United States Department of Transportation
i
Evaluation of safe routes to school programs : qualitative and quantitative analysis of parental decision-making.
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2011-08-01
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Abstract:In the United States, walking to school declined from 42% of 5-18 year olds in 1969 to 16% in 20011. The US
Department of Transportation has responded to this dramatic decrease by funding the Safe Routes to School program
for $612 million in SAFETEA-LU. The program’s funding emphasize infrastructure improvements such as
completing sidewalks and adding crosswalks by requiring between 70% and 90% of funding be allocated toward
infrastructure. However, recent research shows that 2 of 3 children who currently are driven to school, but live close
enough to walk, do so because it is more convenient for parents2. Currently, policymakers and planners have few
tools to estimate the effectiveness of SRTS interventions.
This research project fills the research gap by developing a stated preference survey to better understand how SRTS
interventions affect rates of walking. The stated preference survey identifies how parental attitudes and time
constraints affect intervention effectiveness. A unique aspect of this study is the comparison of the results of the
stated preference experiments with on-the-ground evaluations of Portland’s SRTS program which were collected
concurrently for a separate project.
The second component of the project was a series of focus groups with parents of grade levels at selected schools
participating in the SRTS program. Results from the focus groups provide more in-depth information about parental
attitudes and time constraints as they affect their decisions about their child’s transportation to school. In addition, it
will enhance the program evaluation and provide valuable data to help program better target their program efforts
toward parents.
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