Safe Routes to School: Launching the Program at Oak Grove Elementary School

• Main Author: Henderson, Susan
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Archive @ GSU 2010
• Subjects: Safe routes to school; walking; built environment; Dekalb County school; biking; physical activity; Public Health
• Online Access: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/iph_theses/85; http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1102&context=iph_theses

Safe Routes to School is a national program funded by the Department of Transportation. The goal of the program is to increase children’s active transport to and from school, primarily by walking, in response to the epidemic of childhood obesity. Implementation at the state and local level has had varying success. In my capstone presentation, I discuss the creation, implementation, and ongoing success of the program at Oak Grove Elementary, a local public school in Georgia. The program is comprised of the 5 Es: Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering, and Evaluation. Each of these five components will be focused on, as well as ongoing challenges in the struggle to retrofit a school to make it more walker-friendly in a car-dependent environment.