News

Safe Routes to School is a federally funded bicycle safety program that is alive and well in Napa County. It is working in schools across the county as a means of reducing traffic congestion, increasing physical activity and encouraging community involvement in solving complex problems. Napa Bike assisted the Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) in securing its grant which enabled the program to start in 2010. 

The goal of the program is to get more children walking and biking to school safely. The program includes education, incentives, engineering and partnerships with parents, city governments, schools and law enforcement. Currently, the main emphasis is classroom education that teaches children traffic safety skills. Contests and events encourage students and their parents to shift their travel behavior through fun community activities.

This year, Napa Bike is helping NCOE’s Safe Routes staff partner with schools in jurisdictions throughout the County, facilitating agreements with school staff to run the program in more locations. The most recent example is the program just completed at Blue Oak School in Napa. All of the 4^th and 5^th graders learned how to check that their bikes are ready to ride, how to adjust their helmets to fit right, and most important, how to ride predictably and safely on city streets. Next month, thanks to the efforts of Napa Bike, the children in another new school will take advantage of this program in Calistoga.

You can learn more about this program here.