Rochester Safe Routes to School Plan
Plan 2008-2009
The Safe Routes to School Program was established under the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users" (SAFETEA-LU). The act will provide $612 million over the next five years for Safe Route to School Programs throughout the United States. The purpose of the program is to improve the conditions and quality of bicycling and walking to school. The goal of the program is to reverse the 30-year decline in the number of children walking to school and to reintroduce opportunities for regular physical activity.
The federal Safe Routes to School Grant Program was adopted as part of SAFETEA-LU in 2005. Grant applications are solicited statewide and recipients are chosen by a statewide committee managed out of the Central Office of MNDOT. (Olmsted County's Grant Award Letter (711 KB pdf)) Safe Routes to School grants do not require local matching funds, unlike most federal transportation programs, which require a 15-20% match. (Safe Routes to School Grant Program and Rochester's grant-funded projects (269 KB pdf)).
The program is aimed at K-8 educational facilities and the grant can be used to fund Infrastructure or Non-Infrastructure projects. Representative projects in each category include:
| Crosswalk Improvements |
Safe Route Plan Development |
| Filling Gaps in Bike/Pedestrian Networks |
Enforcement or Enforcement Training |
| Creating New Bike/Pedestrian Facilities |
Education Program |
| Traffic Calming/Driver Feedback Signs |
Promotional Events |
| Bike Parking |
|
School Zones Features Maps