Other Links & Resources

Useful Contacts and Materials about Safe Routes to School

SRTS/Walking & Bicycling Contacts

A variety of state and national organizations provide additional resources about either Safe Routes to School specifically or walking and bicycling issues in general:

• Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
  www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/CPDM.nsf/SRTSHomepage?OpenFrameSet
• Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
  http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/saferoutes/
• National Center for Safe Routes to School
  www.saferoutesinfo.org
• Safe Routes to School National Partnership
  www.saferoutespartnership.org
• International Walk to School in the USA
  www.walktoschool.org
• Safe Routes Philly
  www.saferoutesphilly.org
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
  www.walkinginfo.org
• Alliance for Biking and Walking
  www.peoplepoweredmovement.org
• National Center for Bicycling and Walking
  www.bikewalk.org
• Pennsylvania Walks and Bikes
  www.pawalksandbikes.org
• Action for Healthy Kids
  www.actionforhealthykids.org

SRTS-Related Materials

Organizations both within and outside of Pennsylvania have created various resource materials relevant to Safe Routes to School or issues involving walking, bicycling, and infrastructure. Many of these resources may prove helpful for use or reference when developing or implementing activities and projects related to Safe Routes to School.

SRTS Resources

Safe Routes to School Toolkit – The Federal Highway Administration has developed this document to help communities initiate and implement a Safe Routes to School program.

Involving Students with Disabilities – This resource from the National Center for Safe Routes to School provides information to help SRTS organizers include and accommodate children with disabilities. The guidebook discusses practical strategies for involving children with disabilities in SRTS and provides examples of schools that have done so effectively.

The Walking School Bus: Combining Safety, Fun and Walk to School – This guide, created by the National Center for SRTS, outlines the benefits of starting a walking school bus as well as points to consider before launching it. Two general ways to conduct a walking school bus are described: 1) starting simple with a small group of friends or neighbors, or 2) creating a more structured program to reach more children.

Guidelines for Bike Train "Engineers" and "Cabooses" – This flyer, available from the Metro Atlanta Safe Routes to School Project, contains directions on how to conduct a bike train.

Bicycling Resources

Bicycle Parking Guidelines – This document from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals provides guidelines for selecting and placing bicycle racks for short-term parking.

Steps to Properly Fit a Helmet – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides easy steps for properly fitting a bicycle helmet.

Cycling Skills Clinic – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a resource to help schools and municipalities conduct a cycling skills clinic, sometimes called a bicycle rodeo.

Walking Resources

Walkability Checklist – This checklist available from PennDOT provides a brief scorecard for rating how walkable a community is.

Infrastructure Resources

Active School Neighborhood Checklist – This document from the Arizona Department of Transportation provides a quantitative tool for community decision makers to use to evaluate potential school sites for whether their location encourages or prevents people from walking and bicycling safely to school.

Traffic Calming Handbook – PennDOT has developed a guidebook to provide information about traffic calming and how such practices can be used to make streets safer for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities – This manual for sale by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials provides a detailed description of the different types of treatments available, including advantages and disadvantages for each.

Traffic Calming: State of the Practice Manual – The Institute of Transportation Engineers developed this report, which contains a synthesis of traffic-calming experiences of a variety of communities in the United States and Canada. It includes information on traffic calming in residential areas and in areas where high-speed rural highways transition into rural communities.