Safe Routes to School is an international movement to make walking and biking to school safer for kids.
The Program
We believe that every child should be able to walk or bike to school safely.
The Napa County Safe Routes to School program began over a decade ago under the leadership of the Napa County Office of Education (NCOE). Throughout the years, the Safe Routes program has grown, and in 2018, the Napa County Bicycle Coalition (NCBC) joined the Safe Routes team in partnership with NCOE and the Napa Valley Transportation Authority. Today, NCBC leads the Napa County Safe Routes program countywide.
The Napa County Safe Routes to School program provides on-bike safety education for elementary school students, encouragement programs like Bike to School Day, and works to identify and remove barriers to safe walking and biking.
Our Work
Current SRTS Program
Currently, our Safe Routes to School program includes;
- Bicycle safety education – Our three-day curriculum provides local 4th & 5th grade classes with 90 minutes of in-class education on all things bike safety and 45 minutes of on-bike practice in a bike rodeo course
- Bike rodeos – On-campus courses made of cones and chalk that mimic real-life roads and traffic scenarios for students on bikes and scooters to get hands-on traffic safety practice
- Annual countywide encouragement events – Walk and Roll to School Day in October and Bike to School Day in May celebrate students making the active choice to walk, bike, and roll to school
- Walking school buses – We are working with a few local middle schools to start up walking school bus programs and encourage students to walk to school through friendly competition. More to come soon!
- Community rides – Our community rides are family-friendly, fun and casual ways to get more folks experiencing bike joy and practicing on-road bike safety in a positive group environment
- Helmet distributions – We are getting more helmets on heads through our youth helmet distributions in connection with our bike safety education courses
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Past SRTS Work
Safe Routes to School Walk Audit reports can be found on our SRTS Walk Audit Project Page below!
