The Safe Routes to School program aims to provide Oregon students with enjoyable access to school.

Last school year, three Salem-Keizer students were hit by vehicles before or after school. Two more were hit the previous year.

Pedestrian and cyclist safety is a problem across the state and country, from urban to rural areas. Safety can be even worse in poorer communities that have less access to public transportation, sidewalks and other protective infrastructure.

A year ago, pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. reached a 40-year high. And while Oregon doesn’t have as many fatalities as states like Texas, Florida or California, the data shows that Oregon is one of three states, along with Arizona and Virginia, where the pedestrian fatality rate is rising the fastest.

Local human rights activists want to do something to stop this — starting with children.

“It always saddens me that it’s the kids… who always have to bear the brunt of it when they can’t make decisions, they don’t have control, they don’t have the power,” said Beth Schmidt, Safe Routes to School program coordinator in Salem-Keizer.

“I think this opportunity at least gives back to them by letting them know we care about them,” she said. “We’re going to go to school, have fun, and show them they’re important to us.”

Safe Routes to School is a national public health initiative that aims to improve, educate, and encourage children to safely walk, rollerblade, or bike to school. While their projects have existed in the U.S. since the 1990s, Congress has provided funding since 2005.

Those federal funds flow through state transportation departments to specific projects in local school districts and governments. Area coordinators like Schmidt then provide safety education, “push events” and advocacy to improve public infrastructure.

There are established programs throughout Oregon, including Eugene, Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Bend and La Grande. Yet until 2020, there was no program in Oregon’s capital and second-largest school district: Salem-Keizer Public Schools.

Schmidt smiled and said she likes to think they simply “saved the best for last.”

Since the Salem program began at the beginning of the pandemic, Schmidt said it was difficult for the previous coordinator to get into schools. Schmidt took on the role in fall 2022, fueled by his passion for the job after a friend and coworker was killed in a crosswalk.

Since then, Schmidt has been working to build a program in Salem-Keizer. It’s still early days, but she’s helped implement a district-wide physical education safety curriculum and coordinated several pedestrian and bike “buses,” where students gather before the bell and practice walking to school together.

Schmidt also advocated for statewide curriculum requirements and worked with other transportation groups to create mobile classrooms.

Through these efforts, children learn: How to ride a bike? What should I do to be more visible when walking or cycling in the dark? When does a pedestrian have the right of way? What to do if the driver does not see you? How to get on and off a bike on a city bus?

Schmidt, a former teacher herself, works primarily with elementary school students but has begun expanding her work to local high schools.

Such activities, Schmidt says, not only provide children with more tools and skills, but also create important opportunities for socializing.

“It’s a time for kids to be social, and they really need that right now,” she said. “They don’t have a lot of time to do that and really build community.

“I hope it’s something really beautiful that happens here.”

Keizer students take part in a bus walk

On a sunny morning in May, dozens of students, family members and teachers gathered with Safe Routes staff and district administrators at Claggett Creek Park in Keizer for a walking bus event.

Schmidt addressed the crowd, and they all headed toward Kennedy Elementary School.

“Please be careful when crossing the street,” she instructed. “Look both ways. Make sure there are no cars. Stay with adults. Make good decisions and, most of all, have fun.”

Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark was also there.

“One of the things we’re working hard on as a city is making sure that the spaces that we can travel through are safe and well-maintained,” Clark told the children. “We’re building more. We have more projects that we want to do so that as they grow up, they have even better ways to get around Keizer.”

Early in the half-mile march, as the group began to climb a hill, one of the children said, “My legs are going to burn!”

“Do you want me to carry your instrument?” an adult asked.

“If you can,” he replied. “That is heavy.”

There were parts of the walk where there were no sidewalks. Children at the front held a “Safe Routes to School” banner so drivers and passersby could see it. Children chatted and giggled as they walked. Adults made sure they stuck together.

Several cars drove through one residential intersection despite Oregon state law requiring drivers to stop to let pedestrians cross the street.

“Nobody move,” Schmidt said, calmly but firmly, at the front of the line. “There are too many cars and they clearly don’t know the law, do they?

“Well, I don’t know, but I understand that pedestrians have the right of way,” she made sure the students understood, “last time I checked, even at an unmarked intersection.”

Kennedy Elementary School Principal Miranda Pickner said she was excited to host such an event for her students for several reasons.

For starters, getting outside and walking is essential for staff and students because it promotes healthy brain activity, she said. Research on Safe Routes programs has shown that they promote increased physical activity, which leads to better focus in the classroom and economic and environmental benefits.

It’s also about building student confidence and bringing people together. Pickner said they’re taking every opportunity to get staff, students and families in the same place, and it’s an easy way to show families that walking to school is an option for them.

Pickner said there are academic benefits, too. Not only do kids perform better through exercise and socialization before school, but a key metric — attendance — improves.

“When our kids feel a sense of community and a sense of … unity, they’re more likely to come to school every day,” she said. “Attendance is very important. We need them here every day.”

Pushing for change at the state level

Schmidt wants to bring events like this to as many Salem-Keizer schools as possible. She said the district’s leadership, including Superintendent Andrea Castañeda, has been very supportive. Schmidt hopes to collect more data on the district as the programs mature to see how their efforts affect things like attendance.

Schmidt also supports making it mandatory statewide.

There is precedent. For example, in 2023, Minnesota lawmakers mandated that all students in grades K-8 in public schools receive age-appropriate education on walking and biking safety within the first few weeks of school.

Schmidt said some Oregon communities, including Eugene, already incorporate pedestrian safety lessons into their curriculum. She’s eager to see the programs expand to other areas. She cited McMinnville, Monmouth, Redmond and The Dalles as examples.

“Everybody is working so hard everywhere to really work on educating students,” Schmidt said of her fellow Safe Routes coordinators, adding that these solutions shouldn’t be a hard sell. After all, she said, “this is a fun time.”

“By giving them the freedom to choose how to navigate the world, we are giving them a skill that will serve them well throughout life.”