Two widely used sources for establishing a SRTS program are the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center’s Steps to Safe Routes to School and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Safe Routes to School Guidance Manual. A typical SRTS planning process includes the following steps:

1. Organizing a Team
2. Developing Vision & Goals
3. Gathering Data and Identifying Issues
4. Developing a Plan
5. Implementing the Plan
6. Evaluating & Monitoring the Plan

1) Organizing a Team

Identify people who want to make walking and bicycling to school safe and appealing for children. Sharing concerns, interests and knowledge among a variety of community members with diverse expertise can enable groups to tackle many issues. Create a Safe Routes to School Task Force to organize and manage the program.

Potential task force members may include:

• Schools (administrators, teachers, board members, school nurses, crossing guards, etc.)
• Community Members (neighborhood associations, businesses, bicycle/pedestrian organizations, public health professionals, etc.)
• Local Governments (council/commission members, traffic engineers, planners, law enforcement officers, bicycle/pedestrian coordinators).

Parents
Parents are the most active SRTS participants because of their involvement with their children’s safety and well-being. They usually form and run SRTS Task Forces and help organize events, classroom activities, and publicize SRTS programs.

Teachers
Teachers can offer tremendous support for a SRTS program by bringing information into the classroom, reminding students of special events, and assigning student activities. Active teachers often set an example by walking or biking to school themselves.

Local Government Staff
A close relationship with local law enforcement and public works departments is essential to a successful SRTS program. Law enforcement can provide extra patrols and escorts on Walk and Bike to School Days and assist with classroom lessons. Public works can implement facilities strategies to improve safe routes.

Elected Officials
School boards, city councils and county commissions are the vital participants in SRTS programs. These elected officials ultimately decide on infrastructure improvements and resource allocations.

Businesses and Community Groups
Chambers of commerce and area businesses can assist SRTS programs by providing donations. Businesses can also help publicize programs and provide staging areas for Walk and Bike to School Day events.

The first Task Force meeting will be an ideal opportunity to introduce the program and get to know fellow team members. Be sure to set time aside in the beginning for people to introduce themselves and talk about their reasons for participating. Discuss program goals and establish a list of tasks and a timeline for achieving those tasks.

The following tips provided by NHTSA will help ensure uniform involvement by all members of your team:

• Establish a regular meeting time when most task force members can attend.
• Make sure everyone involved receives meeting announcements.
• Set agendas and stick to them.
• Make your meetings concise and productive.
• Create a warm and welcoming environment.
• Start with small and achievable goals.
• Grow your program out of the special needs of your community.
• Set a schedule of events and tasks.
• End each meeting with a review of task assignments and set the next meeting date.

2. Developing a Vision and Goals

What do you envision the SRTS program to be? It is important to define a vision and goals (i.e. getting more kids walking and bicycling to school on a regular basis). One commonly-used approach is to ask program participants to share a vision for SRTS five years into the future. This focuses task force members on what is achievable.

While programs differ, in general the goals of SRTS programs are to:

• Encourage children to walk and bicycle to and from school.
• Increase awareness of the importance of regular physical activity for children, improved pedestrian safety, and healthy and walkable community environments.
• Mobilize communities to work together to create safe routes to school.

3. Gathering Data and Identifying Issues

Collecting additional data can help identify needed program elements and provide a means to measure the impact of the program. Traffic counts and injury data can help identify driver-related safety issues. Walking around the school as a group to observe arrivals and departures is one of the most effective ways to reach a collective understanding of the issues and potential solutions. Parent surveys can also be used to understand attitudes towards walking to school and identify barriers to walking that need to be addressed. See the NHSTA Toolkit for sample forms to use.

Central to SRTS plans are the improvement components. The Task Force should identify a focused area surrounding a school, mapping the routes that children currently take to school, suggest safer routes when necessary, and recommend improvements. Involve the students and have them map the routes themselves. In coordination with local government staff, develop the improvement plan to address such safety issues as speeding cars, dangerous intersections, and missing or poor condition crosswalks, sidewalks, and bike lanes.

Parisi and Kallins recommend answering the following technical questions as part of any SRTS plan:

• Are sidewalks and pathways clear of obstacles, in good condition and continuous along the routes?
• Are there crosswalks and pedestrian signals at busy streets and intersections?
• Are curb ramps present at intersection crosswalks? Are they ADA compliant?
• Do drivers yield to pedestrians at driveways and crosswalks?
• Is secure and convenient bicycle parking available at school?
• Is there sufficient operating width for bicycles along the route?
• Are curb radii too large, thus encouraging fast vehicle cornering?
• Do drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists behave appropriately?
• Are sufficient sight distances and visibility provided, especially for pedestrians less than five feet tall?
• Are there adequate and visible signing and pavement markings?
• Is there enough lighting?

Solutions to identified issues should include a combination of education, encouragement, engineering and enforcement strategies. Safety is a primary consideration. If the environment is not safe, determine what problems need to be addressed. Some problems will require engineering solutions; some enforcement and education; some a combination of all three. If the environment is safe, then encouragement strategies can start immediately.

Be sure to share the data you’ve collected with the wider community. Publish it in your newsletter or flyer. Speak to the PTA, neighborhood groups, and the city council. Invite the community to a special SRTS forum to present the data, discuss issues revealed in the survey, and explain the SRTS program.

4. Developing the Action Plan

The Action Plan should include, where necessary, encouragement, enforcement, education and engineering strategies. Create a time schedule for the plan. Strategies that can be accomplished in the short-term will help the Task Force feel successful early in the process and can build support for long-range initiatives.

Always keep the basics in mind when developing your plan. The two greatest challenges to increasing the number of children who walk or bike to school on a regular basis are barriers associated with transportation facilities and motor vehicles, and the location of the school itself. Good planning is critical to both prevent these problems and to help fix them where they exist.

Include projects that can be measured and monitored. For example, what percentage of the third graders walked to school on Walk to School Day? How many children live within two miles of the school they attend?

According to Bruce S. Appleyard and the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, SRTS programs work best when:

• Locating schools in close proximity to the children who attend them.
• Providing good facilities for walking and bicycling to school.
• Reducing the threats to health and safety posed by motor vehicles, pollution, and crime.
• Fostering a cultural shift that accords high value and broad responsibility for the realization of this goal.

5. Implementing and Promote the Action Plan

Hold a kick off event. Participate in International Walk to School Day or celebrate a Walking Wednesday. If it is too far for children to walk, identify places where families can park and walk part of the way. If improvements are needed before children can to walk to school, start walking on school grounds.

To sustain the program, consider:

• Letting people know about your successes. Every new success builds increased support for the program.
• Promote successes in local media through press releases and articles. 
• Hold regular SRTS task force meetings to keep the momentum going.
• Coordinate and cooperate with all agencies responsible for implementing projects that can impact your SRTS program. Georgia DOT and local public works department projects have a major impact on circulation patterns.
• Promote your project interests by attending and lobbying at city council and school board meetings.
• Capitalize on planned projects.  For example, local planning departments may promote new school construction within walking and biking distance of residential areas. Participate in the planning phase to ensure that routes around the school are conducive to walking and biking.  
• Teach Children in the Classroom: Teaching children basic pedestrian and bicycle skills is vital to the success of your SRTS program. Rodeos and obstacle courses are examples of fun learning activities for children.

6. Evaluate Plan and Vision, Objectives

After determining what works well and what doesn’t, re-work the initial plan to ensure it is always relevant and is addressing the issues.