Measuring and maximizing walk to school potential: A data-driven approach to safe routes to school programming

Previous research finds that travel distance, a function of both infrastructure availability and home/school locations, is the principal determinant of student travel mode. However, few Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs use spatial data to quantify mode shift potential before prioritizing scarce resources or setting outcome objectives. We offer a new analytic approach that helps target intervention to students who could walk or bike to school but are currently being driven. We mapped a pedestrian network comprising: 1) roadways with sidewalks, 2) low-volume roadways, and 3) school grounds for over 800 Massachusetts schools and delineated 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mile ‘walksheds' around each school. We used a new parent survey instrument (paper and online) to gather the following student data: grade; home location; mode to and from school (most days); and vehicle availability. A survey of 9,000 students in 15 urban and suburban schools generated 4,500 responses. 54% of students living in the 1.0 mile walkshed are driven to school. Walking/biking account for 26% of all school trips and 36% of trips less than one mile. Proximity is a prerequisite to high walk/bike shares, which exceed 30% only when more than 75% of students live within one mile. Schools with a high student proximity and low walk/bike share represent the best potential for mode shift and greenhouse gas reductions of up to 5%. New tools can help communities target SRTS programs to schools and neighborhoods where they are likely to have the greatest impact.