Overview
Safe Routes is a program coordinated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation with two simple goals: Where it is safe, get kids walking and bicycling; where it is not safe, make it safe. The program offers pedestrian and safety education, encourages active travel to school, and supports improvements to pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Through the program, goHunterdon provides assistance to schools and municipalities to make walking and bicycling safer for all members of the community.
Encouragement & Education Efforts
Empower Program
The Empower Pedestrian Safety Program equips special needs students, ages 13-21, with practical, real world pedestrian safety skills needed to navigate their community safely, increase independence, and improve quality of life. Using a “Learn, Apply, Create, Present” approach, Empower uses a mix of indoor learning, real life outdoor experience, and empowerment through art and community messaging.
Traffic Gardens
A traffic garden is a small-scale, car-free street network that allows children to learn bike and pedestrian safety through active play. They feature mini roads, stop signs, crosswalks, and roundabouts, letting kids practice real-world road rules safely. goHunterdon works with local schools to secure funding to install traffic gardens on school grounds and provides educational presentations on the unique outdoor classroom.
NJ Safe Routes to School Recognition Program
The New Jersey Safe Routes Resource Center, funded by the NJ Department of Transportation, recognizes municipalities and schools (public, private, or charter) for their commitment to the Safe Routes to School program. goHunterdon is available to assist municipalities and schools with their applications. The deadline to apply is January 31 each year. Those recognized are presented with a certificate of recognition at the goHunterdon Annual Meeting & Awards Breakfast.
Walking School Bus
A walking school bus is a group of children who walk to and from school with adult supervision. The program can be informal or formal, and can include fixed routes with specific time and meeting points, with designated chaperones. Walking school buses help provide physical activity, support pedestrian safety skills development, reduce concerns about children traveling to and from school, and can reduce traffic congestion around schools.
International Walk to School Day
International Walk to School Day (I-WALK) is an annual event held in October that focuses on pedestrian safety and active lifestyles. Students, families, school communities, and local organizations are encouraged to walk (or bike) to school to promote safer and more active lifestyles.
Winter Walk
Winter Walk events provide an opportunity to keep students engaged in walking to school over the winter months and to reinforce walking and bicycling safety behaviors. An added incentive for students to participate in Winter Walk is the friendly countywide competition to win the perpetual “Polar Bear” Trophy, presented to school with the highest percentage of students walking.
Hunterdon County “Walk or Roll” to School Month
Hunterdon County “Walk or Roll to School” is a motivating event that takes place in Hunterdon County each spring. Throughout the month, participating schools promote activities like “Walking School Buses” and “Bicycle Trains” ~ groups of students who walk, roll, or bicycle to school along designated routes under adult supervision~ to encourage active travel to school.
Bicycle and Scooter Rodeos
Rodeos provide an exciting hands-on opportunity for students to enhance their riding skills in a fun, safe off road environment. Rodeos beging with an “A-B-C” Quick Check to ensure bicycles or scooters are in good working order: A (Air) checks tire pressure, B (Brakes) verifies brake functionality, and C (Chain- bike only) ensures the chain is in good working order. A helmet check is also performed to confirm helmets fit correctly, are worn properly, and meet safety standards.
Safety Presentations
goHunterdon offers grade appropriate pedestrian and bicycle safety education to Hunterdon County K-12 schools. Presentations are highly interactive, engaging students in game format presentations, role play, and behavior modeling.
Assessments/Travel Plans
Walk/Bike Route Assistance, Policy Development
goHunterdon is available to assist schools to identify and develop walking and bicycling to school routes, including mapping walking to biking routes to school. goHunterdon is also available to assist schools who wish to develop or update walk or bike to school policies for Student/Parent Handbooks.
Walk Assessments
goHunterdon is available to facilitate walk assessments for school communities. Walk assessments are a tool to help schools, parents, students, and the community identify barriers that may make it difficult for children to walk school. These assessments evaluate pedestrian facilities like sidewalks, crosswalks, signage, road and neighborhood conditions around the school, and will identify potential improvements that will improve pedestrian and bicycle safety for students.
Travel Plans
goHunterdon is available to assist schools with the development of Safe Routes Travel Plans. A Travel Plan seeks to improve pedestrian and bicycle travel safety with the goal of increasing the number of students who walk and bike to school and to improve safety.
A School Travel Plan identifies and documents:
Hunterdon County School Crossing Guard Appreciation- “Every Crossing Tells a Story”
School crossing guards play an invaluable role ensuring local students as they walk or roll to and from school each day. goHunterdon applauds these everyday heroes who commit to their post and the students they serve each and every day. We recently spent time with local school crossing guards to discuss their work. We are pleased to share a few of their stories.
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