Idaho Smart Growth last week met with 15 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) coordinators and volunteers from around the state and shared a report on the current status of SRTS in the state. This convening was the beginning of forging a statewide network for SRTS programs to better coordinate and track their efforts.
ISG program coordinators Elaine Clegg and Deanna Smith led discussions to determine which data is currently collected, how ISG and Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) could help to support collection and interpretation as well as move towards more consistent reporting to assist with assessing impact from SRTS programs. SRTS representatives also shared their current programming efforts with each other for inspiration and peer support.
The report summarizes the staffed SRTS programs in Idaho, and the number of registered Walk to School events held in each city over the past four years. SRTS currently serves just 6% of Idaho school districts and 13% of Idaho students. These baseline numbers will help ISG evaluate impact over the next four years. During this time, ISG will work with funding from ITD to provide education, training, assessment, planning assistance and evaluation assistance in communities of all sizes statewide.
For more information about ISG and our work on Safe Routes to School, contact Elaine Clegg at elaine@idahosmartgrowth.org.