Student Transportation Survey

Newton Student Transportation SurveyCity of Newton Planning DepartmentSafe Routes to SchoolSpring 2014

We did a survey two years ago.

The survey confirmed what we already knew, cars are the primary way Newton students get to school.

Survey says10,000 vehicle trips a day

My main focus today will be on the survey process.

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Newton & safe routes to school21 schools13,000+ studentsNeighborhood based school system

85% of elementary students live within 1 mile of school

Newton SRTS Task Force is 8 years oldAll elementary and middle schools are SRTS partnersProgram is primarily run by PTO volunteersSome involvement from city staff police best ally

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A little bit about Newton 21 schools 13,000 Students 9th largest school district 16 square miles so its complicated when thinking about school transportation

Our task force started in 2008 with a few parents who didnt understand why so many children were being driven to school

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Perfect scenario

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SidewalksCrossing guardsNeighborhood schools

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So why is there a line of cars?

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EncouragementGreenNeighborhood friendlyEasier for parentsSaves moneyExerciseSocial timeImproved feeling of well beingTime to thinkBetter prepared to learnSense of accomplishmentIndependence

5Is Not enough!evaluation: valywSH()n/ nounthe making of a judgment about the amount, number, or value of something; assessment

Data to help develop solutions that Newton leaders could get behind.

We have been promoting the benefits of walking and biking to school for 8 years. Still there are too many kids being driven to school and limited support at the city level.

Then came the rebuilding of the elementary schools, a 20 year plan to rebuild all 15 initial school designs were making schools even less walk & bike friendly multi-lane drop-off loops 10 feet from the front door were being touted as the solution to vehicle congestion

We realized we needed Newton specific data to convince city officials to support walking and biking to school so we applied for a MAPC community grant to do a survey

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Survey developmentDetermine how children get to school and why choices madeMeasure mode shift potential

Online via Survey Monkey with links sent by PTOs and Principals Collected for one month, early March to early April

High response rate, averaging just over 30% of families responded

Mostly positive follow up emails sent by many respondents

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Purpose: determine how children get to school and why these choices are made ; Measure mode shift potential from cars to walking, biking , bus

Process: A group of SRTS volunteers along with a few city officials created the questions Programed them into Survey Monkey (VERY EASY) to create an online survey for families to complete k 12.

Administered: Survey Monkey link sent via PTO newsletters and Principal emails The survey data was collected from early March to early April; reminder emails

We were shocked by the response rate over 30% of families completed the survey not a short survey 67 questions (20+ per school level) Average person took 10 minutes to complete 6

Survey componentsHow students are getting to school?Why these choices are being madeSentiments on walkable schoolsSpecific barriers facedHow far students live from school7Mode Shift Potential

Questions fell into 5 major categories7

How are students getting to school

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We started with the assumption that distance from school is a key factor in what mode of travel students chose

Instead of doing a straight average by school, we averaged by distance bands from school.

For example 25 families at school Z who live between mile and 1 mile responded to our survey, on average they walk 2 times a week and drive 3 times a week, we assumed that all 100 families that live between mile and 1 mile have the same behavior

This was more work, it gave us a much more accurate estimates

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Why are these choices being made & Barriers facedMultiple Choice:Why we walkWhy we driveWhy we dont take the busHow weather impacts likelihood to drive

Multiple choice with detailed comment sections:Issues on walking/biking route9

Mulitple choice questions

Why we walk?No driver or vehicle availablework/other starts before child leaveswe choose not to driveOpen response ____________ received many positive comments (we like to walk, my kids need the exercise, they walk with friends, it is easier than driving)

Why we driveWhy my children dont take the bus

IssuesMissing sidewalkSidewalks are blocked with shrubberyVehicles are parked on the sidewalk Traffic Signals do not give us enough time to cross Crosswalk is faded Unsafe driving along the route to school

Gave them opportunity to say if this was an issue and whether it impacted their willingness to walk or bike

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Assessing sentiment/Support for changeAgree/Disagree Questions

10If the route were safer we would walk moreThe city should fix structural issues now!The city should enforce snow removal ordinanceI want to live in a community where most kids walk to schoolMore should be done to encourage children to walk/bike/bus to school

building the case for change

If the route were safer, my child would walk/bike/scooter more

I think my childs school should do more to encourage children to walk/bike to school or take the bus

I want to live in a community where most kids walk or bike to school

This showed that mode shift would be received more positively by parents than many city officials currently think

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mode shift opportunity11

Shows transportation by distance by mode

When calculating mode shift opportunity we set modest goals by mode:

For example:

Make walking and biking for students living within 1 mile of school the primary mode of transportation increase from 54% to 78% 360 less daily car trips

Increase bus ridership for students that qualifyincrease from 39% to 44% 200 less daily car trips

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Summarizing Mode Shift (all schools)12

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learnings & missed opportunitiesEncouragement SRTS Programs vs. Principal Support13

Equity: Driving not possible for everyone, thus need to give everyone safer, easier optionsParents dont seem to know optionsShould have included questions on walking school buses and remote drop off and Too many students being driven very short distances (under mile)Adjust expected walk time & and think about overall commute time

We need to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike 40% of students who live under mile are driven

77% of students that live beyond mile but dont qualify for the bus will be driven

We need to address ridership on the bus 47% of students eligible for the bus are being driven instead

Student Transportation is a matter of equity: For 1 in 10 families driving is not a choice (parents or caretakers dont drive, no car, parents leave before kids leave) so we need safer, easier non-car options

Encouragement is helping but we could do a much better job encouraging families to walk/bike/take the bus only 10% of middle school and high school families feel that their schools encourage non-car transportation

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The future of our sidewalks?

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personal mantra: Teaching children to navigate the world on two feet is critical to their march to adulthood. Teaching them to navigate the world on two wheels is life changing.14

Thank youQuestions?15

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