Safe Routes to School Encourage Kids to Be Active

By Adam Nelson and Greg Cook, WHF Associates

As children in Washington age they engage less and less in healthy physical activities. Sixty-two percent of 6^th graders, forty-six percent of 8^th graders, forty-four percent of 10^th graders and forty percent of 12^th graders met physical activity recommendations according to a report from the Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) released in January 2010. What can be done and, just as important, what is being done to reverse the downward slide into inactivity? One part of the puzzle is the federally-funded Safe Routes to School program. In our state the program is administered by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). There is also a national alliance devoted to promoting this approach to improving health and safety.

Safe Routes to School programs are foundational for promoting life-long physical activities among our state’s children. Programs like Safe Routes to School, and organizations like the Washington Bicycle Alliance and Feet First, are working to make walking or bicycling in the community safe and sustainable activities. Evidence-based research published in 2010 demonstrates that by engaging families, schools, urban planners, and public safety professionals, these programs, and programs like them, help increase the rates of physical activity by creating safe environments for youth.

In previous years WSDOT has awarded $10 million to 39 projects under Safe Routes, and another $15 million toward general pedestrian and bicycle safety. Larrabee Elementary School in the Bellingham School District is one of the first projects to be completed by the WSDOT. The project includes bicycle and pedestrian safety education, increased enforcement, a neighborhood awareness campaign and promotional events at school. The school community at Larrabee now has increased access to physical activity opportunities by engaging parents, teachers, students and school staff to turn an infrastructure improvement into a health improvement.

WSDOT is currently reviewing grant applications for Safe Routes to School projects. At the federal level, Safe Routes to School funding has been under assault but for the time being remains in place. At a time when there is growing recognition of epidemic levels of childhood obesity, cutting a program to promote childhood activity seems short-sighted. This 2008 report from WSDOH lays out the public health policy choices necessary to get us on track in the race to become the healthiest state in the nation. Safe Routes to Schools for our children can play an important role in that race and can help make walking or biking to school the easy choice.

The Healthiest Communities Partnership with help from WSDOH is reaching out to communities across the state to build a broad-based public/private partnership for preventing chronic diseases, making healthy choices about diet, exercise and tobacco the easy choices. To learn more about the Healthiest Communities Partnership, click here.