TY - JOUR
T1 - California's safe routes to school program
T2 - Impacts on walking, bicycling, and pedestrian safety
AU - Boarnet, Marlon G.
AU - Day, Kristen
AU - Anderson, Craig
AU - McMillan, Tracy
AU - Alfonzo, Mariela
N1 - Funding Information:
Large majorities of parents at all sites noticed the SR2S construction projects (from % to % of parents; see Table ). Most parents stated that the project near their child’s school would increase safety (from % to % of parents), and most thought the project was important (from % to % of parents). Sometimes, a larger fraction of parents stated that they believed the project would increase safety than stated that they noticed the project. In those cases, a few parents likely offered a favorable opinion about the traffic improvement project based on the brief description in the “after construction” survey. The description of the SR2S-funded project in the survey was minimal, however, and was written in neutral terms that would not signal any judgment about the effectiveness or wisdom of the project. Hence, the strong positive opinion ratings provide evidence of parental approval of the projects funded by the SR2S program.
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - This article evaluates California's pioneering Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program, which funds traffic improvement projects designed to improve safety for children's walking and bicycling to school and to increase the number of children who do so. Through surveys of parents and observations of vehicle and pedestrian traffic before and after project construction, we examined the impacts of 10 traffic improvement projects funded through the SR2S program. We measured changes in perceived safety and in safety-related behaviors associated with children's trips to school, and examined changes in the number of children walking and bicycling following these improvements. Five of the 10 traffic improvement projects we evaluated showed evidence of a successful impact. The findings have implications for California's SR2S program and for similar initiatives throughout the country.
AB - This article evaluates California's pioneering Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program, which funds traffic improvement projects designed to improve safety for children's walking and bicycling to school and to increase the number of children who do so. Through surveys of parents and observations of vehicle and pedestrian traffic before and after project construction, we examined the impacts of 10 traffic improvement projects funded through the SR2S program. We measured changes in perceived safety and in safety-related behaviors associated with children's trips to school, and examined changes in the number of children walking and bicycling following these improvements. Five of the 10 traffic improvement projects we evaluated showed evidence of a successful impact. The findings have implications for California's SR2S program and for similar initiatives throughout the country.
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U2 - 10.1080/01944360508976700
DO - 10.1080/01944360508976700
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:25444533362
SN - 0194-4363
VL - 71
SP - 301
EP - 317
JO - Journal of the American Planning Association
JF - Journal of the American Planning Association
IS - 3
ER -