Safe Routes to School

SW helps develop Safer Routes to School

While most of you know about Squeaky Wheels’ hard work on the Sustainable Transportation Plan (STP), many of you may not be aware of our steady work on a  growing Safe Routes to School (SRTS) network focused on the central district schools. Over the past four years, COBI, BISD and Squeaky Wheels have worked together to create both off-road bike routes for kids and families such as Dana’s trail (connecting the High School, Ordway, Commodore, Sakai and Woodward) and safer on-road cycling routes such as the Island Church connector to Sakai and Woodward on Sportsman Club Road. The Grow Avenue traffic calming project makes Grow much safer for both bike commuters and teens cycling to school. And we are also looking forward to the new bike paths along Madison that will connect Ordway, Commodore and the High School safely to Winslow in the coming months.

A SW Safe Routes to School committee has created a set of preliminary maps of existing and potential new cycling and walking routes near Bainbridge Schools. Future projects include a connection between Ordway and Dana’s trail to the Sound to Olympics (STO) trail through Sakai Park (and past our beloved troll Pia); plus another connector to the STO from Sakai and Woodward through Coppertop. You can access these maps on the Squeaky Wheels website at https://www.squeakywheels.org/maps/.

These safer biking routes benefit everyone in the core Winslow area—not just families with kids cycling to school.

Cascade Bicycle Club resources: Beginner tips for Biking https://cascade.org/resources/beginner-tips-biking

King County resources: King County Metro SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL TOOLKIT TABLE OF CONTENTS This toolkit is a do-it-yourself manual, providing guidance on implementing Safe Routes to School activities and programs. Activity ideas and background information are www.kingcounty.gov