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MetroPlan presenter outlines Safe Routes to School toolkit, cites high share of driven trips
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Summary
MetroPlan staff presented an 81-page Safe Routes to School report, urged a mix of infrastructure and education measures, and said data show a large share of students are driven to school; staff will finalize updated data and offer a PE curriculum toolkit and trainings this summer.
Austin, MetroPlan's transportation demand management planner, presented MetroPlan's Safe Routes to School programming update to the advisory committee on Feb. 4, describing a three‑phase project of stakeholder outreach, data collection and upcoming program implementation and funding work.
"My name is Austin, and I'm the transportation demand management planner for MetroPlan," he told the group as he introduced phase summaries and key findings. Austin said the MetroPlan report draws on parent surveys, student travel tallies, on‑site observations, Mountain Line transit data and Flagstaff Unified School District yellow‑bus records.
The presentation included a sample school report card and a summary of top barriers: high vehicle speeds on arterial approaches, missing sidewalks, crossing safety and limited school‑zone signage. Austin said the dataset shows a large share of students are driven to school and that many schools fall inside walkable neighborhoods where mode shift could be possible; he cautioned some school data were incomplete and would be updated before the final release.
MetroPlan's recommendations mix low‑cost programs and infrastructure: targeted bike/ped education and travel‑training in PE classes, flashing school‑zone signs and crossings, completing sidewalk gaps on priority corridors (Mustang Way, Butler Avenue, Knowles/Sonawa area), and piloting incentives such as student parking fees to discourage driving. Austin said Mountain Line EcoPasses for middle and high school students are a local tool to support transit use.
On implementation, Austin described a draft toolkit for PE teachers that includes a grade‑by‑grade bike and pedestrian curriculum, classroom materials and an audit for older students. "We are going to train FUSD PE teachers in August," he said, and MetroPlan plans to bring a national partnership workshop and send two PE teachers to a national conference as part of rollout support.
Committee members asked about data collection methods and historic comparisons; Austin said this is MetroPlan's first standardized student travel tally in the district and that some schools had not yet returned data, so reported figures are subject to revision. The presentation also included a completed bike‑rack inventory and observations of growing micro‑mobility (electric bikes, scooters) in school areas.
Next steps: MetroPlan will update the dataset with outstanding school returns, publish the revised 81‑page report to committee members and present a fuller report at the committee's June meeting. No formal motions or votes were taken on the Safe Routes package at this meeting.
Ending: The advisory committee closed the discussion with requests for follow‑up on specific corridors and an offer to review draft materials before district training.
