Safe Routes to School for All

Organization: Sacramento City Unified School District

Funding Request: $500,000

Project Summary

The overarching goal of Sacramento City Unified School District’s Safe Routes to School for All project is to increase transportation equity by way of enhanced mobility access and safe routes to schools in our highest need school neighborhoods in South Sacramento through a community-led planning and capacity-building process. The community priorities and identified solutions will be documented in the Community Transportation Needs Assessment

Project Descriptions and Transportation Equity

The “Safe Routes to School for All” project aims to enhance transportation equity for vulnerable students and families within the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD). It will involve a community-led Transportation Needs Assessment, guided by a Stakeholder Advisory Committee, to identify travel behaviors, transportation inequities, barriers to active transportation, and community priorities. The project will include a toolkit for ongoing capacity building beyond the grant period and will focus on equitable solutions benefiting all students.

To gather diverse input, the project team, alongside student interns and the Advisory Committee, will implement an engagement strategy featuring surveys, workshops, and community events. The initiative emphasizes youth and school ownership, with training sessions and pilot programs to help school communities adopt transportation equity strategies.

The proposal highlights the importance of leveraging diverse expertise and networks among community partners to foster inclusive discussions. It also addresses challenges in capacity building, particularly exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, by employing best practices to encourage participation. Civic Thread and United Latinos will collaborate with SCUSD to enhance organizational capacity in active transportation and community engagement.

Community Benefit

The project aims to support up to 15 Title I schools within a 1-2-mile radius in South Sacramento, serving nearly 6,600 students, particularly focusing on marginalized communities such as BIPOC, LGBTIA+, non-English speakers, refugees, and those with disabilities. Due to budget cuts, SCUSD lacks general education bussing and crossing guards, leading some students to rely on inadequate Regional Transit options. Sacramento faces significant traffic safety issues, with high rates of speed-related fatalities and pedestrian injuries, particularly among children. The project intends to address these challenges by involving historically excluded communities in planning and decision-making, ensuring that investments are directed to areas of greatest need.

Partnerships and Structure

SCUSD will collaborate with Civic Thread and United Latinos through recurring meetings to ensure effective project management and community engagement. Civic Thread will focus on active transportation and capacity building, while United Latinos will lead outreach efforts, particularly for Spanish-speaking and AAPI families, using an arts-oriented approach. A bimonthly Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) will include community representatives, student interns, and parents to guide the engagement processes and Needs Assessment. The project aims to amplify underserved voices by implementing best practices in engagement and developing culturally-sensitive strategies.