Safe Routes to School
Statewide
• Walk to School Day
• Student Travel Tally Week
• Crossing Guard Appreciation Day
• Bike to School Day
• School Travel Plans & Grants
• Resource Library
• Marketing Toolkit
• Zone In, Not Out
• Other Links / Partners
Welcome to Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS). Click here to read a welcome letter from Virginia's Safe Routes to School Coordinator.
If you’re new to SRTS, be sure to check out this program brochure for some quick facts about Virginia Safe Routes to School.
The SRTS program has been active in Virginia since 2007 and helps schools and communities make walking and biking to school a safe, convenient, natural activity.
Program News
March 23 - No Bike to School Day in 2020
Following the guidance of Governor Ralph Northam and the National Center for Safe Routes to School, Virginia will not celebrate Bike to School Day (BTSD) this year. BTSD has always been about community, safety, and health. This is time to focus on health in a different way.
While biking as a large group is unsafe, we encourage individual families to walk and bike as possible. See our Bike to School Day page for information on walking and bicycling while social distancing and staying safe during this time.
March 16 - NEW Non-Infrastructure Grant Deadline is April 3
Given the uncertainty surrrounding COVID-19, VDOT recognizes the need to be flexible. The deadline to submit all Non-Infrastructure Grant applications is now 11:59 PM on April 3. Applicants are allowed to submit without the necessary signatures. VDOT will evaluate the applications with the assumption that signatures will be obtained. Signatures must be obtained the time VDOT offers the grant, which is now scheduled for May 13th and final contract signatures must be obtained in July.
Best wishes from VDOT and your LTACs. Stay safe and stay healthy.
February 27 - New and Improved Website
Welcome to our new and improved Safe Routes to School website link: http://www.virginiadot.org/ ! In addition to the new URL, we have some exciting recent items in our Resource Library. Check out the Nudge Theory Board Game that generates conversations about safe travel choices for kids of all ages. Read Learn it. Do it. Live it! materials on Walk Audits, QuickStart Mini-grants, or Going Green with SRTS. The Resource Library has information on event planning, program planning, funding, safety and skills education, and more!
What else is new? We now have made public all 2019 Student Travel Tally data: almost 9% of student trips were by walking or bicycling, and more than 445,000 trips were counted statewide! The Non-Infrastructure Grant page is up to date with all the information needed to fund education, encouragement, evaluation, and enforcement programs as related to SRTS. Last, but not least, meet our Most Outstanding Crossing Guards of 2019 and learn about their work as indispensable community members. The SRTS website is full of exciting new things – check it out today!
February - Happy Crossing Guard Appreciation Month!
Thank you to all those who celebrated Crossing Guard Appreciation Day in February, and thank you to all crossing guards for their valuable service!
February 5 - Introducing Virginia's Most Outstanding Crossing Guards
With 300 nominations, competition was fierce, but we have selected Virginia's Most Outstanding Crossing Guards of 2019. Congratulations to Royce McCoy, Dina Perry, Zeleke Taffesse, Mary Randoph, Ursula Coleman, and Wilma Modlin! Read about their dedication and our honorable mentions on the CGAD webpage. We give thanks for all crossing guards and their attention, patience, and cheer. Don't forget to celebrate your crossing guard on Crossing Guard Appreciation Day on February 12!
Program Purpose
Shrevewood Elementary School’s Healthy Living Festival, Falls Church VA
The SRTS Program is federally funded, created under Section 1404 of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
The purpose of SRTS is to:
- Enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school
- Make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative, thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age
- Facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution near schools
In July 2013, MAP-21 (the new federal transportation bill) became law, folding SRTS into a new Transportation Alternatives program. SRTS projects are now eligible to compete for funding alongside other programs, including the Transportation Enhancements program and Recreational Trails program. VDOT’s Local Assistance Division manages the Transportation Alternatives program. More information >>
Non-infrastructure funding from SAFETEA-LU is still available through SRTS. For more information, please visit the Travel Plans and Grants landing page.
SRTS Strategic Plan
The Virginia SRTS Program completed a strategic plan to guide our work through 2017. Click on the cover at the right.
Contact
Katherine Graham
SRTS Coordinator
Transportation and Mobility Planning Division
Virginia Department of Transportation
1401 E. Broad St.
Richmond, Virginia 23219
katherine.graham@vdot.virginia.gov
Phone: 804-786-4198
Fax: 804-225-4785
TTY: 711
