Discus sion / Comparison

DISCUSSION / COMPARISON

Results from both the parent surveys and student tallies are comparable for the most part, with only the tally from the secondary and high school students contradicting the other results. This is likely due to the maturity levels of secondary and high school students. Unfortunately a very small percentage of students of all age groups are walking / biking to and from school (between three and five percent) which is well below the 2013 national SRTS combined walk and bike mode share of 15.2 percent in the morning and 18.4 percent in the afternoon. Even when just students living within the perceived one-mile Walk / Bike Zone are considered, only 15 percent of students walk / bike to and from school. There is clearly great room for improvement but that is exactly what this SRTS Plan is here to address.

Distance from home to school, followed by weather appear to be the predominant two factors as to whether students either walk or bike, or take a motorized mode to and from school. Distance was also the main barrier cited by parents who currently do not allow their children to walk or bicycle to and from school. After distance, safety factors such as traffic speed and traffic volume were chosen more frequently as barriers, more so than crime or violence. The real and/or perceived safety concerns with walking and biking to school should not be dismissed. However for those that live within the Walk / Bike Zone of New York Mills School, these concerns are not insurmountable barriers.

While the results from the parent surveys and student travel tallies provide valuable baseline data, several limitations exist. The parent survey was self-reported information, which may self-select and bias the results to a socially-desirable response. Furthermore, the three-day time frame for student travel tallies, taken only during one school week out of the entire year, limits the likelihood of collecting data in all weather conditions. Additional analysis, particularly a second student travel tally at a different time of the year, would be helpful to better understand student travel behaviors and how the weather influences travel mode decisions.

P a g e 102 | Chapter 8: Standardized SRTS Survey Analysis