SR2S) identify barriers and create action plans that use a combination of strategies such as teaching pedestrian and bicycle safety, building sidewalks, working with law enforcement to slow traffic and initiating walking clubs and contests. While there is great interest in creating safe routes, identifying the most appropriate strategies can be a challenge. Communities start with different conditions, so the problems, issues and solutions vary.

Course highlights:

Course agenda includes:

Trainer Biographies

Barbara Culp is the Executive Director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington; a position she has held for 7 years. She has grown the organization from 700 members to over 2500 members statewide with members in every legislative district in the state. Prior to taking over the directorship of the Alliance, she worked as a bicycle safety educator for Cascade Bicycle Club, events manager for the American Lung Association and marketing for Key Bank of Washington. Barbara is a graduate of the University of Washington in Communications and Western Washington University in Sociology. She serves on the statewide Transportation Enhancements Committee, the Traffic Safety Commission's Cooper Jones Committee, the WSDOT Bike-Ped Advisory Committee, the Mayor of Seattle's Transportation Citizen Advisory Committee, and is President of the Thunderhead Alliance, a national coalition of bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. Barbara can be reached at barbc@bicyclealliance.org or 206.224.9252

David Janis is the Safe Routes Program Manager and Development Director for the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. He holds a Masters Degree in geography and has a long career in project and program management, permitting, and environmental consulting. He chairs the Safe Routes Coordinating Committee and manages the Bicycle Alliance's safe routes to school projects where he works with schools across the state. He represents the Bicycle Alliance on health-related issues and participates on the Washington Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity and the Physical Activity Policy Research Network. He works closely with the Seattle bicycling community on many issues and led a bicycle facilities collaborative effort that resulted in presenting the bicycle communities top 20 priorities to the Seattle city council. He also serves as an officer on the board of the Friends of the Burke-Gilman Trail and Transportation Choices Coalition. Dave can be reached at davej@bicyclealliance.org or 206.224.9252.

David Levinger is Executive Director of Feet First, which works to build walkable communities in Washington State. With a Bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a doctorate in political anthropology from Rensselaer, he is concerned with making technology serve social goals. David is the Northwest Regional Director and Vice President for Development of America Walks, Director of the Washington Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, Chair of the WSDOT Bike-Ped Advisory Committee, member of the WSDOT-Transportation Enhancements Advisory Committee and Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee, appointee to Seattle's Urban Sustainability Advisory Panel, and member of the Transportation Research Board's Committee on Pedestrians. He is Affiliate Associate Professor of Urban Design & Planning at the University of Washington, where he collaborates with the CDC Physical Activity Policy Research Network and the CDC Healthy Aging Research Network. He lives in Seattle. He can be reached at david@feetfirst.info or 206.390.8118.

Jen Cole is the Safe Routes to Schools Coordinator at Feet First. With over 16 years experience working with schools, Jen's primary interest is in supporting family and community involvement in education. Jen holds a Masters of Social Work Degree from the University of Washington, and has worked as a school social worker, drug and alcohol prevention specialist, event coordinator and PTA president. Jen is the proud working parent of two increasingly mobile pre-teens, and uses her experience to inform Safe Routes to Schools programming that is pragmatic and accessible to families today.

Other Classes

Links here to other SR2S classes (not sponsored by the Bicycle Alliance of Washington), and also other related classes (e.g., bicycle education training, LAB, etc.).

SR2S Best Practices Summit: Building Safe and Active Communities.

Classes: Training for Educators and others