Evaluation
Evaluation of the Safe Routes to School program is important to understand the effectiveness of the program, identify improvements that are needed and ensure that the program can continue in the long-term. Evaluation can measure shift in travel behavior, changes in attitudes toward biking and walking, awareness of the Safe Routes to School program, grant money received and projects completed.
School Site Audit
A school site audit, sometimes called a walking audit or walkabout, is an evaluation of the pedestrian and bicycling conditions around the school environment. Typically school site audits are conducted by the local school group or task force on foot by walking the routes that the students use to get to school. A site audit may also be conducted on bicycle in order to better evaluate bicycling conditions.
The goal of a site audit is to document conditions that may discourage walking and bicycling to school, and to identify solutions to improve those conditions. The audit should involve an assessment of the built environment around a school (for example, streets, sidewalks, pathways, crosswalks and intersections, bike routes, traffic controls), drop-off and pick-up operations (e.g. presence of designated loading areas), as well as behaviors of students, parents, and motorists that could contribute to unsafe conditions for bicyclists or pedestrians (e.g. speeding, jaywalking, failure to yield to pedestrians).
A School Site Audit checklist form asks for detailed information related to: 1) Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up Areas; 2) Bus Loading Zones; 3) Sidewalks and Bicycle Routes; 4) Intersections Near the School Property; 5) Sight Distance; and 6) Traffic Signs, Speed Controls and Pavement Markings. The local school task force can use the School Site Audit checklist as a basis for conducting their walkabout. An aerial map of the school area is helpful for the site audit. Aerial photos can be marked up with identified issues and suggested improvements.
School Action Plan
A continuation of the School Site Audit is to create a School Action Plan. The action plan documents existing conditions and results of the school site audit. It continues to identify physical improvements and program recommendations. The plan and materials should be developed so that they can be used for subsequent grant applications, staff reports, or other follow-up tasks for program implementation. Recommended improvements should follow standard MUTCD and Highway Design Manual standards, and incorporate innovative or experimental treatments as appropriate.
This Toolbox can be used as a guide to developing individual School Action Plans. Engineering measures, educational and encouragement programs, and enforcement and evaluation techniques from this toolbox should be selected as appropriate for each Action Plan. The Ostrander Elementary School, Highland Elementary and Middle School, and Duzine Elementary and New Paltz Middle School Action Plans, created as part of this UCTC SRTS initiative, can be used as examples when developing an action plan.
Program Evaluation
There are many different education, encouragement, and enforcement programs that can be implemented in a school environment to help increase the number of students walking and biking to school. Not every program is the correct fit for every school. It is important to evaluate programs in the context of the school environment prior to deciding what would be a good choice for your school. Once the programs have been implemented it is necessary determine whether or not it was a good choice for your school and what about the program worked and what did not work quite as well. Below are some suggested steps for proceeding with the program evaluation process. Program evaluation can be administered by following these steps:
- Survey local traffic conditions and issues (much of this information can be found from the school site audit)
- Determine the goals of the program
- Identify methods to implement programs
- Determine success benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of the program efforts
- Interview program administrators (teachers, volunteers) and participants (students) to discuss what worked and what did not
Perform Annual Hand Tally and Parent Surveys
Since 2005, the federal Safe Routes to School program has set aside federal funding to help states, cities, towns and schools increase the number of students walking and biking to school. One requirement of receiving this money is that schools must perform annual hand tally and parent surveys so that the national program can track the effectiveness of the various programs across the country.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School has developed a recommended methodology, survey and count forms and reporting forms (http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/guide/evaluation/index.cfm). A teacher administers the hand tally survey to the students in their classroom. The parent surveys are either mailed or sent home to parents or guardians. If you receive a parent survey, please fill it out and help your school district comply with current and future funding requirements. The National Database stores your data and provides simple analysis reports.