The backstory on most successful community programs includes some degree of collaboration. In Albany, OR, there was concern about childhood obesity and the growing traffic volume from several new subdivisions where many parents and buses where driving kids to school. The city manager collaborated with community groups, the school district, and parents to implement a program that improved roadway safety and encouraged more children to walk or bike to school.

In 2005, two community groups approached City Manager Wes Hare about bringing the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to Albany. The program, in part funded by the Federal Highway Administration, incorporates physical activity into the daily routine of children and reduces traffic congestion and air pollution, enhancing quality of life.

Hare liked the idea. He put together a committee, which he chaired, that included city staff, school district staff, community groups, and parents. Members of the committee worked closely together to define and pursue their goals and strategies for getting more children to walk or bike to school. The city manager’s office was also crucial in securing grants for infrastructure improvements by submitting numerous applications for federal and state funding.

Some of the infrastructure improvements include new signs that help reduce the speed limit in school zones; new crosswalks and pedestrian signs which alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians in the crosswalk; and several pedestrian islands or “refuges” that make it easier to cross busy roads. The pedestrian islands provide a safe way for children to cross the street because they slow traffic speeds and require children to look only one way at a time. Volunteers, usually dedicated parents, who meet the children and walk them to school are stationed along the walking routes .

Some of the benefits of the SRTS program in Albany include:

• One school district being able to eliminate three bus routes for an annual savings of $78,000.
• Walking and biking to school provided the schoolchildren with an opportunity for routine activity, especially at a time when schools are cutting back on physical education classes in response to budget cuts.
• Encouraging more children to walk or bike to school—and making it safe for them to do so—takes cars off the road.

The success of the SRTS program in Albany has largely been a result of the high level of collaboration between the city manager’s office and the school district. The city manager and school superintendent meet once a month to review issues, including the SRTS program, nutrition, and physical fitness in the schools; the possible elimination of school bus routes; and other issues that affect both the city and the schools.

The SRTS committee also worked with the city council and the support of local elected officials has been critical to the success of the program. Hare says that “City managers and superintendents propose, but our elected officials dispose.”

Collaboration of this kind helped move the program forward. With all the key stakeholders as members of the committee, things moved along a lot faster, there was a quicker response to problems, and committee members had more accurate information about the issues at hand.