The Clackamas County Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program helps create safe walking, rolling and bicycling conditions for K-12 students. The program is funded by a Regional Travel Options (RTO) grant from Metro.
Goals of this project include:
- Building program awareness and promoting active transportation
- Expanding bicycle, pedestrian, and driver education
- Collaborating with various partners while evaluating the process
Upcoming activities and programs include:
- Walk and Roll encouragement activities
- Annual poster art contest
- Walking School Bus groups
- Educational opportunities and funding information
- School action plan creations and updates
Get involved!
To learn more about how you can support SRTS at your school, contact:
- Nicole Perry, Clackamas County SRTS Coordinator, at nicoleperry@thestreettrust.org, or
- Scott Hoelscher, Clackamas County Senior Transportation Planner at 503-742-4533 or scotthoe@clackamas.us
Completed Action Plans
- Bilquist Elementary
- Clackamas River Elementary
- Estacada Middle
- Gardiner Middle School
- Happy Valley Elementary
- Happy Valley Middle
- Mt Scott Elementary
- Oak Creek Elementary
- Oak Grove Elementary
- River Grove Elementary
- River Mill Elementary
- Trost Elementary
- Welches Elementary
- Whitcomb Elementary
Clackamas County Resources
- SRTS Program Handbook
- SRTS Program Brochure
English | Spanish/Español | Russian/русский - SRTS Tip Sheet - Be Safe Walking, Biking, & Driving in School Areas
English | Spanish/Español | Russian/русский - Final Report for 20167-2019 ODOT funded SRTS program
What is Safe Routes to School (SRTS)?
SRTS makes communities safer, healthier, and more fun by combining route improvements, traffic enforcement, safety education and activities to encourage students to walk or roll to schools. SRTS works with communities and schools to build a comprehensive program using the "6 Es":
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Equity Assurance that all residents have access to and can take advantage of the resources provided through the program, including low-income and multi-cultural communities. See Metro Strategic plan to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion. |
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Education Community members can learn how to get safely to school, transportation options available, and how to be safe walking, biking, and driving on our the roads.
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Engineering Engineering addresses the physical environment around schools to create safe and accessible places for walking, biking and rolling.
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Encouragement Ongoing special events encourage parents and children to walk, bike, skate, scoot or roll to school. Some of the current programs include Walk to School Day and Bike to School Day.
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Enforcement Safer traffic conditions help parents feel comfortable about their children walking and biking to school. Enforcement can work to ensure traffic laws are obeyed around schools using various methods, including enforcing traffic violations, enforcing speed limits and yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.
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Evaluation In order to implement and build upon a SRTS program, data collection using various methods, such as parent surveys, student in-class tallies and other effective strategies, is important. This information helps track trends and monitor program outcomes. Evaluation resources include:
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Benefits
Walking, biking, and rolling are great ways to get more physical activity.
Students who are active in the morning arrive at school focused and ready to learn.
Walking, biking, and rolling are sustainable modes of transportation that don't produce air pollution.
More students walking, biking and rolling to school means less congestion around schools, which is safer and healthier for everyone.
Walking, biking, and rolling get families outside and talking with their neighbors.
Walking, biking, and rolling are inexpensive ways to get around and require little upfront or maintenance costs.
Other resources
- National Center for Safe Routes to School
- This is a great resource for training opportunities and program materials. It also houses tools for collecting data and can generate automatic reports.
- Safe Routes to School National Partnership
This group offers expertise, a national support network, and know-how to help make communities and schools safer, healthier, and more active. - Oregon Safe Routes to School
Information about different programs, resources, events, and funding opportunities. - Safe Routes to School Regional Framework
This Metro Regional Government framework for regional SRTS provides an assessment of existing initiatives and recommended actions to make walking and biking to school easier across the Portland metropolitan area. - The Street Trust
An advocacy organization that promotes healthy and thriving communities where it is safe and easy for people to bike, walk and ride public transit. Their website includes information about walk and bike events, curriculum, rules of the road, and safe streets advocacy opportunities. - Oregon Department of Transportation
Information on ODOT grant opportunities for infrastructure and non-infrastructure programs.
Clackamas County SRTS Success Stories
Bilquist Elementary
Pedestrian education was offered at Bilquist Elementary in the North Clackamas School District and River Grove Elementary in the Lake Oswego School District. Over 150 second graders learned safety tips about managing themselves as walkers on the first day of instruction and then put that into practice on a community walk the second day.
Oak Creek Elementary
Oak Creek Elementary held a bicycle safety event that included lessons about turning, spacing, shifting, and rider control. A mechanic was on hand to do bike checks and adjustments. The twelve participants, and several parent volunteers, concluded the two-day workshop with a ride around the neighborhood.
Lot Whitcomb Elementary
In collaboration with Clackamas County and the neighborhood Community Planning Organization (CPO), Lot Whitcomb Elementary School developed a SRTS Action Plan in 2016. The Action Plan included priority infrastructure projects within the school walk zone and served as a basis to successfully apply for funding through the statewide infrastructure grant program established by Keep Oregon Moving (House Bill 2017). The new crosswalk at SE Fuller Rd and SE Causey Ave. was one of only 24 awards from 112 applicants from across the state during the first grant cycle in 2018.
Poster art contest, Molalla students K-8
During the Spring of 2019 students from elementary and middle schools in the Molalla community submitted original artwork highlighting the benefits of walking, biking and rolling to school. Partnering with Todos Juntos and Molalla Communities that Care to promote the contest, 22 entries were turned in for Clackamas County’s first ever Safe Routes to School poster art contest. The County Pedestrian and Bikeway Advisory Committee selected winners based on originality, visual design and composition, and clear communication of the theme. All participants received a prize pack and certificate and contest winners were presented with gift card awards at their school’s year-end assembly.
