SALINAS VALLEY — Greenfield, Soledad and Gonzales have all joined the Safe Routes to School project set to debut with the upcoming school year.
In preparation, sidewalk painting was recently completed in the cities to mark routes for “Walking School Buses” and “Park & Walk,” two programs that will be launched locally to help students find safe walking routes to schools in the fall.
The project is a partnership between the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC), Monterey County Health Department and local volunteers.
The stencil painting kicked off in Greenfield near Oak Avenue Elementary School on June 7, with volunteers from Greenfield High School, Greenfield Community Science Workshop and City of Greenfield helping out.
More stenciling took place on June 10 in Soledad and June 11 in Gonzales.
In Soledad, volunteers from Blue Zones Project and Soledad High School NJROTC assisted with the project.
“One of the best things we can do for ourselves, and our community is to walk more and drive less, and walking part or all of the way to school is a great place to start,” said Ariana Green, senior transportation planner for TAMC. “A walking school bus is an adult-supervised walking group to and from school. Park & Walk programs encourage parents and guardians to drive most of the way to school, park a block or two away from the school and walk the rest of the way.”
The aim of the project is to create an experience that fosters healthy habits as well as reduce traffic around local schools.
“We’re painting the sidewalks to make it really visible and obvious,” Green said. “There’s safety in number for pedestrians. People who are driving will also notice a big group of pedestrians more than just one pedestrian walking down the street.”
Green explained that countywide the trend is moving toward more students being driven to school, something the county would like to reverse.
“In most of our communities across the county, 75% of students are driven to school,” Green said. “We’re trying to shift that into having 70% of people walking or biking or carpooling or taking the bus.”
The three South Monterey County cities involved in the project are among 11 Monterey County schools collaborating in the project.
The stencils were provided by the county health department’s nutrition program, up for use by groups within the county. The stencil painting was outside the project funding, and instead was funded by TAMC.
“We have $20 million over the next 30 years dedicated to Safe Routes to School and we’ve been leveraging that money with state grants,” Green said about funding, including Measure X money. “It helps to have that money because we can do extra things to take our project to the next level, like painting sidewalks.”
In anticipation of the official launch of the program in the fall, the Transportation Agency is providing the opportunity for residents in Gonzales, Soledad and Greenfield to learn and practice walking the routes through a “Summer Walk Challenge” from June 14 to July 31. Participants can walk the routes, snap a picture and post it on Instagram with the tag #saferoutesmonterey for a chance to win prizes.
“Walking is one of the best ways to get and stay healthy, which is why we are challenging the residents of Gonzales, Soledad and Greenfield to try out the new routes to school this summer, in anticipation of implementing it into their daily weekday routines in the fall,” said Jessica Perez, chronic disease prevention coordinator for the Monterey County Health Department.
Perez said the fall launches of the Safe Routes will need volunteer support and the county is currently recruiting volunteers to train in time for the beginning of the school year. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Perez at pe*****@co.us or by calling 831-755-8975.
“It’s important to have walking bus routes in every city, big or small because the health benefits are the same for everyone,” Green said.
