Summary of Safe Routes to School Meeting, hosted by Sunnyvale Cool 9/8/11

Alice Kawaguchi of the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health spoke Thursday night about the joint effort by the City of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County to expand the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program.  The meeting was attended by 24 Sunnyvale residents from various parts of the City.  We learned about an exciting opportunity to help our youngest residents and their families develop healthier and more sustainable transportation habits, reduce the auto congestion around schools and make school zones safer. Below is my summary of the meeting, edited for accuracy by Alice. 

Santa Clara County in partnership with the City of Sunnyvale received a major grant (federal money through VTA) and added matching funds to roll out a major Safe Routes to School Program expansion for Sunnyvale schools. It is a two-year grant; half of the  Sunnyvale  schools will be targeted this year, half next. This grant is directed toward encouraging behavior change (education and encouragement)  and does not fund infrastructure improvements.  However, the City is always seeking grants to fund needed infrastructure improvements through other sources. The National Center for Safe Routes to School offers  mini-grants to support these efforts also:  http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/

Alice provides staff support for the Traffic Safe Communities Network (TSCN) Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Work Group which oversees the project activities.  She and two part-time health educators support the project. The program therefore depends on volunteers for all aspects of the program.

During September, TSCN is leading walkability/bikability and safety assessments of the neighborhoods surrounding this year's targeted schools. The TSCN team  recruits parent and community volunteers to help. Assessments start an hour before school starts, to allow time for a quick discussion about the process. Materials and training are provided.  Assessments last hour or so. These assessments are currently in progress. In fact, next week there is a big need for volunteers as several schools are scheduled for assessments.   

During October TSCN will organize a workshop at each targeted school which includes a Sunnyvale public safety officer,school and parent representatives, and a representative of the Sunnyvale Transportation Division.  The workshop participants will review the assessment reports, brainstorm ideas to enable more students to get to school safely via active transportation modes, and develop a site-specific plan. 

Beginning in November TSCN will offer a series of free training classes to teach volunteers how to organize programs that encourage active transportation to schools--bike rodeos, incentive programs, walking school bus, bike train, Walking Wednesdays, etc.

These Sunnyvale schools are the focus of this school year: 

• Sunnyvale Middle--
• Cherry Chase
• Cumberland
• Ellis
• Vargas
• Bishop
• Braly
• Ponderosa
• Laurelwood
• Stocklmier
• West Valley