School Travel Plan
Schools and school districts can develop school travel plans to encourage safe, efficient and sustainable travel to and from school. Individual goals within school travel plans may include reducing car trips, increasing active transportation and making active transportation safer. Some school travel plans involve the gathering and use of data. School travel plans can help prioritize needs for Safe Routes to School programs.
The 2012 California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) provides guidance on what to include in a school travel, or route plan. Specifically, Part 7 (available under resources on the right) states that the plan should include a map showing streets, the school, existing traffic controls, established school walk routes, and established school crossings in order to develop uniformity in the use of school area traffic controls.
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School officials can work with their local public works department to coordinate project prioritization and swap ideas for travel demand management strategies. Travel demand management strategies could include consideration of school policies that:
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A “Walking School Bus” is a way to safely transport kids to walk to school. Designated parent leaders walk children to school with specific “bus stops” to pick up additional kids. Local government can work with parent groups and schools to provide signage and safety measures on popular routes. |
