Resources

Build an energetic program!

The resources on this page are intended to help schools develop energetic Safe Routes to School programs that are adapted to each school’s specific needs and situation.  If you are just starting a program, two good first reads are the SRTS National Partnership’s Getting Started Locally website and the Safe Routes to School Toolkit.

Whether just beginning a program or expanding opportunities for walking/biking at a school, the items below provide a menu of options for building enthusiasm and interest in active commuting.  Good luck!

Education

Bicycle Safer Journey

Bicycle Safer Journey (revised 2014) helps educators, parents and others who care about bicycle safety to get the conversation started with children and youth. Available online, three videos – one for each of three age groups – accompanied by a quiz or discussion and an educator’s resource library can be used as an introduction to bicycle safety skills or to augment a comprehensive curriculum. Developed by the Federal Highway Administration.

http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/bicyclesaferjourney/index.html

Pedestrian Safer Journey

Whether walking with adult family members or with friends, learning basic pedestrian safety may help prevent injuries and prepare school-age children and youth for a lifetime of safe walking. Pedestrian Safer Journey helps educators, parents and others who care about pedestrian safety to get the conversation started with children and youth. Three videos — one for each of three age groups — accompanied by a quiz or discussion and an educator’s resource library can be used as an introduction to pedestrian safety skills or to augment a comprehensive curriculum. Developed by the Federal Highway Administration.

http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/pedsaferjourney/

 

Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Guide

This website contains information helpful for teaching children pedestrian and bicycling safety skills.  It includes a kids section with 1) pedestrian safety curriculum, including lesson plans broken down by grade and parent/caregiver tip sheets in English and Spanish, 2) resources for teaching the meaning of street signs, 3) a walking safety checklist of rules for kids and parents, and more.  The “Cyclists” section contains helpful instructional material as well.

http://www.onlineloancalculator.org/resources/pedestrian-safety.php

Child Pedestrian Safety Curriculum

The Child Pedestrian Safety Curriculum teaches and encourages pedestrian safety for students grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade. It is organized into five lessons: walking near traffic, crossing streets, crossing intersections, parking lot safety, and school bus safety. Each lesson builds upon previous set of skills learned. Developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/ChildPedestrianSafetyCurriculum

An Organizer’s Guide to Bicycle Rodeos

This guide outlines a step-by-step approach to designing a successful bicycle rodeo. It organizes the bike rodeo into stations with clear descriptions of materials needed, set-up diagrams, and procedure. It can be used as is or modified. Developed by Cornell University Cooperative Extension.

http://www.bike.cornell.edu/pdfs/Bike_Rodeo_404.2.pdf

Bicycle Rodeo Skills Packet

This guide provides instructions for setting-up and running 14 different skill stations that can be used for a bicycle rodeo course. Developed by the Utah Department of Health.

http://health.utah.gov/vipp/pdf/BicycleSafety/Bicycle%20Skills%20Rodeo%20Packet.pdf

Core Subject Lesson Plans: Grades K-8th

The Colorado Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program incorporates bicycle and pedestrian lessons in core K-8 classes (math, science, history, language arts, etc.). These lesson plans were created to align specifically with the State of Colorado’s standards for education for core K-8 classes but can be adapted for other states. The website provides an index of downloadable lesson plans organized by grade level and content area. Provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/bikeped/safe-routes/srts-lesson-plans.html

Walk to School Curriculum: Grades 5-6

This British curriculum, developed by the Environmental Transport Association, provides a week of lessons that focus on global climate change and local traffic congestion. These plans can be adapted for US grades 5 and 6.  Promoted by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/eta-walk-school-curriculum

 

Walk and Bike Curricula

This website contains a list of links to bicycle- and pedestrian-focused lesson plans for teaching school subjects at different grade levels.  Compiled by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

http://www.walkbiketoschool.org/keep-going/ongoing-activities/classroom-curricula

Children’s Books that Promote Bicycling and Walking

This list was compiled by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership at the end of 2011.  It contains children’s books that highlight safety and the fun of traveling by bicycle and foot.

Children’s book list

 

Encouragement

Safe Routes to School Tucson Brochure

How can I make walking and biking work for my family? This resource outlines some simple steps that you can take to integrate more active travel with your kids. Read more to learn how Safe Routes to School Tucson can support you and your school.

SRTS Brochure_English

SRTS Brochure_Spanish_

Make Tracks Active Travel Challenge

The Make Tracks Active Travel Challenge inspires students to get physical activity by giving kids a monthly goal and a way to track active trips with minimal administration by parents or school staff.

Make Tracks can be started in a school anytime during the academic year, and small prizes are encouraged to incentivize participation.  A traveling trophy (made or purchased) can be awarded to the winning classroom each month.

Available here is a printable monthly scorecard and an introductory letter in English and Spanish. For further assistance, contact SRTS Tucson staff.

Make Tracks scorecard

Make Tracks letter_English

Make Tracks letter_English editable

Make Tracks letter_Spanish

Make Tracks letter_Spanish editable

 

 

 

WOW! (Walk/Wheel on Wednesday)

A great way to encourage students to walk, bike, explore, and learn throughout the school year is to launch an ongoing walking and riding challenge.  The WOW! (Walk/Wheel On Wednesday) program is a good first step, encouraging kids and families to commit to walking or biking to school once per week.

Available here is a printable WOW! card (front and back) and an introductory letter in both English and Spanish. For further assistance, contact SRTS Tucson staff.

WOW scorecard_front

WOW scorecard_back

WOW letter_English

WOW letter_English editable

WOW letter_Spanish

WOW letter_Spanish editable

 

Walking School Bus (WSB)

A Walking School Bus (WSB) functions like a regular bus, except that children walk with a leader along a set route with scheduled stops. Starting a WSB at a school gives parents the assurance that kids will arrive to school safety, under adult supervision.  It also provides kids the opportunity to enjoy regular morning activity.

A WSB can be as informal as neighborhood parents taking turns walking each other’s kids to/from school.  It can also be launched as a school-wide program, with multiple routes and trained leaders.  The below resources are designed to get interested individuals started.  For further assistance, contact SRTS Tucson staff.

Walking School Bus Checklist and Recruitment Tips

WSB flyer-reg form_En&Sp example_Kellond 2016

WSB flyer-reg form_English_editable

WSB flyer-reg form_Spanish_editable

How to select a WSB route

How to make a WSB map

Leader Training Toolkit

City of Tucson Bikeways Maps

This website provides maps to help bicyclists find the most appropriate route to reach their destination in the City of Tucson and greater Pima County.  Help children find the safest and most appealing bicycling route in their area using these maps for the City of Tucson metro area, University of Arizona area, Sunnyside Elvira neighborhood, and Green Valley.

http://bikes.tucsonaz.gov/bicycle/bikeways-footpaths-and-maps

Find the Right Fit – Bicycles

A first step to biking to school is getting a correctly sized bicycle — It makes for a safer and more enjoyable ride.  Find your bike size using this bicycle frame size calculator (first link), and properly adjust seat and handlebars with the help of these tips (second link).

http://www.ebicycles.com/bicycle-tools/frame-sizer

http://bicycling.about.com/od/howtoride/ss/Frame_size.htm#step-heading

Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement

Encouraging walking and biking to school isn’t just good for the body; it also improves academic performance.  A review of the research looking at the connections between fitness and academic achievement show that adding more physical activity before, during, and after the school day ensures that kids are active, focused and ready to learn.  Recent key studies are highlighted here.

Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance
Active Living Research, Research Brief, January 2015

http://saferoutespartnership.org/node/1536/

 

Engineering

Proposition 407: Parks & Connections

In Fall 2018, City of Tucson voters passed Proposition 407, generating $225 million to fund parks and connections (pedestrian pathways, bicycle pathways, pedestrian, and bicycle safety). Many of the connections projects will provide safe routes for Tucson families to get to neighborhood destinations like schools, parks, and community centers.  Check out this online, interactive map to see where and when projects will be implemented.

Evaluation

Standard SRTS Parent Survey

This parent survey, available in English and Spanish, asks for information about what factors affect whether parents allow their children to walk or bike to school, the presence of key safety-related conditions along routes to school, and related background information.  This is a standard survey developed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/evaluation-parent-survey

Standard SRTS Student Travel Tally

This form helps measure how students get to school and whether the SRTS Program affects trips to and from school. Teachers can use this form to record specific information about how children arrive to and depart from school on two days in a given week.  This is the standard travel tally developed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/evaluation-student-class-travel-tally

Tucson SRTS Parent Survey

This survey, developed by the SRTS Tucson program, asks parents about their children’s travel behavior, reasons for commuting decisions, and interest in various SRTS events/activities for their children.  It also explains the purpose of a Walking School Bus (WSB) and asks parents if they would like to participate in a WSB program at their school.  The survey is modifiable and available in English and Spanish.  A short version is available for schools with ongoing SRTS activities.  A longer version is available for new SRTS schools.

SRTS Parent Survey_general short_bilingual

SRTS Parent Survey_general long_English

SRTS Parent Survey_general long_Spanish

 

Tucson SRTS Student Travel Tally

This form, like the standard travel tally, measures how students get to school and whether the SRTS Program affects trips to and from school. Teachers use the form to record specific information about how children arrive to and depart from school on two days in a given week.  This travel tally was developed to be easy to read/use and is modifiable.

SRTS Student Travel Tally_general

Tucson SRTS Teacher Survey

This survey asks teachers about student and parent attitudes towards walking and biking, about their own travel behavior, and for their suggestions for increasing the appeal and/or safety of walking and biking to school.  It also inquires about teacher’s interest in being involved in SRTS activities at the school.  The survey is available here in a modifiable format.

SRTS Teacher Survey_general

 

Miscellaneous

2017-2018 SRTS Resources & Programs At-A-Glance

This one-pager for Tucson Unified School District’s Community Liaisons provides an overview  of resources and support available to their schools.

SRTS Tucson Programs & Resources_At-A-Glance 2017-18