CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION This Safe Routes to School (SRTS) plan is intended to guide the Rothsay School District, the Rothsay School and the City of Rothsay toward their collective goal of making it safer, more convenient and more fun for students to walk and bicycle to and from school. Where it is already safe, encourage students to walk and bicycle to school. Where it is less than ideally safe, improve the existing conditions to make it as safe as practically possible with an eye towards walking and bicycling comfort. When children get exercise on their way to and from school they:
Arrive more alert and able to focus,
Get a large portion of their recommended daily physical activity,
Are more likely to be a healthy weight,
Demonstrate improved test scores,
Are less likely to suffer from anxiety, and
Build healthy habits and practices they can bring with them into adulthood.
The SRTS recommendations in the Action Plan at the beginning of this document address the “5 Es” and th
recognize the “6 E” of Equity. They were created to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion, encourage students to consider walking or bicycling, and instill an active lifestyle. The recommendations in this plan were formed based on expert analysis of the existing conditions around the school and in the community, direct observation, input from members of the community, MnDOT assembled crash and traffic data, and results from standardized parent surveys and student travel tallies. SRTS plans are the most successful when programs involve the entire community and when they are integrated into current and future policies. If at any time, the Rothsay School District, the Rothsay School and the City of Rothsay have any questions of how to best enact the recommendations in this report, whether that be funding sources or best policies and practices, etc., they are encouraged to contact the staff at West Central Initiative and/or PartnerSHIP 4 Health.
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