Fairbanks Metropolitan Area Transportation System
Safe Routes to School Program

Draft Report

The draft engineering report was open for public comment through October 24, 2011. Although the comment period is closed, you can still view the complete document here:

• 1. Introduction, Inventory, & Recommendations (32mb)
• 2. Parent Surveys (2mb)
• 3. Student Tallies (70mb)

About Our Project

Safe Routes to School programs enable community leaders, schools and parents across the United States to improve safety and encourage more children, including children with disabilities, to safely walk and bicycle to school. In the process, programs are working to reduce traffic congestion and improve health and the environment, making communities more livable for everyone.

This program is designed to address safety, health and transportation considerations in the vicinity of Elementary and Middle schools (K‐8) in Alaska. Thirty years ago, more than 66 percent of all children in America walked to school. Today, the number of American children who walk or bike to school has dramatically fallen to a mere 13 percent. Why are the majority of students riding a bus or being transported by car? Student safety concerns and America's increased dependence upon vehicle transportation have led to the significant decline of student walkers and bikers. Recent research indicates that 20‐25 percent of morning traffic is a result of parents driving their children to school. The increased traffic has added to existing congestion problems and has created an unsafe walking and biking environment for students.

Children need physical activity to help their muscle, circulation, respiratory and immune system functioning.

There are many measurable advantages for students who walk or bike to school. The added physical activity to a student's day will help prevent obesity, promote a healthy lifestyle and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The increased physical activity elevates the likelihood that children will grow into adults who lead active lifestyles, reducing their risk of health complications due to a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, minimizing the number of vehicles in the vicinity of schools will reduce air and noise pollution, and create a safer environment for pedestrians and bicyclists.

This program is a Federal Highway Administration program funded through SAFETEA‐LU, SEC 1404. As such it makes reimbursable grants available to schools and communities to help address planning, design and construction improvements in the vicinity of schools.

This phase of the Fairbanks Metropolitan Area Transportation System Safe Routes to School (FMATS SRTS) program examines conditions around 18 schools and conducts projects and activities that work to improve safety and reduce traffic and air pollution near schools. The program focuses on parent and student education and safety infrastructure improvement planning as strategies to address the drastic decline in students walking and biking to school.

Currently there are no known programs within the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District focused specifically on encouraging walking and biking as alternatives to the car commute. There are no walking and biking route maps available to aid parents and students in identifying safe routes for walking/biking to school. Likewise, there are no plans for safety-related infrastructure improvements specifically within school walk-zones in the FMATS planning area.

Products resulting from this project include:

• Walking/Biking behavior data report of schools who chose to participate
• Pedestrian and Bicycle facility infrastructure recommendations
• Walking/Biking route maps
• SRTS toolkits for each of the 18 schools

Schools Who Chose to Participate

• Badger Road Elementary
• Barnette Elementary
• Denali Elementary
• Hunter Elementary
• Nordale Elementary
• North Pole Elementary
• University Park Elementary
• Woodriver Elementary
• Tanana Middle
  

Timeline

The SRTS project began in September 2010 and will continue through January 2012.  Major milestones for the project include:

• Fall 2010: Existing Infrastructure Inventory
• Spring 2011: Engineering Recommendations
• Fall 2011: SRTS Toolkits
• Winter 2011: Final Report

Contact

Patrick Cotter
GIS Planner
PDC Inc. Engineers
Planning Design Construction
Email

Donna J. Gardino
FMATS and MPO Coordinator
907.459.6786 phone
907.459.6783 fax
Email