Safe Routes to School State Network Project: 2007 Annual Progress Report

Publication Date: April 2008

Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

In May 2007, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership launched a three-year Safe Routes to School (SRTS) State Network Project to leverage resources in nine states and the District of Columbia. The State Network goals include: increasing physical activity in school-age children grades K–8 by increasing the number of children walking and bicycling to school; facilitating the success of the federal SRTS program in 10 key locations; and ensuring SRTS state-level programs are sustainable.

Benefits of SRTS programs can include:

* Reduced traffic congestion.
* Improved safety, air quality and community livability.
* Improved health.

The last benefit, in particular, is an important consideration, now that more than 33 percent of U.S. children and adolescents are considered obese or overweight.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported this annual report and provides support to the SRTS National Partnership, a network of more than 300 nonprofit organizations, government agencies, schools, and professionals working to set goals, share best practices, secure funding, and provide educational materials to agencies that implement SRTS programs.