Safe Routes to School in St. Louis & Beyond

Abstract

Since the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill in 2021, high schools and nonprofits are now (re)eligible for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) funding. This capstone’s client, Trailnet, is an active transportation non-profit based in St. Louis, Missouri, where the capstone project will center its work. Trailnet has tasked this project with addressing three questions: 1) why there is a lack of programmatic funding in the St. Louis region 2) how current successful/engaged SRTS programs around the nation are operating and 3) how Trailnet could practically support local school districts.
In pursuit of these questions, this capstone followed a three-prong approach. By conducting informational interviews with national SRTS practitioners, working with a local school district (Bayless), and researching funding evaluation criteria in the region, we were able to highlight both challenges and opportunities for kids walking and biking to school in St. Louis. Specifically, we address the challenges that resource-scarce school districts face in applying for national funding and the importance of building coalitions and having champions at the school level. To tackle these resource constraints, we propose the creation of a planning assistance fund and an administrative support fund, similar to those of Oregon, for communities that could be classified as “support priority”. The first will provide resources to help schools compile initial resources necessary to be competitive for national funding while the latter will help sustain schools with programming support upon receipt of grant money. Additionally, this capstone pursued an extensive evaluation of current funding criteria and made recommendations for updated priorities that highlight environmental and transportation justice considerations.

About the Project

This capstone project was completed in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Urban & Regional Planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.