Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Program
Alameda County, CA
Project Summary
The Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S) Program is one of the largest in the nation. Each year, the program serves thousands of students at nearly 300 elementary, middle, and high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Alameda County. Since 2017, Toole Design has led the program’s Education and Outreach arm.
We support the Alameda County Transportation Commission to manage and grow the program, recruit new schools, design programming and curricula, support under-resourced schools, enhance program sustainability, build partnerships, and implement creative encouragement and education campaigns. Keep reading to learn more about three key elements of the Alameda County SR2S Program.
Expertise Applied
1. Encouragement, education, and Training
Through events, trainings, resources, and incentives, we encourage students to (safely!) walk, bike, roll, carpool, or take transit to and from school. At the heart of the Safe Routes to Schools Program are three countywide events: International Walk and Roll to School Day, the Golden Sneaker Contest, and Bike to School Day. Ongoing events keep students moving throughout the year.
Beyond events, the Toole Design Team also develops age-appropriate curricula that focus on behavioral change. Our in-classroom educational modules include a Transportation Storytime for elementary schools, “Go Green” environmental curriculum for middle schools, and multimodal Travel Training for middle and high schools.
The program includes a Youth Task Force. Made up of high school students, the Youth Task Force facilitates events for younger grades, encourages peers to get involved, and helps to implement a countywide high school multimodal encouragement event each year. We also offer specialized high school curricula that dive deeper into the issues teenagers care about, such as the climate crisis and mobility justice.
2. Outreach and Communication
We developed a Branding Guide and Communications Master Plan to ensure all materials are consistent, audience-appropriate, and user-friendly. We also develop and edit content for the SR2S website, social media, press releases, and the quarterly newsletter that goes out to over 1,300 parents, teachers, SR2S Champions, and administrators.
3. Equity
Alameda County is an incredibly diverse community, and equity is a core principle of the Alameda County SR2S Program. Our team infuses equity into all aspects of the program, including using demographic data to distribute resources to schools that need services most; developing a list of high-priority equity schools that receive additional support and resources; and translating program materials into 5+ languages, especially those geared toward parents and caregivers. We are also working to become more inclusive for families with disabilities by hiring a firm to provide presentations in American Sign Language and working with direct service providers and partners that offer adaptive bikes and equipment.
