Why Safe Routes to School?

Equity in SRTS

Particular groups and communities in the US have disproportionate access to resources such as highquality jobs, schools, parks, healthcare, food, and bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Meanwhile, other groups of people have limited access to these resources, negatively impacting their health and wellbeing. These differences are not random—they are the results of government policy in the past and present, which has worked to the benefit of some and to the disadvantage of others, often along race, income, and gender lines. These group-based differences are forms of inequity.

Equity in Safe Routes to School is impacted by transportation system inequities—such as limited access to high-quality walking and biking infrastructure or the presence of highways in lowerincome and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) neighborhoods—as well as inequities in related systems. For example, racial wealth inequities and racial discrimination in housing mean that BIPOC students may live further away from schools than their white peers from higher-income families.

Safe Routes to School works to address these inequities by prioritizing programs, infrastructure, and policy improvements that help individuals and groups with less access to resources, in particular those who don’t have safe, convenient, and fun routes to school. By looking at demographic data, examining existing transportation services and policies, and speaking with members of the community, the City of Hancock Safe Routes to School team worked to develop recommendations that support equity in walking and biking to school.

Hancock Community in Context

Community You Know, Place to Grow

Hancock is a small rural town in west central Minnesota located at the intersection of State Hwy 9 and Stevens County Hwy 1. Hancock is just south of the City of Morris and about 150 miles east of the St. Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area. Hancock is located in the southwest corner of Stevens County surrounded by prairie and farmland.

Hancock has a population of 748 residents. The demographic makeup of the population is 85.53% white, 2.39% Hispanic, 6.92% Asian, 3.77% Native American, and 0.88% African American.

The median age is 31 years old, and with an average household size of 2.96. The median household income is $59,250, and 77.9% of residents own their home. For level of education, 91.6% of residents have a high school degree or higher.

The majority of residents speak only English at 89%, 10.9% also speak another language. Around 7.6% speak an Asian or Pacific Island language, and 3.2% speak Spanish.

Hancock Public School

S I T E C I R C U L A T I ON

Pedestrians: Many students were observed walking to and from campus along several routes including Hancock Avenue North and South of the school; the alley between 3rd and 2nd Street; and a walking path between Hancock Public School and Sunset Lane.

Pedestrians included elementary school students as well as high school students. There are many high school students who park their cars in the parking lot along the east corner of Hancock and 3rd Street and cross midblock directly to the school.

Bicyclists: A few students were observed biking around the school area on the day of the walk audit. The most common locations were north and south along Hancock Avenue.

School Buses: Buses approach the school southbound on 2nd Street adjacent to the school. The school blocks off the street to north and southbound traffic during drop off and pickup times.

All K-12 students are dropped off and board the buses on 2nd Street. Transit: The Rainbow Rider public transit serves Hancock from 7:00 AM to 5:00PM, Monday through Friday.

Vehicles: Parent drop off is in the main parking lot in front of the high school entrance. During pickup and drop off times the parking lot turns into a oneway loop. All students who are picked up or dropped off are required to use the front entrance.

S C H O O L C O N T E X T :

Hancock Public School

P R I N C I P A L :

Tim Pahl

S U P E R I N T E N D E N T:

Paul Carlson

E N R O L L M E N T :

415

G R A D E S S E R V E D :

PK-12

31% of elementary and 27 % of secondary students eligible for free or reduced lunch

D E M O G R A P H I C S *

White, non-Hispanic, 84.5%

Hispanic, 12%

Asian 1%

American Indian/Alaska Native 1%

Black/African American, 1.5%

L A N G U A G E S S P O K E N B Y S T U D E N T S I N D I S T R I C T * *

Limited English Proficient: 5%

*Source: School district records **Source: School district records

S T U D E N T D E M O G R A P H I C S :

• Hancock’s enrolled population of 415 students includes pre-K through 12th grade. Hancock is an open enrollment school with about 29% of the student body enrolling through open enrollment.

All students are eligible for free busing to and from Hancock Public School.

• Hancock’s student population encompasses children and families from a range of demographic groups. Around 5% of students have limited English proficiency. The student population is 84.5% white non-Hispanic, 12%

Hispanic, 1.5% Black, 1% Asian, and 1% American

Indian.

• Most of the students who attend Hancock Public

School live more than 2 miles or less than a ¼ mile from the school. The parent survey noted that 42% live more than 2 miles from school, and 38% live less than a ¼ miles from school.