Get Involved with Safe Routes to School Advocacy

Get Safe Routes to School Grants Awarded to your Community

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership wants to empower you with relevant resources to succeed in local Safe Routes to School efforts – whether that is through engaging community members toward planning for or implementing a project or program, or educating state and local elected officials about the benefits of Safe Routes to School.

In this section you’ll find fact sheets on the number of grants and total dollar amounts awarded in Safe Routes to School state and federal funding since 2000 to each area of the state. Download and use this information to educate members of your community, school district or local elected officials on the benefits that Safe Routes to School has or could bring to your community! To find out how much funding has been spent in your community follow these quick steps:

1. Set up a meeting with your community, school district, or local elected officials
2. Find your district numbers
3. Print out Project Success Sheets for your district
4. Share the numbers!

Find your District & Representatives

To find your representatives and district numbers visit the State Legislature’s address finder.
To see a certified map of your districts visit the University of California, Berkley Statewide Database.

Safe Routes to School Grant Awards by State Legislative District

Since 2000, 520 million state and federal dollars have been awarded to Safe Routes to School projects in California. The below project success fact sheets group all grants into the state assembly and state senate district where they reside. Safe Routes to School grant award lists for your districts can be used to educate your local representatives on the good work Safe Routes to School funding has done in your area of the state to keep kids and everyone safer while walking and bicycling in your community. Project Success Sheets are designed to help you spread the word about the difference Safe Routes to School is making in your community. Take copies to your next meeting and use them to:

• demonstrate the success of the Safe Routes to School program
• compliment a personal story of how Safe Routes to School has impacted you
• get other community members excited about changes at their school(s)

View the State Assembly and State Senate Project Successes Sheets

Learn more about educating Elected Officials

How and Why to Be a Safe Routes to School Policy Advocate (Webinar)

This webinar provides a general overview on how and why local policy work supports Safe Routes to School. Presenters include an advocate from Safe Routes to School, a parent and a public health employee who have all advanced policy at the local level to bolster walking and bicycling. Slides from each presenter are also available for download.

Maximizing Statewide Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating Governors and State Agency Leaders (Webinar)

Engaging and educating your governor and state agency leaders on the benefits of policies and funding that support Safe Routes to School can feel daunting, but may be easier than you imagine. Presenters discuss basic strategies for becoming involved with your state government, talking points that resonate with state leaders, policies that can have significant long term impacts, and case studies of practitioners who have effectively engaged their Governors and/or state agency leaders. Slides from each presenter are also available for download.

Maximizing the Local Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating Local Elected Officials (Webinar)

There are a variety of approaches to educating and engaging local elected officials as a part of your community’s Safe Routes to School movement. This webinar includes a discussion with staffers and practitioners who understand successful approaches to working with local elected officials to bolster the health, safety, and economic impacts in their community through Safe Routes to School. Slides from each presenter are also available for download.

A Primer to Understanding the Role of Local Elected Officials for Practitioners (PDF)

There are many opportunities for local elected officials to improve walking and bicycling conditions in their communities by allocating funding streams or adopting supportive policies. This action brief is designed to provide the Safe Routes to School practitioner with the basic tools to determine the priorities of their local elected officials and understand how to further educate them on opportunities to improve walking and bicycling at the local level.

A Primer for Local Elected Officials (PDF)

This action brief is designed to provide local elected officials and their staff with an understanding of the benefits of Safe Routes to School and policy opportunities to improve walking
and bicycling to school and in daily life.

Engaging Policymakers: How Site Visits and Events Can Inspire Policy Change to Support Your Program (Webinar)

Learn how to put on a great event, why it is important to get policymakers involved and how you can use your local or state Safe Routes to School program promotion to inspire policy change and build Safe Routes to School into the fabric of your community. Slides from each presenter are also available for download.

Learn more about educating your community

The Economic Benefits of Safe Routes to School (Webinar)

This webinar focuses on Safe Routes to School and active transportation can improve the economies of local communities. Expert speakers will discuss how bicycling and walking can boost local economies, how bicycling and walking saves communities money and specific research on the topic. Slides from each presenter are also available for download.

Conduct a Health Impact Assessment (HIA)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) can be used to objectively evaluate the potential health effects of a project or policy before it is built or implemented. Conducting an HIA can enable communities to understand public health issues and health outcomes such as obesity, physical inactivity, and social equity, as well as transportation impacts and land use choices. The HIA process can provide recommendations to increase positive health outcomes and minimize adverse ones.

HIA and Comprehensive Planning Resource Guide (PDF) (Communities Putting Prevention to Work, July 2011)
Health Economic Assessment Tools (HEAT) for Walking and for Cycling (PDF) (World Health Organization, 2011)
Health Impact Assessment: Quick Guide (PDF) (National Association of County & City Health Officials, May 2008)

Getting Bike Shops and Advocates to Collaborate on Safe Routes to School (Webinar)

In addition to programmatic highlights, presenters explained the benefits of involving bike shops, described a strategy for approaching local bike shops, and discussed concrete ideas for collaboration ranging from low hanging fruit to full-fledged sponsorship. Any parent, program staff, manager or bike shop staffer that has struggled to implement bicycling within Safe Routes to School activities will benefit from this webinar! More information about this webinar can be found here.

Tip Sheet: Involving Bike Shops in Safe Routes to School (PDF)

A partnership with a small local bike shop, or a large bicycle retailer, distributor or manufacturer can support Safe Routes to School programs in many ways. This tip sheet gives an overview of how bike shops can get involved in your local program.