Parent/Guardian Travel Survey
A parent/guardian travel survey helps gauge how and where students travel to/from school through a three-minute online or paper questionnaire. Results show the average distance students travel to/from school, as well as the number of students living within walking/biking distance of the school. The results also estimate the annual greenhouse gas emissions released by single-occupancy vehicles used to drive students to/from school. The survey is offered in nine languages. Schools are offered an incentive to achieve a 50 percent or higher response rate. Contact your Outreach Coordinator to schedule a survey at your school.
All results are presented via a formal SRTS survey report. The link to the online survey can be found here: https://masaferoutessurvey.org/
Links to the paper surveys:
Walkshed Maps
SRTS can create two versions of walkshed maps for partner schools. A walkshed map shows student addresses (cross street locations or exact address) as points on a map with a half mile and full mile radius drawn to show distance from the school. A comfortable walkshed is usually defined up to one mile, depending on the age of the student. The first version is featured on the last page of the parent/guardian travel survey report. The second version can be requested without a survey if a spreadsheet containing only student addresses (no names) is submitted to SRTS. This is a quick, useful first step in selecting potential walking or biking routes prior to a walk or bike assessment.
Arrival/Dismissal Observations
Outreach coordinators will look at a school’s immediate environment and surroundings during school arrival and dismissal. This is a critical data collection step toward gaining a clear overview of a student, parent/guardian, and staff behavior during an often-hazardous time. During an observation, we look at the interaction between walker/bikers, buses and vehicles. We also look at crossing guard utilization and rule violation of current arrival and dismissal procedures.
All results are presented via a formal SRTS observation report.
Walk/Bike Assessments
Outreach coordinators will examine the outdoor surroundings of a school to identify or study the routes that students use to walk to/from school. During an assessment, participants observe and document safety and accessibility issues and experience walking and biking conditions firsthand.
All results are presented via a formal SRTS assessment report.
Annual Partner Survey
Once a year, SRTS collects Program satisfaction data and ideas from our partner school, caregivers, and stakeholders in Massachusetts to better understand school and community needs. We are constantly striving to improve and adapt the Program to suit our partners’ needs in any way we can. Thank you for your participation!
Dashboards
Safe Routes to School Program Dashboard
Welcome to the NEW SRTS Dashboard – your resource to track engagement, activities, participation, and more for your school.
We are excited to announce this new resource for SRTS Partner Schools, parents/guardians, and other SRTS stakeholders. We are so proud of our Partner Schools for their work and dedication to the SRTS Program. The new Dashboard is a great way to follow your school’s engagement within the SRTS Program. You can see your school’s activities, event participation, information on parent/guardian surveys, arrival/dismissal observations, and more. The SRTS Dashboard is another step in keeping a foundation of equity and transparency as we provide support to students and schools across the Commonwealth.
Just click here to access the dashboard, select your school (by municipality, district, or Outreach Coordinator) and view the recent SRTS activities at your school.
MassDOT Municipal Transportation Dashboard
This MassDOT dashboard is designed to display a municipality's vehicular crash data through observing the pedestrian-involved, cyclist-involved, or vehicular crashes in the community or near a school. There is an ability to toggle crashes on and off within a .5 mile walkshed and 2-mile bikeshed.
Statistics shown include crashes by mode such as vehicular-only, cyclist-involved or pedestrian-involved, crash time of day, crash time of year, weather conditions, severity by mode, and severity based on weather conditions. Public school officials and other Safe Routes to School stakeholders in Massachusetts could find this data useful for planning purposes. Click Here to access the Municipal Transportation Dashboard. Select the municipality name and then the "Safety" dashboard.
To learn more about the other evaluation services that our program offers such as an Arrival/Dismissal observation, how to set up a Parent/Guardian Travel Survey, and coordinating a Walk/Bike Assessment, contact your Safe Routes to School outreach coordinator.
Additional Links
- National SRTS Walkability Checklist
- Travel Tally Handout: Student surveys are conducted by teachers through a one-page datasheet based on student hand-raising in the classroom over a three-day period.