Richfield coordinator says MDOT grant extension will keep Safe Routes program through 2028

Tim Brackett, the district’s Safe Routes to School coordinator, told the Richfield Public Schools board on March 16 that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MDOT) extended the district’s grant for an additional year, keeping his position funded through June 2028.

Brackett told the board the program’s goal “is to make it easier, safer, and more fun for students to walk or bike to school.” He described the work through the six‑E framework—equity, encouragement, education, engagement, evaluation and engineering—and said the district is one of the few suburban districts in the state with a full‑time coordinator.

The presentation emphasized several recent shifts. Brackett said the district’s annual Safe Routes survey showed walking to school fell from about 20% to 8% districtwide in one year, which led staff to pause some encouragement activities (including winter walk day) and adopt a trauma‑informed approach to better address psychological fears and community concerns. “We wanted to make sure...we’re keeping trust and transparency in the community,” he said.

Brackett described program deliverables funded by a 2024 trauma‑informed grant of $30,000, including development of local curriculum and engagement work that reached an estimated 249 people (12 parents/caregivers, 72 high‑school students and 165 middle‑school students). He said parent‑facing videos will be produced for back‑to‑school outreach.

On mode share, Brackett said districtwide biking is about 8%—higher than comparable suburban communities and the statewide average cited in his presentation—and that, for the first time since 2019, more middle and high school students report walking or biking than riding in private vehicles in some measures.

He also showcased equipment and programming: an adaptive bike fleet, balance bikes for younger grades, a secondary fleet for high school, and summer programming with 14 bicycle events open to the community. Brackett said the district will pilot walking‑school buses and bike buses (adult‑led routes that pick up students at stops) as part of broader encouragement efforts.

On infrastructure, Brackett said MDOT awarded grants to rebuild the street in front of Centennial Elementary, to reconstruct 70th in front of RDS and STEM, and to add sidewalks and safer intersections at the Sheridan Hills campus; work at Sheridan Hills is planned for this summer. He said completion of those projects will mean the district has added infrastructure upgrades at all elementary schools since the Safe Routes program began in 2019.

Brackett told the board that, since 2019, the program has secured about $3.2 million in grant funding and that the district contributes an estimated $80,000 per year in in‑kind and local support—work by staff, public‑works partners and volunteers—an amount he described as a strong return on community investment.

Board members asked about what “trauma‑informed” means in practice, sustainment after MDOT funding, county speed‑limit involvement, and how to improve packet materials so the board can easily reference the statistics Brackett shared. Brackett requested volunteer help for encouragement events and said the district is exploring diversified funding sources to sustain the program when MDOT grant funding changes.

The board thanked Brackett for the presentation and for hosting a planned mobile tour during the national Safe Routes to School conference in Minneapolis, which will feature Richfield work for visiting engineers, planners and educators.