The cornerstone of most SRTS programs is the Walking School Bus, a group of chaperoned students who walk to school together. Chaperones are usually parents or teachers. Walking school buses create excitement about walking to school, provide “safety in numbers”, offer an opportunity to teach children to be aware of traffic and learn how to walk and cross safely. Walking school buses can be held every day, weekly, once a month, once a year, or at anytime that is appropriate for your school.
Many schools motivate students to walk/bike to school with “frequent walker/bicyclist” programs. Students track how many days that they have walked or bicycled to school to participate. Contact us to develop a customized program.
Staff is available to make safety presentations to students on a variety of bicycle, scooter and pedestrian safety topics. Our goal is to interactively teach students the importance of safety and demonstrate that learning can be fun!
There are many ways to incorporate walking and bicycling into existing curriculum. Science and math classes are particularly suited to measuring the impact of more students walking/bicycling, tracking the number of steps that students are walking, etc.
How “walkable” or “bikeable” is your community? Using easy to follow checklists, we can help you to identify opportunities and challenges to your Safe Routes to School Program. Audits make a great project for student groups, PTA, or other community group.
Elementary school aged students have the opportunity to get fully immersed in all aspects of pedestrian safety, while having fun! Activities include a wheel of questions, a safety matching game, an interactive simulated street “Look left, right, left” crosswalk lesson, and “Go, Slow, Stop” activity game.
Students will have the chance to take part in a bicycle and pedestrian “Jeopardy style” trivia game, a bicycle and pedestrian exercise, as well as learning that everyone shares an equal part when it comes to traveling safely on our roadways.
This program highlights the importance of wearing proper safety equipment while riding a scooter, making sure the scooter is in good working order, where to ride safely, rules of the road, and how to interact with traffic.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), roadways, sidewalks and other parts of the transportation network are equipped with tools (curb ramps, detectable warnings, crosswalk buttons) to assist people with disabilities. These facilities are often misunderstood by the general population. This interactive program teaches students about the ADA facilities that they may see within their communities and how they help with mobility for people with disabilities.
Bike Rodeos are a great way to reinforce basic skills and teach valuable safety information.
Held after school, these “on bike” events can be held in the parking lot. HART will provide instructors and equipment
Safe Routes To School
For more information about Safe Routes to School contact Ryan Fisher (908) 788-5553 ext.15
Funding for federal Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Grant projects is administered by the NJ Department of Transportation Office of Local Aid. state website
Infrastructure projects include the planning, design, and construction or installation of sidewalks, crosswalks, signals, traffic-calming, and bicycle facilities. County and municipal governments, school districts, schools, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply to the program.
The federal-aid provides federal-aid highway funds to State Departments of Transportation. The main objectives of the program are: