Safe Routes To School

The Safe Routes to School program has been active in Virginia since 2007 and helps schools and communities make walking and biking to school a safe, convenient, natural activity.

News

April 16 — Join Our Next Quarterly Conference Call

Our next Quarterly Conference Call is on Wednesday, May 15, from 1–2:30 p.m. EST. Join us to talk about upcoming events, discuss differences between child and adult pedestrians, and converse with SRTS peers. Register here.

April 1 — Bike to School Day is Coming Soon!

Get your wheels ready for Bike to School Day on May 8! Registration is open here. Virginia is currently in the lead across the US, let's continue the momentum! Visit our Resources page for more information on how you can support Bike to School Day in your community. 

Feb. 27 — Recording and Slides from Quarterly Conference Call Available Now!

Thank you again to everyone who attended our February Quarterly Conference Call. The Virginia SRTS team enjoyed using the time to collaborate across the state and learn more about bike buses. For those who missed the call, or would like to review discussion topics, the recording and slides can be found here.

If you missed our December call on the Crossing Guard Shortage, those slides are also available.

Feb. 7 — Check out our Most Outstanding Crossing Guards for 2023!

Crossing guards are more important than ever as more students are walking or being driven to school. Be sure to thank your crossing guard on Crossing Guard Appreciation Day on Feb. 7, 2024. Find event ideas, thank you cards, and graphics to post on social media on the Crossing Guard Appreciation Day page.

Important dates to remember

• Spring Quarterly Conference Call: May 15, 2024
• Bike and Roll to School Day: May 8, 2024
• Barbara Johns Walk-to-School Day: April 24, 2024
• QuickStart mini-grant deadlines: March 7 & April 4, 2024
• Walkabout mini-grant deadline: Feb 2, 2024

About Virginia SRTS

The purpose of the federally funded Virginia Safe Routes To School program is to:

• Enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school
• Make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative, thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age
• Facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution near schools

If you’re new to SRTS, be sure to check out this program brochure for some quick facts about Virginia Safe Routes to School.

Funding

The SRTS Program is federally funded, created under Section 1404 of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

In 2013, MAP-21 became law, folding SRTS into the Transportation Alternatives program. SRTS projects now are eligible to compete for funding alongside other projects that expand non-motorized travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by improving the cultural, historical, and environmental aspects of the transportation infrastructure.

Goals

Virginia SRTS has a new framework to guide local programs. Like you, it's goal-oriented, with the ultimate goal of helping more students to safely walk and bicycle to school. The framework has five building blocks:

1. Equitable and Sustainable Program
2. Safe Streets
3. Welcoming Campuses
4. Safe Behaviors
5. Supportive Culture

Equitable and Sustainable Program is the most important of these building blocks, and the foundation for your program. It helps you evaluate and build support for your program so it can continue from year to year. It also ensures that the program is equitable and takes proactive steps to reach out to and benefit students who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), students with disabilities, students from low-income households, and other disadvantaged groups. Learn more about the building blocks and example activities in this document.

Success Book and Strategic Plan 

In 2020, the Virginia SRTS team wrote the Virginia Safe Routes to School Success Book, which documents the program’s history and accomplishments from 2005 to 2020. Click here to read the Success Book.

In 2023 the team wrote an addendum to the Success Book to highlight accomplishments in 2020-2022.

The first 2012-2017 Five-Year Strategic Plan guided the program through some major changes, creating the program structure and elements that exist today. Over the years the program has been fortunate to have consistent funding, but the funding situation has changed. 

In spring 2021, VDOT convened stakeholders to develop a new strategic plan that can be used to secure dedicated funding and increase the effectiveness and reach of the program over the next five years. Click here to read the 2021-2026 Virginia SRTS Strategic Plan.

SRTS Building Blocks

Grant opportunities

Some SRTS projects require little or no funds to implement. Others, such as constructing a new sidewalk, may require a substantial investment. The Virginia SRTS Program offers several funding options:

• QuickStart Mini-grants can help get your program started,
• Walkabout Mini-grants provide a hands-on walking and bicycling infrastructure assessment and written report coordinated by a Local Technical Assistance Coordinator,
• Program Grants, funded by the federal Transportation Alternatives Program, can cover non-infrastructure activities and costs such as Local Coordinator salaries or buying bikes for a school to use to teach students to ride, and
• Infrastructure Grants, funded by the federal Transportation Alternatives (TA) Set-Aside program, which fund capital projects related to Safe Routes to School (SRTS), such as building new sidewalks, bicycle facilities, or pedestrian-scale lighting to improve student safety near school.

Annual events

Partners and related links

• VDOT's Bicycle and Pedestrian Program
• The National Center for Safe Routes to School
• The National Center for Safe Route to School Data Collection System
• National Organizations for Youth Safety
• The Safe Routes Partnership
• Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance
• Walk and Bike to School
• Walking School Bus

Contact

SRTS Coordinator
Katherine Graham
Local Assistance Division
Virginia Department of Transportation
1401 E. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219
katherine.graham@vdot.virginia.gov 
Phone: 804-786-4198

Local Technical Assistance Coordinators (LTAC)

The Virginia SRTS program is supported by LTACs assigned to each of the three state regions. Their work involves both direct contact with local communities and VDOT District Offices, and broader activities that support SRTS statewide and locally.

• Blue Ridge Region, ayden@virginiasrts.org
  (Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Buchanan, Carroll, Clarke, Culpeper, Craig, Dickenson, Greene, Giles, Grayson, Fauquier, Frederick, Floyd, Franklin, Henry, Highland, Lee, Loudoun, Madison, Montgomery, Nelson, Orange, Page, Patrick, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Warren, Washington, Wise, Wythe. Cities: Bedford, Bristol, Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Covington, Galax, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Norton, Radford, Roanoke, Salem, Staunton, Waynesboro, Winchester.)

• Piedmont Region, jim@virginiasrts.org
  (Amelia, Appomattox, Arlington, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Caroline, Charles City, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Fairfax, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greensville, Halifax, Hanover, Henrico, King George, King William, Louisa, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, New Kent, Nottoway, Pittsylvania, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George, Prince William, Southampton, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Sussex. Cities: Alexandria, Colonial Heights, Danville, Emporia, Fairfax, Falls Church, Franklin, Hopewell, Manassas, Petersburg, Richmond.)

• Coastal Region, j@virginiasrts.org
  (Counties: Accomack, Essex, Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, King and Queen, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, Surry, Westmoreland, York. Cities: Chesapeake, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg.)