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 Rothay SRTS team included representation from the Rothsay Pubic Schools, the City of Rothsay, the Rothsay Police and Fire Departments, Wilkin and Otter Tail Counties, Minnesota Department of Transportation – District 4, and PartnerSHIP 4 Health. 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 2014 when Principal Staci Allmaras contacted WCI about performing an SRTS plan for the Rothsay school. However, the school was to be moving out of its old location in the center of town to a new building just beyond the northeast corner of the town. It was felt that to get the most out of the SRTS planning process, it would be best-served to do the majority of the work after the new school was built and occupied in September of 2015. With the assistance and expert 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 develop and review the recommendations. As part of the planning and outreach process, the community was invited and encouraged to provide feedback on the community’s strengths, barriers and opportunities; a kind of SWOT Analysis tailored to planning. In addition to gathering community input, the team conducted an assessment of the community’s current conditions and policies in order 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, the team conducted a separate walk-audit of the entire community to survey its geography and infrastructure. During the walk-audit, the team 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 Chapter 2: About Safe Routes to School (SRTS) | P a g e 49
