Kids and families can more easily incorporate physical activity into their daily routines if their communities are bike- and wheel-friendly

Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) is a policy that promotes walking and wheeling to and from school by providing communities with resources to build sidewalks and bike paths, add crosswalks, and improve lighting and signage to ensure safe conditions. Although the program is focused on getting to school, the ultimate goal of building walking and biking infrastructure should support activity throughout a given community.

Between 2005 and 2012, the federal SRTS program provided more than $1 billion in funding to states and communities to support infrastructure improvements and education to make it easier and safer for children to walk and wheel to and from school. Subsequently, SRTS was combined with other federal programs designed to encourage walking and wheeling; the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program for transportation alternatives provides $850 million annually through 2020 to fund SRTS and related projects.

COVID-19 Context

In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many public parks were closed or facility use was limited. And months of school closures have prevented many students from engaging in the regular activity they would get during recess and physical education class. But being active may help reduce one’s risk for COVID-19 or reduce the strength of symptoms if one does become sick.

Many existing policy options for making physical activity easier and safer still apply, even during the pandemic. For instance, the Safe Routes Partnership has published resources to assist communities in implementing their Safe Routes to School strategies in ways that are safe for their communities in the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.