• Increase the number of children walking and biking to school safely
• Reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality around schools
• Increase daily physical activity levels and reduce obesity and other health risks
• Improve academic performance among children

The Safe Routes to School program offers a wide range of free programs, activities and events for schools.

1. Education – ensures children, parents and the community know how to walk, bike and drive safely.
2. Engineering – makes sure the streets and sidewalks around schools are built for safety.
3. Encouragement – makes it fun for children, parents and the community to walk and bike.
4. Enforcement – ensures traffic laws and school policies are followed.
5. Evaluation – checks the progress of the program and makes changes as needed.
6. Engagement – emphasizes the importance of involving schools, parents, youth and other key stakeholders in the process to ensure program sustainability.

In 2017, Solano Safe Routes to School (SR2S) launched the Youth Engagement Pilot Program to support high school aged youth in Solano County.

Since the SR2S Program has traditionally focused on supporting elementary school youth, this Youth Engagement Program was designed to:

1. increase high school youth leadership and involvement in Safe Routes to School activities countywide and;
2. engage in youth-led projects that can lead to sustainable solutions in improving active transportation and safety, reducing carbon emissions and/or addressing Safe Routes to School goals such as increasing walking, biking or physical activity.

Participating sites will be asked to engage in a YPAR (Youth-Led Participatory Action Research) or Photovoice Project following an easy-to-follow curriculum provided to them by SR2S. The SR2S team will work with participants to build capacity and skills for young people and their adult counterparts that will potentially increase youth-led activities and promotion of the Safe Routes to School program countywide.

More information and program application is available below or contact us at:
707-399-3222 or solanosr2sinfo@sta.ca.gov

A Bike Rodeo is a fun, active event for elementary students to learn biking and safety skills in a safe and comfortable environment.  Safe Routes to School staff sets up various agility courses on school grounds for students to practice important skills necessary to ride a bike safely and confidently. Staff also inspects students’ bikes and makes sure their bike helmets fit them properly.

Kindergarten through 6th grade students must be able to ride a bike without assistance to participate. Students should bring their own bike and helmet to the Bike Rodeo, but bikes and helmets can be provided, if needed. Bike Rodeos last 1-2 hours depending on the number of participants. Schools are required to provide 6-10 volunteers to help the event run smoothly.

For more information or to schedule a Bike Rodeo at your school, contact the Safe Routes to School program at (707) 399-3222 or solanosr2sinfo@sta.ca.gov.

Cupertino Union School District Partnering with City of Cupertino is committed to safeguarding community members of all ages as they navigate our diverse network of bikeways, roadways, and walkways. To ensure that we achieve this goal, we are actively working on expanding beyond the traditional infrastructure and enforcement approach to traffic safety. This unique approach has led to the creation of Cupertino Safe Routes to School, a program that brings together various stakeholders to address student safety throughout the City. 

Our mission is to strive for Healthy Kids, Safer Streets, Strong Communities. The Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Program works in schools across Alameda County to develop school travel programs that make sense for their communities.

• We teach kids the basics of walking and biking safely.
• We make walking and biking to school fun with special events.
• We help communities identify traffic investments to make their communities safer.

We began in 2006 as a grant-funded pilot program in Oakland, California. The pilot was implemented by TransForm, a local non-profit organization. Today, we serve over 250 public schools in Alameda County, teaching students from elementary school to high school the joys and benefits of choosing active and shared transportation options to get to school. Our program is managed, administered and funded by the Alameda County Transportation Commission and is implemented by a fantastic team of Safe Routes to Schools experts and professionals working together to fulfill our mission for healthy kids, safer streets, and stronger communities.

 OCTA has prioritized the advancement of active transportation in Orange County, which includes bikeways planning, safety programs and community events. Each year, we celebrate National Bike Month in May with local events, bicycling promotions and more. Whether you bike to work or school, for exercise or recreation – bicycling is a fun, healthy and efficient way to travel in Orange County.  

WHITTIER – City officials have stopped negotiations with Union Pacific in trying to acquire an easement that would allow the Greenway Trail to be extended to the La Habra border.

Assistant City Manager Nancy Mendez said the city is unwilling to agree to Union Pacific’s proposal that Whittier take complete liability for the train and tracks from Mills Avenue east to the city border.

The city proposed to pay for a fence dividing the tracks from the trail and to accept some responsibility, Mendez said.

“(But) they want us to take liability not just on the trail but also on the rest of the Union Pacific property,” she said. “You could have an engineer drunk and texting, jump the tracks and wipe out people on the Greenway Trail and it would be the city’s responsibility,” Mendez said. 

The 4.5-mile pedestrian biking trail now extends from Pioneer Boulevard to Mills.

In an e-mailed statement, Aaron Hunt, spokesman for Union Pacific, said walking paths near the tracks represent potential safety risks.

“Those risks carry substantial insurance costs,” Hunt stated. “We require that parties accessing Union Pacific property assume the financial burden of any increased risk.”

The city has been seeking to extend the trail by reaching a deal with Union Pacific for a 15-foot-wide easement next to their railroad tracks.

The existing trail follows an abandoned path.

WHITTIER >> A long sought after parking lot at the east end of the Greenway Trail is expected to be constructed later this year.

City officials have secured state park grants of nearly $400,000 to build the 22-space parking lot on a nearly half-acre lot at the northeast corner of Mills Avenue and Lambert Road.

“I’m excited that’s going to offer residents more opportunity to use the trail,” said Mayor Fernando Dutra. “The parking lot will offer folks an opportunity to park and ride (a bicycle) or park and walk.

The City Council at its May 10 meeting is expected to award a contract for design of the parking lot and later this year award one for construction. 

A parking lot has been proposed for the site for a long time.

The only off-road parking areas now available to trail users are four miles west at Palm Park and two miles west of Mills Avenue in a nine-space lot.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said former Councilman Greg Nordbak, who pushed for the parking lot when he was on the council. “It makes me happy the council kept it on the burner.”

Parking is even more needed now because trail users are parking in nearby business parking lots, in front of residents on adjacent streets and even next to the railroad, said Nancy Mendez, assistant city manager.

“We obviously need a place where people can park,” Mendez said.

The parking lot, to be named Oak Station, also will serve as a rest spot for trail users, including bicycle racks, seating, drinking fountains, security lighting and signage. Signs may include an entry sign, banners hung from light poles, and a trail map.

Transforming an abandoned railroad right of way into the Whittier Greenway Trail, a 4.5-mile recreational and commuter bikeway and pedestrian path, took 12 years to plan, fund and build — but it was worth it.

The City of Whittier (pop. 87,128) is located in Los Angeles County, 12 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Nearly 300 traffic collisions occurred between 1995 and 2005 within school zones on the city’s arterial streets. To avoid walking on the streets, many children used an abandoned Union Pacific Railroad right of way to get to school. Along this unsupervised route they encountered criminal activity, including drug use and harassment, along with illegally dumped trash and other hazards.

“The community was anxious to improve the overgrown, vandalized railroad route that traversed the heart of the city and eliminate the crime, homeless camps, trash, graffiti and gang activity that the abandoned property attracted,” says Mayor Greg Nordbak. “Residents campaigned for an off-road bike path so families could safely ride to schools and parks without using major arterial streets.”

Whittier began planning, negotiating and acquiring funds in 1997 to purchase the 4.5-mile abandoned property and develop it into a bicycle and pedestrian trail. The corridor purchase and development were funded with $15 million in federal, state and county grants. The city completed the project and opened the trail in January 2009.

The Whittier Greenway Trail begins on the western city boundary near Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel River Bike Trail and traverses Whittier, linking schools, homes, parks, shopping areas and transit stops. The trail comprises a 12-foot-wide asphalt path for wheeled traffic and a 5-foot-wide decomposed-granite path for pedestrians. The entire trail is ADA accessible and has dog comfort stations, large mile markers and smaller on-path quarter-mile markers to assist visitors with location and distances. Public art and interpretive exhibits dot the trail. Residents use the Whittier Greenway Trail for transportation, recreation and simply enjoying the outdoors.

Safety monitoring is an important component of trail operations. Graffiti, trash and litter are removed seven days a week. For extra security, the Whittier Police Department patrols the trail with small dual-sport motorcycles, and regular police patrols monitor segments of the trail by visual assessment from each intersection.