By Cheryl Burnette, assistant director, Active Living Division, City of Decatur, Georgia

Nearly a decade ago, the state of Georgia and City of Decatur wanted to intentionally improve access to physical activity among families and children.

One of the best ways to reach this population and fight childhood obesity is with a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program, which empowers communities to make walking and bicycling to school a safe and routine activity.

In 2005, two Decatur schools (Clairemont Elementary and Glennwood Academy) were part of a SRTS pilot program.

Clairemont is located on a small residential street near downtown and has 265 kindergarten through third graders, most of whom live within 1.5 miles of the school. At the beginning of the project, approximately 13 percent of families walked or biked to school with some regularity.

Glennwoood Academy is located just east of downtown Decatur and, at the time, had a population of approximately 300 fourth and fifth graders (now the school is kindergarten through third). However, this school drew from across the four square miles of City of Decatur, and our initial assessment indicated that around 7 percent walk or biked to school regularly.

To begin, we created The Safe Routes to School Team and Infrastructure and Enforcement Task Force. The team was comprised of the principal, a teacher, and a parent from each school, as well as the project champion, Site Coordinator and project director. A student also attended School Team meetings as time permitted.

The Task Force brought together the knowledge, expertise and experience of the community to address the engineering and enforcement aspects of the program and was composed of: two representatives from the City engineering staff; the City planner; a representative of the Police Department; a city commissioner; the principals; the school system transportation coordinator; a representative from the school superintendent’s office; a parent representative from each school; the Project engineer; the Project Director; and the Project Site Coordinator.

In addition to getting feedback from the team, the Task Force conducted several “Walk-Abouts,” to assess “walk-ability” and “bike-ability.” Then, the Task Force developed a plan that would improve conditions for walking and biking.

The Plan identified initial “Hot Spots” for project attention, with the main focus on the areas in the vicinity of Clairemont and Glennwood schools. But, since Glennwood drew from the entire city, the Task Force also evaluated key crossings of the railroad track that separates the north and south sides of Decatur.

Quickly, the relevant city departments went to work installing crosswalks, curb cuts and signs. In addition, some funds were used to purchase bike racks for each school and a local bike shop donated an additional rack.

That said, completely revamping a portion of the city to make biking and walking for children safer and easier wasn’t without its pitfalls. One particularly sticky crossroad was at a major intersection (College and Commerce) that didn’t have a crossing guard.

According to the police representative, no crossing guard had been assigned because of an observed lack of pedestrian use. Meanwhile, parents didn’t use the crossing because they thought it was unsafe since there wasn’t a crossing guard.

We quickly broke the “chicken and egg” cycle by encouraging adults to supervise groups of children walking to school on that route. From this, the Winnona Park Walking Bus was created, with 30 to 40 children and adults crossing College and Commerce daily.

After the infrastructure plans and safety concerns were addressed, it was time to get the children excited. In the spring, all 5th graders at Glennwood Elementary and all 3rd graders at Clairemont Elementary were trained in the “Safe Bike Drivers” course. The students practiced skills and learned “rules of the road.” Then, they were given an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and, at the end, were given “Safe Bike Drivers Licenses” and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety “Safe Bike Driver” activity book. To encourage parental reinforcement and practice, a flyer was sent home. Because of the success of these classes, the “Safe Bike Drivers” course was presented to all fourth and fifth graders through PE in the spring of 2006.

Meanwhile 1st and 2nd graders participated in a 1.5 hour mini bicycle safety class focused on helmet fit, stopping at the end of a driveway, and dismounting to cross a street when riding on a sidewalk.

When we formally launched the program the following fall, there was great involvement. We held an International Walk and Roll to School Day, using the same Walking Bus and Bike Train routes and general procedures. At Glennwood, 61 percent of the school population participated and, at Clairemont, 55 percent participated—this despite rainy weather.

It was so clear the program was a resounding success that it didn’t take long to spread throughout the community to other schools.

We followed the same model at every school that adopts a SRTS program: by basing the plan in community involvement and stakeholders. We’ve seen amazing amounts of parental involvement in all facets of the program, from walking with kids to planning their own special routes. Our teams organize monthly walks and rolls to school and daily parent-led walking school buses and bike trains.

When one parent noticed that less advantaged children were still being bused to school. She organized volunteers to go over Wednesday mornings to the housing development to meet those kids and have them all walk together. When it’s cold, they bring extra mittens and gloves.

Our citywide Safe Routes to School Program would never have been this successful without partners and community support/resources. In addition to city planners, commissioners and engineers, the police played a vital role. Our police department continues to be incredibly supportive of the project and, on our first Walk and Roll to School Day, officers were present on foot, bike and patrol car.

At the end, though, it’s about the children and they are so happy to be active in getting to school. It’s just the culture here that people want to walk/bike. Kids have a group, they meet up and then they come to school.

Safe Routes to School has brought together our entire community to work toward a common goal. One parent said, “We were lucky to be part of the program. The project was one that pulled the entire community together in a fun, learning process.” Said another, “Wonderful program. Hope the City or school system can sustain it indefinitely.”

There continues to be genuine pride in the steps we are taking to make it easier for our children to be safe and healthy—partly because we got the entire community and all facets of the government involved.