Prioritizing schools for safe routes to school infrastructure projects

Local transportation professionals face a daunting challenge in applying for and prioritizing projects for federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program funds. These funds are to be used in improving infrastructure conditions for children who walk and bicycle to school. This paper describes a practical process for identifying and prioritizing elementary and middle schools for SRTS funds. The process attempts to balance what is known about preventing child pedestrian injuries with what can be realistically accomplished without a comprehensive field review of every school site. The primary emphasis of this process is on improvements that make walking conditions safer. The process provides the methodology to directly compare schools as a macro level. The process also allows for judgment in determining which factors rank as most important based on local conditions, since all jurisdictions are different and many schools will have similar needs. Demonstrations of the process in King County, Washington and Phoenix, Arizona show that evaluating schools using the same metrics reveals where the greatest need exists for safety infrastructure improvements and allows for defendable decisions for prioritizing schools.