Safe Routes to School Planning Framework

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PLANNING FRAMEWORK

SRTS TEAM

Successful SRTS programs recognize each community as being unique and emphasize the importance of including a diverse range of community representation on the team. The Hawley SRTS team was made up primarily of faculty, staff, PTO members, and school board members from the Hawley School District; the City of Hawley including the city clerk and police chief, city council members, park board members, and planning commission members; Minnesota Department of Transportation – District 4; and PartnerSHIP 4 Health (PS4H). The team members were directly involved in the planning process, with many having the knowledge and skills needed to implement the plan recommendations. After delivering the plan, West Central Initiative (WCI) will continue to provide ongoing technical assistance to aid in plan implementation.

SRTS PLANNING PROCESS

The SRTS planning process got its start in the spring of 2017, when the City of Hawley (City) and the Hawley School District (School District) were awarded a SRTS Planning Grant from MnDOT to conduct a SRTS plan for the city and the Hawley school campus. With the assistance of staff at WCI, the SRTS team came together to review the school and community profiles, provide input on the barriers, outline the vision and goals, assist in data collection, and to develop and review the recommendations. As part of the planning and outreach process, parents provided feedback on the community’s strengths, barriers and opportunities during parent-teacher conferences at the high school.

In addition to gathering community input, the team assessed the community’s current conditions and policies to identify opportunities to advance walking and bicycling to school or programs that support active transportation. The team conducted observations to understand how many students walk and bike to and from school, what routes are the most traveled, their behaviors as pedestrians and bicyclists and the interactions between pedestrians and motorists. In addition, WCI and PS4H staff conducted a walk-audit of the entire community to survey its geography and infrastructure. During the walk-audit, staff recorded sidewalk conditions, child-friendly opportunities to cross streets, along with vehicle speeds, and potential trail and sidewalk connections.

Furthermore, the team helped administer the National Centers for Safe Routes to School (National Centers) student travel tally survey and a separate parent survey. The student travel tally form is used to count the number of students arriving to and departing from school by various travel modes. The parent survey

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