2004 Safe Routes to School Projects

WSDOT’s Safe Routes to Schools grant program aims to protect children from traffic deaths and injuries, and promotes a healthy lifestyle through biking and walking. It also provides sensible transportation by reducing the number of car trips to and from schools.

This Web site highlights the projects selected for funding in 2004. More than 60 proposals were received during a three-week call for projects. A common component in all eleven selected projects is community involvement in the development of safety, education, enforcement and/or traffic improvement programs to get more kids walking and biking to school safely. Most of the selected projects include improved sidewalk connections or new pathways, and safety education for students and parents.

“WSDOT is eager to support bicycling in its many forms — fitness, touring and commuting,” said Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald. “There is nothing more important, however, than supporting the Safe Routes to Schools bicycle and walking program, which provides a host of benefits for kids, health, communities and the environment. All of the project proposals are worthy — and if we had more money, we’d fund more of them.”

The program is a coordinated effort between the Washington State Departments of Health and Transportation, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Bicycle Alliance of Washington.

“The connection between health and physical activity is clear. Safe Routes to School and this round of funding are an important ingredient in creating walkable neighborhoods in Washington where walking and biking are appealing and safe. It is exciting to see transportation and health partnered in this way,” said Liz McNett Crowl, President of the Washington Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity.

“I applaud Washington State's leadership in striving to improve the safety and health of children through their Safe Routes to Schools Program,” stated Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn), the top Democrat on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a leading Congressional proponent of the program.

“In some communities, walking or biking to school has not been the safest option for children. With these grants, schools and communities can partner on projects that will allow parents and children the choice to get to school in a safe, fun and healthy way,” stated Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Terry Bergeson.

The following table shows the projects that were selected. By clicking the link on the school district name, you are able to learn specific information regarding the project.

Anacortes School District 103
Mt. Erie Elementary School Project
Total Grant Amount: $112,800

This project will improve walking and bicycling conditions by constructing continuous sidewalks on the north side of 41st Street, installing a crossing signal at the mid-block crosswalk in front of the school, installing speed displays and increasing speed enforcement, designating bike lanes on 41st Street, and forming a Walk/Bike to School steering committee to guide safety and physical activity education and encouragement programs. Currently, most of the Mt. Erie Students live within six miles of the school and over 200 students live within one-mile of the school. Housing development and traffic in the area is growing rapidly. Under today's conditions, most parents will not send their children to school on foot or on bicycles. This project will make a significant difference in this community.

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Auburn School District
Pioneer Elementary School Project
Total Grant Amount: $143,935

This project corrects two barriers to safe walking and biking including the lack of sidewalks on 25th Street SE adjacent to the school and a crossing of the Burlington Northern Railroad mainline. The project also involves parents and the community in a safety education program which includes a Railroad Safety curriculum at three of the schools. There will be sidewalks and a walking/biking trail or pathway; not all of the project will be sidewalks (paved) and employs a security guard on a police standard bicycle to patrol the new route before and after school. The Auburn School District identified this priority project through the development of their Walk Route Plan process.

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Bailey Gatzert Elementary School
Walking School Bus Project
Total Grant Amount: $125,000

The proposed Walking School Bus program is coordinated by a part time staff person and includes: an education program led by parents, innovative low cost traffic safety improvements on the urban roads near the school including Yesler Way, and encouragement efforts coordinated with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Seattle project. The program also includes a thorough evaluation element designed by recognized leaders in safety research and involving middle-school age youth in measurement and assessment.

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Bainbridge Island School District
Bainbridge Island Path
Total Grant Amount: $149,968

The goal of this project is to increase the number of students walking and biking to school by 30 percent, and decrease the number of individual vehicles by the same percentage. The project proposes constructing a multi-use path connecting four schools that are less than one mile apart and a new housing development, North Town Woods, to the schools, library and swimming pool. The addition of the path is complimented by bicycle safety education and added traffic speed enforcement.

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Bellevue School District
Sherwood Forest Elementary School Project
Total Grant Amount: $124,950

This project not only helps to complete a missing link in the City's School Walk Route Plan and upgrades signage along the route, but also encourages an active, safe and healthy alternative to driving neighborhood children to school through an innovative education and enforcement program. The education element of this project includes Walk to School events, activities and safety outreach timed for the beginning of the school year. View a larger image of the School Walk Route Project.

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Bridgeport School District
Street Smart Safe Routes to School Project
Total Grant Amount: $125,000

The Mayor of Bridgeport, Steve Jenkins, says, "the long planned sidewalk and bike path extending from the school on Douglas to where the sidewalk connects to SR 173 has never been completed. The Street Smart program will bring order to the traffic chaos in the area." This proposal establishes a committee of parents and educators to host a series of safety and physical activity education and promotion actives, while working with the City to construct a multi-use path that will serve over 600 area students.

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Evergreen School District
Safe Routes to School Project
Total Grant Amount: $123,877

This project is a partnership between Evergreen School District and the City of Vancouver that addresses traffic safety improvements including pathway connections throughout the area and installation of a crossing on SE 136th Ave., a major arterial, added police enforcement in the area, a pedestrian safety education campaign, and development and distribution of maps of the pathway system.

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Napavine School District
School Walk Route Plan Project
Total Grant Amount: $106,000

This innovative proposal leverages federal Transportation Enhancement funding to complete a bicycle and pedestrian overpass. It also includes a railway safety education program and a general pedestrian safety program conducted by local law enforcement.

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Republic School District
School Sidewalk Project
Total Grant Amount: Partial Funding

This project would make significant improvements to the walking route from the town to the school house by building sidewalks and installing lighting. Republic is a remote and rural community located in the northeastern part of Washington State that faces a number of unique challenges. Many of the school age children must walk to school regardless of traffic safety in the area. In the winter months, many of the children attend school because it is the warmest and safest place they have to be during severe weather. The school also serves the function of a community center. The current route from the town to the school is not lighted, not separated from traffic, and in many places drops away from the roadway very steeply.

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Richland School District
Badger Mountain Elementary School Project
Total Grant Amount: $66,500

This is an extremely cost effective program that would serve as a model for Richland School District. It improves enforcement by local police around the school, connects sidewalks along Oxford Street to create a safe walking and biking route, and implements a school-wide safety education curriculum conducted by the local Safe Kids Coalition.

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Taholah School District #77
Tahola School Walk Route Project
Total Grant Amount: $100,000

This proposal provides children a safe alternative to being driven by parents or riding the bus to school by connecting sidewalks along key walk routes (see map); installing traffic control like speed humps, lights, and signage throughout the area; and implementing a safety education program for the students of Taholah School. The project was developed as a partnership between the Quinalt Indian Nation Health Department, Planning Department, and Police Department. View a larger image of the School Walk Route Project.

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Who can I contact for more information?

Charlotte Claybrooke
Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator
ClaybrC@wsdot.wa.gov
360.705.7302

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