HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2407-3271CITY OF PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
Monday, April 21, 2025
Council Chambers & Hybrid
5:30 PM
Agenda Item
15.Informational Report: Safe Routes to School Annual Report for the Period of July 1, 2022
through June 30, 2025; CEQA Status – Not a Project.
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Transportation
Meeting Date: April 21, 2025
Report #:2407-3271
TITLE
Informational Report: Safe Routes to School Annual Report for the Period of July 1, 2022
through June 30, 2025; CEQA Status – Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report, and no action is required.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This informational report provides a three-year summary of Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
program accomplishments and an analysis of 2016-2024 school commute travel mode share
trends that are used to inform future SRTS program goals and objectives.
BACKGROUND
The 2022-25 review period covered in this informational report recognizes the thirty-year
anniversary of the Palo Alto School District (PAUSD), Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and City
of Palo Alto-supported Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Partnership1. Key thirty-year Partnership
achievements include in-school K-3, 5 and 6 grade bicycle and pedestrian safety education, a
local commitment to prioritizing school commute route safety and accessibility, and success in
growing and sustaining nearly four times the national student walk and bike mode share rate.2
The SRTS program has eliminated roughly 3,824,000 yearly car trips from local roadways,
1 Timing differences between the City’s fiscal year, the school calendar year, and the September SRTS annual data
collection period present a unique challenge in the development of SRTS Annual Reports. A June 2025 report that
correctly aligns with the City’s 2024-25 fiscal year prevents the potential for public comment during the summer
holiday season. Alternatively, a complete report for the 2023-2024 fiscal year shared during the 2024 school year
may only provide quantitative data through 2023, limiting potential trend analysis. For this reason, quantitative
data through September 2024 and narrative data through April 2025 are provided in this Annual Report. If needed,
April-June 2025 narrative data will be incorporated into the July 2025 through June 2026 SRTS Annual Report.
2 City School Liaison Committee, April 1, 2025. Agenda Item #4 SR# 2503-4407,
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=17126
reducing risk for families who walk, bike and use transit, and improving roadway access for
families who must drive.3 For these reasons, SRTS Partnership work and program strategies are
incorporated in four City Comprehensive Plan 2030 Programs and Policies, and are indirectly
referenced in another seven, as well play a key role in the 2022 Sustainability and Climate
Action Plan (S/CAP) (Attachment A).
ANALYSIS
2022-25 SRTS Partnership Program and Project Analysis
The following summary highlights June 2022-25 SRTS Partnership accomplishments in
Education, Engineering, Engagement, Encouragement, Equity and Evaluation, the six pillars of
the SRTS program. The 2017-22 SRTS Five-Year Work Plan of yearly strategic and ongoing
objectives are shared in Attachment B. Efforts to complete Five-Year Work Plan yearly strategic
objectives yielded a mean yearly completion rate of 72 percent, while Five-Year Work Plan
ongoing objectives yielded a 100 percent completion rate. Efforts to generate a new SRTS Work
Plan were paused due to gaps in volunteer and staffing capacity in 2023 and 2024. The SRTS
Partnership aims to relaunch a revised SRTS Work Plan process in Fall 2025, pending staff and
volunteer capacity.
•2022-25 Education Program Highlights
▪Hired a Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)-funded SRTS Youth Coordinator to
expand middle and high school transportation safety education programming,
increase student walk and bike mode-share rates and to accommodate emerging
secondary student interest in SRTS-relevant content areas
▪Received approval to develop a bicycle safety education traffic garden at the
Ventura Community Center in collaboration with the Public Works and
Community Services Departments
▪Consolidated multiple bicycle and pedestrian-safety education service contracts
into two contracts with vetted service providers
•2022-25 Engineering Project Highlights
▪Awarded federal funding to construct protected bike lanes along East Meadow
Drive and Fabian Way as part of the South Palo Alto Bikeways Project
▪Received unanimous City Council approval for No-Right-On-Red restrictions at
nine El Camino Real school commute corridor intersections as part of the
Caltrans SR82 El Camino Real Bikeway Project
▪Collaborated with PAUSD partners to approve the application of temporary
green bike lanes along the Jane Lathrop Stanford (JLS) Middle School East
3 City School Liaison Committee, April 1, 2025. Agenda Item #4 SR# 2503-4407
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=17126
Meadow frontage to accommodate on-campus parking lot closures during multi-
year school-campus construction
•2022-25 Encouragement Program Highlights
▪Collaborated with PTA Transportation Safety Representatives and community
volunteers to bring Bike Palo Alto back as an in-person, family-friendly cycling
celebration
▪Provided technical assistance and outreach to facilitate partner requests to
update the 2006 SRTS Partnership Consensus Statement and Bylaws
▪Supported the collection of school community feedback on Bicycle and
Pedestrian Transportation Plan and of the Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan
•2022-25 Engagement Program Highlights
▪Continued Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD) Adopt-a-School efforts to station
publicly requested Community Service Officers and uniformed motorcycle patrol
officers around schools during arrival/dismissal times
▪In partnership with PAUSD and PAPD staff, developed and shared electric bicycle
safety communications
▪In partnership with PAUSD, stationed permanent crossing guards at Cowper
Street and East Meadow Drive, and at Stanford Avenue and Escondido Road
•2022-25 Equity Program Highlights
▪Piloted a Bicycle Equity Initiative in collaboration with PAUSD and with local
transportation equity-focused organizations, including the Silicon Valley Bike
Exchange and Live in Peace Bike Shop, resulting in the repair of more than 500
bikes among five PAUSD secondary schools, and close to 100 percent on-bike
and on-scooter participation to support 24 PAUSD Third Grade Bicycle Life Skills
Bike Rodeo events
▪Partnered with the Palo Alto PTA, PAUSD and community members to develop a
PTA-sponsored Black History Heart and Soul Roll family-cycling event
•2022-25 Evaluation Program Highlights
▪Generated a 2024 Third Grade Bicycle Safety Rodeo evaluation feedback
approval rating of 100 percent among 82 educators, parents, and community
volunteers
▪Enhanced PAUSD Classroom Travel Tally summary data tables and PTA Parked
Bike Rack Count secondary graphs to improve clarity and support pre-and post-
pandemic mode share comparisons
2022-25 SRTS Quantitative School Commute Analysis
Each September, Classroom travel tallies and yearly parked bike rack counts are administered
at all PAUSD schools. Preliminary 2023 analysis shared during the 2021-22 Safe Routes to
School Annual Report to City Council forecasted a trend in declining walk and bike student
mode share.4 To confirm this analysis, staff supplemented 2022-24 yearly travel tally and
parked bike count data findings with a mean summary of 2016-19 pre-pandemic and 2021-24
post-pandemic travel tally and parked bike count percentages. Findings are shared below each
table and graph. Additional data considerations are shared in Attachment D.
Table 1 Overview: To calculate Travel Tally data, PAUSD school administrators email all K-12
elementary school homeroom or secondary English educators an online classroom show-of-
hands tally form. Educators ask students to identify which travel mode was predominantly
taken when arriving at school that morning. 5
PAUSD Classroom Travel Tally Summary Results: The sum of percentage data shared in the
Table 1 PAUSD Classroom Travel Tally Summary Difference btw. 2016-19 and 2021-24
Walk/Bike Mean column suggests a combined K-12 post-pandemic walk/bike mode share loss
of eight percent, when compared with 2016-19 pre-pandemic walk/bike mode share data. The
breakdown by grade level suggests a one percent grade K-5 elementary school loss, a four
percent grade 6-8 middle school loss, and a three percent grade 9-12 high school loss.
Although not reflected in the table above, staff conducted a comparative, separate grades 6-12
travel tally analysis for walking and biking to determine whether losses are more closely
correlated to biking or walking mode share. A minimal one percent difference between 2016-19
pre-pandemic middle and high school walk percentages suggests losses described in the
4 Study Session: Safe Routes to School Annual Report for 2021-2022. Page 9:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/transportation/safe-routes-to-schools/annual-reports-
information/srts-annual-report-2021-2022.pdf
5 To eliminate the impact of yearly enrollment fluctuations, percentage counts are the primary metric referenced
for comparisons in this table. Numeric data is provided for a general reference. Table 1 percentage estimates are
generated by dividing the number of respondents for each travel mode with the total number of respondents for
grades K-5, 6-8 and 9-12, respectively. Table 1 numeric estimates are generated by multiplying percentage data for
each grade with the total school enrollment for each specific year.
Difference btw. 2016-19 and 2021-24 Walk/Bike Mean column are more closely correlated to
losses in biking rather than walking.
Chart 1 and Chart 2 Middle School and High School Parked Bike Rack Count Overview: PTA
Transportation Safety Reps conduct one-day counts of parked bikes at each campus to produce
the data in the Parked Bike Rack Count charts. This long-term data smooths out yearly outliers
and helps identify possible social bias in Table 1. Stacked bars show each school's bike
percentage, with a linear trend line showing the combined mean. Data from 2004–13 (left of
the red dashed line) is condensed for clarity but shows a 2–3% annual increase. Raw bike
counts are listed below each percentage in Charts 1 and 2.
Chart 1: 2003-24 Middle School Parked Bike Rack Counts
Chart 2: 2003-24 High School Parked Bike Rack Counts
2003-24 Middle and High School Parked Bike Rack Count Summary Results and Trend
Analysis: Charts 1 and 2 show a 4 percent drop in parked bike counts at middle and high
schools from pre- to post-pandemic (48 percent in 2016–19 vs. 44 percent in 2021–24). Chart 1
indicates a 3 percent decrease in middle school bike rack occupancy, from an average of 50
percent pre-pandemic (2016-19) to 47 percent during 2021-24. Similarly, Chart 2 shows a 5
percent decline in high school bike rack occupancy, dropping from 45 to 40 percent over the
same periods.
Middle and High School Table 1 Travel Tally Data Comparisons with Charts 1 and 2 Bike
Counts: Table 1 data shows a seven percent drop in walk/bike rates for grades 6–12 between
2016–19 and 2021–24, aligning with an eight percent decline in combined middle and high
school bike counts from Charts 1 and 2. Middle school walk/bike rates fell four percent,
matching a three percent drop in Chart 1 bike counts. High school data shows a three percent
walk/bike decline, consistent with a five percent drop in Chart 2 bike counts. Elementary bike
counts also declined slightly—one percent —from 16 to 15 percent.
Data Interpretation: Middle and high school 2016-19 pre-pandemic bike count data suggests
record mean percentages, with high schools exceeding 50 percent cycling rates for the first
time. The 2021-2024 post-pandemic data confirms a disruption to these trends at the middle
and high school level. Declining student walk and bike mode share suggests an uptick of an
estimated 4,600 additional daily car trips, or up to 825,100 additional yearly car trips along
school commute corridors. Declining middle and high school parked bike count data suggests a
mean loss of up 324 daily secondary student bike trips per day. The following factors and
recommended actions may help to explain and reverse mode share declines.
Changing Community Priorities: Since the pandemic, there was a contraction of partner
involvement. Endorsing the revised Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Partnership Consensus
Statement and Bylaws and approving the Palo Alto Council of PTAs (PTAC), City Council, and
PAUSD Board of Education will reaffirm local commitment to SRTS goals.
Youth Education: Parent-led programs, such as the 8th-grade "Getting to High School" initiative
were not sustained in 2022-25. This coincided with reduced participation in opt-in bike safety
education programs like Middle School Bike Skills. The new Safe Routes to School Youth
Coordinator/Associate Planner will expand teen bicycle and pedestrian safety educational
offerings including enhanced e-mobility devices road-sharing education.
Transit Options: Pandemic/post-pandemic transit cuts included eliminating the Palo Alto
Shuttles (serving Paly, Greene, and JLS), reducing VTA 288 service, and scaling back PAUSD
yellow bus routes at several schools. To improve youth access to sustainable and equitable
transit, the new SRTS Middle and High School Associate Planner will work with transit providers
to explore expansion opportunities. Staff will also continue reviewing youth ride-hailing data to
evaluate levels of use during peak commute times.
School Site Access: Since the pandemic, locking school entry points before and after morning
arrival may have disrupted some active commutes by increasing time-pressured driving and
causing confusion about access. To address this, the City School Transportation Safety
Committee will evaluate construction alternatives, arrival/dismissal best practices and support
a collaborative approach to improve pedestrian and cyclist access.
School Community Engagement and Outreach: Engaging busy families remains challenging,
especially when misinformation circulates on social media platforms where city staff are unable
to respond. To address this, staff continue soliciting parent feedback to inform Bicycle and
Pedestrian Transportation Plan proposed projects and priorities, in addition to drafting
educational resources to support the development of effective transportation service requests.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The SRTS program has 3.0 FTE supporting the program, with 1.0 FTE funded through 2016 Measure B
Local Streets and Roads Funding. The program has an annual operating budget of $0.4M and receives
an annual appropriation of $0.1M in the SRTS Capital Improvement Project (PL-00026). Staff is not
requesting any supplemental funding at this time, and no additional budgetary action is
required.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The Safe Routes to School Partnership is a collaborative program. According to the International
Association of Public Participation (IAP2), collaborative programs allow for partnership with
members of the public to identify problems and develop solutions. SRTS partners include OOT
and Police Department staff, PTA parent Transportation Safety Representatives at each PAUSD
school, student representatives, school principals, and PAUSD staff in Sustainability, Facilities,
and Administration. For decades, the City of Palo Alto, PAUSD, and the PTA have hosted
monthly student-transportation safety-focused collaboration called the City/School
Transportation Safety Committee (CSTSC). Between 2017 and 2022, a Five-Year Action Plan
developed and adopted by SRTS stakeholders furthered the mission of the Partnership. Yearly
reports to the City/School Liaison Committee and City Council have historically supported
program transparency, accountability and effective communication between staff, community
members and elected officials.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This report is for informational purposes only with no action required by the Council and is
therefore not a project subject to CEQA review.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: SRTS-Related City Policies
Attachment B: SRTS 2017-23 Five-Year Work Plan Outcomes
Attachment C: SRTS 2022-25 Comprehensive Program Summary
Attachment D: SRTS 2022-25 Data Considerations
APPROVED BY:
Lily Lim-Tsao, Interim Chief Transportation Official
Attachment A: SRTS-Referenced and Related 2030 Comprehensive Plan and 2022
Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Programs, Policies and Goals
The Palo Alto Safe Routes to School program is consistent with the following key
transportation goals in the City’s Comprehensive Plan 2030, and 2022 Sustainability and
Climate Action Plan S/CAP Goals and Key Actions
• Policy T-1.16: Promote personal transportation vehicles as an alternative to cars (e.g.
bicycles, skateboards, roller blades) to get to work, school, shopping, recreational
facilities and transit stops.
• Program T-1.16.4: Participate in local and regional encouragement events such as Palo
Alto Walk and Rolls, Bike to Work Day and Bike Palo Alto that encourage a culture of
bicycling and walking as alternative to single-occupant vehicle trips.
• Policy T1.19: Provide facilities that encourage and support bicycling and walking.
• Program T1.19.2: Prioritize investment for enhanced pedestrian access and bicycle use
within Palo Alto and to/from surrounding communities, including by incorporating
improvements from related city plans, for example the 2012 Palo Alto Bicycle +
Pedestrian Transportation Plan and the Parks, Trails & Open Space master Plan, as
amended, into the Capital Improvements Program.
• Policy T-2.7: Work with the PAUSD to resolve traffic congestion issues associated with
student drop-off and pick-up. Address pedestrian and bicycle access, circulation and
related issues, such as coordinating bell schedules on City rights-of-way adjacent to
schools and on PAUSD property.
• Program T6.1.1: Follow the principles of the Safe Routes to Schools program to
implement traffic safety measures that focus on safe routes to work, shopping,
downtown, community services, parks, and schools including all designated school
commute corridors.
• Policy T-6.4: Continue the Safe Routes to School partnership with PAUSD and the Palo
Alto Council of PTAs.
• Policy T-6.5: Support PAUSD adoption of standard Safe Routes to School policies and
regulations that address the five E's of education, encouragement, enforcement,
engineering and evaluation.
• Program T6.1.2: Develop, distribute, and aggressively promote maps and apps showing
safe routes to work, shopping, community services, parks and schools within Palo Alto in
collaboration with stakeholders, including PAUSD, major employers, TMA's, local
businesses and community organizations.
• Program T6.6.2: Continue to provide educational programs for children and adults, in
partnership with community-based educational organizations, to promote safe walking
and the safe use of bicycles, including the City-sponsored bicycle education programs in
the public schools and the bicycle traffic school program for juveniles.
• Policy T-6.2: Pursue the goal of zero severe injuries and roadway fatalities on Palo Alto
city streets.
• Program T6.6.3: Work with PAUSD and employers to promote roadway safety for all
users, including motorized alternatives to cars and bikes such as mopeds and e-bikes,
through educational programs for children and adults.
• S/CAP Key Actions M4: Improve Transportation Demand Management for employees
and residents, including adopting a TDM Ordinance, allocating funding to scale up TDM
programming, establishing a Safe Routes for Older Adults/Aging in Place program, and
continuing the Safe Routes to School program
1
Attachment B: SRTS 2017-23 Five-Year Work Plan Outcomes
The Five-Year Action Plan reviewed and shared as part of the March 2017 SRTS Annual Report to the City Council served as a
roadmap for Palo Alto’s Safe Routes to School program development through June 2022. Staff capacity, pandemic impacts and
changing program priorities factored into the completion of yearly strategic objectives. Yearly goal completion is contingent on Safe
Routes to School funding/capacity and subject to change as demand dictates.
Mission: To enhance and sustain the City/PAUSD/PTA/Youth community partnership to reduce risk to students en route to and from
school, and to encourage more families to choose healthy, active, sustainable alternatives to driving solo more often.
Goal: To grow and strengthen community-wide support through the SRTS 6 E's (Education, Encouragement, Engineering,
Engagement, Evaluation, and Equity) model for safe, active, healthy, sustainable, school commutes.
Table 1: Safe Routes to School Five-Year Work Plan Yearly Strategic Objectives: 2017-2022
Adopt and
institutionalize
key SRTS
practices and
policies across
the Partnership and gather best
practices from
elsewhere
Provide, continue
and enhance school
and community
based SRTS
education
programs, materials and
communications
Expand and enhance
SRTS events and
encouragement
programs and
materials to
communicate the value of SRTS to
parents, students
and the community
Gather data to
assess and
improve SRTS
program outcomes
Engineer routes
to school to
develop a safer
and more
efficient
network for families
choosing active
transportation
Increase
awareness &
engagement
between City
Departments
and the community to
advance
awareness of
the SRTS
mission, goals & strategies
Commit to an
equitable
distribution of
SRTS resources
to encourage
broad SRTS community
participation
Year 1
Strategic
Objectives
Year: 2017-18
Completion
Rate: 100%
Work toward
PAUSD SRTS
policy adoption
Build out two
Stanford service-
learning education,
evaluation &
enforcement
projects
Expand Youth
Develop SRTS
Public Service
Announcements
Increase Spanish
and Mandarin materials
Participate in
countywide SRTS
data pilot
Integrate
Statewide Traffic System (SWITRS)
data into SRTS
Complete
two site
assessments and
update Walk and
Roll Maps
Update City
Comprehensive
Plan policies
This goal was
not developed
2
for Environmental
Sustainability Conf.
Participation
Develop SRTS
educational posters
Pilot online
travel tally
Year 2
Strategic
Objectives
Year: 2018-19
Completion
Rate: 89%
Develop a
PAUSD SRTS
policy to sustain
ongoing
commitment
from PAUSD
Explore
optional and
compulsory SRTS
high school
education programs
Develop a
communications plan
outline
Develop a public
list of carpooling
resources
Develop a
PAUSD parent
survey to evaluate
participant
demographics and
identify challenges
to more active
transportation
Complete two
site assessments
with updated
Walk and Roll
Maps for Palo
Verde and Gunn
H.S.
Create an
enforcement
strategy
to reflect
changing staffing
levels by shifting
traffic
enforcement
role to patrol
officers
Conduct a
bike repair class
with student
input
Promote
safer routes for
East Palo Alto
PAUSD student
bicyclists
Year 3
Strategic
Objectives
Year: 2019-20
Completion
Rate: 57%
Develop
school report
cards
summarizing
travel mode split,
SR2S activities
undertaken, and
the level of green
travel status
Implement optional
and compulsory
SRTS high education
programs
Develop fact-
based and consistent
Safe Routes to School
messages that can be
used on social media
Administer a
PAUSD parent
survey to evaluate
participant
demographics and
identify challenges
to more active
transportation
Complete two
site assessments
with updated
Walk and Roll
Maps for Palo
Verde and Gunn
H.S.
Work with
PAPD/City to
promote the
Bike Index
Registry as a
means of
preventing bike
theft and create
a workflow at
PAPD to include
Bike Index
checks on all recovered bikes
Work with
PAUSD Family
Engagement
Specialists to
develop an
Equity Action
Plan to support
underrepresent
ed and under-
resourced
communities
Year 4-5
Strategic
Objectives
Year: 2020-22
Completion
Rate: 57%
Hold two
PAUSD/City/PTA
Partnership
meetings to re-
initiate PAUSD
SRTS policy
implementation
and renew
Partnership
Consensus
Statement
Enhance High
School youth
outreach
Enhance SRTS
online educational
materials and
resource library
Ensure updated,
standardized SRTS
language is included
in all PAUSD websites
and
parent handbooks
Pilot one Winter
Walk and Roll event
Conduct two
Complete Year
3 Strategy to
distribute a PAUSD
parent survey
Develop a
behavior change
focused SRTS
infographic
Complete two
site assessments
Work with the
Community
Services
Department to
administer a
bicycle facility
needs
assessment i.e.,
“Safe Routes to
Parks”
Ensure that
Complete Year
3 Strategy to
Work with
PAUSD Family
Engagement
Specialists to
develop an
Equity Action
Plan
Increase SRTS outreach
3
Include Youth as
the Fourth
Partner of the PA
SRTS Partnership
local family cycling
events
relevant
transportation
concept plans,
updated
Pedestrian
Bicycle Plans and
proposed
community
engagement
strategies are
reviewed by the
CTSTSC
to students
with special
needs and
other
disabilities by
conducting a
minimum of
one SRTS
presentation
Table 2: of Safe Routes to School Five-Year Work Plan Ongoing Strategic Objectives: 2017-2022
Adopt and
institutionalize
key SRTS
practices and policies across
the Partnership
and gather best
practices from
elsewhere
Provide, continue and enhance
school and community based
SRTS education programs,
materials and communications
Expand and enhance
SRTS events and
encouragement
programs and materials to
communicate the
value of SRTS to
parents, students
and the community
Gather data to
assess and
improve SRTS
program outcomes
Engineer routes
to school to
develop a safer
and more efficient network
for families
choosing active
transportation
Increase
awareness &
engagement
between City Departments and
the community to
advance
awareness of the
SRTS mission, goals & strategies
Commit to an
equitable
distribution of
SRTS resources to encourage broad
SRTS community
participation
Completion Rate: 100%
1. Support Safe
Routes to School
Transportation
Safety
Representatives
at each school
site
2. PTA inspires
action and
educates
potential leaders
about public
1. Cultivate a community of
parents and others to build a
network of skilled leaders for
education and
advocacy
2. Support active transportation
events during the year by setting
up information tables, assisting
families with route planning and
responding to infrastructure
concerns
3. Maintain K-2 in-class
1. Support Spring and
Fall Walk & Roll
Week 2. Support Bike to
Work
Day
3. Support City
participation in Bike
Palo Alto as
communicated by
the City Manager's
Office
1. Incorporate
traffic and
engineering data
into mode split
and modal share
assessments
2. Explain the
purpose of data
collection to
PAUSD
administrators
and share the
1. Assist with
bicycle
infrastructure
design review to
inform
transportation
planning
processes
2. Design and
provide materials
and education
about new
1. Support the
build-out of the
City of Palo Alto
Bicycle and
Pedestrian
Transportation
Plan
2. Provide students
and families with
transit system
information and
offer guidance of
1. Develop
Spanish and
Chinese language
materials
2. Promote a "no-
guilt approach" to
encourage
participation via
all transportation
modes
3. Support free
service, such as
4
process,
governance and
SRTS
advocacy
3. Support
increased uniform
patrol presence to
encourage and
enforce
compliance with
existing
laws
4. Maintain the
City School Traffic
Safety Committee
(CSTSC) as a
forum to further
the SRTS
Partnership's
mission, goals & strategies
5. Improve
communication of
SRTS Consensus
Statement and
other policies,
including PAUSD
Building for
Excellence
Requirements,
Palo Alto Traffic
Safety Control
guidelines and
use of the
HeadsUp
Construction
communication
tool
educational offerings and
optimize the program to match
students capabilities, support
educational best practices and
incorporate infrastructure
updates 4. Maintain 3rd grade Bicycle Life
Skills in-class Curriculum and
optimize program to match
student capabilities, support best
practices and incorporate
infrastructure
updates
5. Maintain 5th grade in-class
educational offerings and
optimize the program to match
students capabilities, support
best practices and incorporate
infrastructure
updates 6. Maintain 6th grade in-class
educational offerings and
optimize programs to match
student capabilities, support best
practices and incorporate
infrastructure
updates
7. Maintain 8th grade offerings
and optimize programs to match
student capabilities, support best
practices and incorporate
infrastructure
updates
8. Align parents message with
student educational
programming
9. Grow youth participation in
educational programming
4. Communicate
program activities
and successes to the
broader
community
5. Use Walk and Roll
Maps and "Safety
Tips for
Peds/Bikes/Drivers"
as part of
messaging
6. Employ purposeful
incentives to support
SRTS
participation
7. Communicate the
value of bicycling,
walking, transit and
sharing
rides 8. Enhance website
functionality and
user
experience
9. Support parent
education, including
Back to School
Nights, spring
information nights
for rising 5th, 6th,
and 7th graders and
providing SRTS
information in Back-
to-School
packets 10. Develop a
communication plan
data 3. Conduct yearly
online travel
tallies for PAUSD
grades K-12
4. Conduct yearly
bike counts
5. Manage local
and
administrative
data requests
infrastructure
improvements
3. Advocate as a
Partnership for
the rapid
implementation
of bike network,
bike boulevards,
bike racks, arterial
projects and
bicycle
plans
4. Respond to
Safe Routes to
School -related
Palo Alto 311
request
5. Conduct
community site
visits 6. Provide
crossing guard
management,
including
assessing needs,
developing
contracts and
replying to public
feedback
7. Develop
material to
support new
engineering/infra
structure
treatments
proposed transit
changes
3. Model walking,
biking, carpool,
and transit through
daily
transportation
decisions
4. Assist with plans
to develop a more
efficient roadway
network for
families choosing
active
transportation
5. Collaborate with
local agencies,
including public
works, utilities, law
enforcement and district officials to
support motorist,
pedestrians, and
bicyclists
6. Update SRTS
Onboarding
Manual
bike repair,
helmet and bike
light distribution
and compulsory
education to
ensure that
under-resourced
students can
access important
safety resources
in a way that does
not stigmatize
them
4. Ensure
ongoing
awareness
regarding the
geographic
distribution of
SRTS staff time and resources
among Palo Alto
regions and
across
neighborhoods
5. Support off-site
free or low-cost
alternative
commute
transportation
services that are
targeted to at-risk
families
5
opportunities, such a Youth for
Environmental Sustainability
Conference
Participation
10. Build out bus/shuttle
resources and assist with
schedules
outline for crisis
communications
#Category Program/Project Status Notes
1 Education Kinder-1 Grade-wide Pedestrian Safety Assemblies Ongoing
Compulsory, 95 percent approval rating among 32 educators for the 2024-
25 school year
2 Education 2nd Grade Classroom-based walking field trip Ongoing
Compulsory, 97 percent approval rating among 28 educators for the 2024-
25 school year
3 Education 3rd Grade Bicycle Life Skills Curriculum Ongoing
Compulsory, 100 percent approval rating among 9 educators, 69 parents
and 3 community volunteers for the 2024-25 school year
4 Education 5th Grade Bicycle Life Skills Curriculum Refresher Ongoing
Compulsory, 97 percent approval rating among 8 educators for the 2024-
25 school year
5 Education 6th Grade Back to School Bicycle Safety Orientation Ongoing Compulsory
6 Education Middle School Bike Skills Ongoing
Opt-in summer class, 91 percent approval rating among 32 participants
for the 2024-25 school year
7 Education Eighth Grade Getting to High School Biking Event Completed Pilot discontinued due to limited PAUSD resources8EducationEighth Grade Getting to High School Community Rides Completed Pilot discontinued due to limited PAUSD resources
9 Education PAUSD Adaptive Bike Rodeo Pilot Completed Pilot discontinued due to limited PAUSD resources
10 Encouragement City School Transportation Safety Committee Meetings Ongoing 9 meetings/year @ 20 participants over 3 years
11 Encouragement Fall & Spring Walk and Roll to School Events Ongoing Hosted by PTA
12 Encouragement Bike Palo Alto Ongoing Event sponsorship and informaton table
13 Encouragement Safe Routes PTA Transportation Safety Representative Orientation Ongoing Hosted by PTA
14 Encouragement Regional SRTS Data Provider Meetings Ongoing Quarterly
15 Encouragement
1:1 Meetings with Parents, Educators, School Administrators and
Community Partners Ongoing Approx. 3-5 meetings/week
16 Encouragement Sustainability Meetings Ongoing Hosted by PTA
17 Encouragement SRTS Policy Working Group Ongoing Hosted by San Mateo Office of Education
18 Encouragement Office of Transportation Open House I Ongoing Provided safety education information and activities
19 Encouragement MSC Open House Ongoing Provided safety education information and activities
20 Encouragement Website Management Ongoing Ongoing efforts to update website meeting information and upload data
21 Encouragement Office of Transportation Open House II Ongoing Provided safety education information and activities
22 Enforcement Collision Reporting Ongoing
Monthly Reports shared by PA Police at City School Transportation Safety
Committee Meetings
23 Enforcement Crossing Guard Contract Management Ongoing Managed by PAPD
24 Enforcement
Community Service Officer participation in Palo Alto 3rd Grade Bike
Rodeos Ongoing 12 events/year @ 2 Community Service Officer participants over 3 years
25 Equity Bike Equity Initiative Pilot Ongoing Details provided in 22-24 Annual Report Highlights
26 Equity Palo Alto Heart and Soul Roll Black History Community Ride Support Ongoing Details provided in 22-24 Annual Report Highlights
27 Equity Lunar New Year SRTS Information Table Ongoing Yearly SRTS information table events with 3-5 community volunteers28EquityBike Helmet Distribution Ongoing Details provided in 22-24 Annual Report Highlights
29 Equity Secondary Back-to-School Bike Repair Ongoing Details provided in 22-24 Annual Report Highlights
30 Equity Bike Rodeo Material Translations Ongoing
Translations provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
(MTC)
31 Equity Youth-focused SRTS Associate Planner Project Development Ongoing
Requisition development, contract management, hiring materials,
onboarding
32 Equity
Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals Annual Conference
Presentation Completed Conference Presenter
33 Engineering Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Review and Outreach Ongoing Draft review and community outreach
34 Engineering Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan Review and Outreach Ongoing Draft review and community outreach
35 Engineering Interagency Detour Collaborations Ongoing
SRTS assistance to support school commute access for five Public Works
detour requests
36 Engineering 311 Request Facilitation Ongoing
Managed 21 requests for "Improvements to school bicycle or walking
route"
37 Engineering Bicycle Rodeo Map Development Ongoing
Maps detailing the placement of Bicycle Rodeo setup materials at each
PAUSD elementary school
38 Engineering Walk and Roll Route Map Development Ongoing
Minor edits and updates to support school construction changes and new
infrastructure
39 Engineering Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway, Phase 0 Completed 2016
40 Engineering Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue High-visibility Crosswalks Completed 2016
41 Engineering Georgia Ave High-visibility Crosswalk and Curb Extension Completed 2016
42 Engineering Los Robles Avenue Bikeway Enhancements Completed 2016
43 Engineering
Park Boulevard Bicycle Boulevard Early Implementation (Stanford
Avenue to Cambridge Avenue) Completed 2016
44 Engineering Middlefield Road and North California Avenue Complete Street Project Completed 2016
45 Engineering Garland Drive Sharrows Completed 2017
46 Engineering Overcrossing/Undercrossing Improvements Completed 2017
47 Engineering Arastradero Road at Donald Drive Spot Safety Improvements Completed 2017
48 Engineering Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue Traffic Circle Trial Completed 2017
49 Engineering Colorado Avenue at Sandra Place Spot Safety Improvements Completed 201850EngineeringChanning Avenue and St Francis Drive Enhanced Bikeway Completed 2018
51 Engineering Amarillo Avenue-Moreno Avenue Bicycle Boulevard Completed 2019 52 Engineering Ross Road Bicycle Boulevard Completed 2020
53 Engineering Louis Road-Montrose Avenue Bicycle Boulevard Completed 2022
54 Engineering Refreshed crosswalks at Middlefield Rd. Montrose Ave.Completed 2022
55 Engineering Charleston-Arastradero Corridor Project Completed 2024
56 Engineering Charleston-Arastradero Corridor Project Phase 1 and 2 Completed 2024
57 Engineering Greendell Pathway Completed Completed by PAUSD
58 Engineering JLS Temporary Green Bike Lane Completed Completed by PAUSD 59 Engineering PAUSD Bond Measure Z Safety Enhancements Completed Completed by PAUSD
60 Engineering Bike Rack Installations Completed Completed by PAUSD
61 Engineering Maybell Avenue Bicycle Boulevard
Under
Consideration
2012 Bike/Ped Plan proposed project under consideration for the 2025
Bike/Ped. Transportation Plan update.
62 Engineering Park Boulevard-Wilkie Way Bicycle Boulevard
Under
Consideration
2012 Bike/Ped Plan proposed project under consideration for the 2025
Bike/Ped. Transportation Plan update.
63 Engineering Stanford Avenue Bicycle Boulevard
Under
Consideration
2012 Bike/Ped Plan proposed project under consideration for the 2025
Bike/Ped. Transportation Plan update.
Appendix C: SRTS 2022-25 Comprehensive Program Summary
64 Engineering
Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard Upgrade (Menlo Park City Limits to
East Meadow Road)
Under
Consideration
2012 Bike/Ped Plan proposed project under consideration for the 2025
Bike/Ped. Transportation Plan update.
65 Engineering
Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard Extension (East Meadow Drive to San
Antonio Road)
Under
Consideration
2012 Bike/Ped Plan proposed project under consideration for the 2025
Bike/Ped. Transportation Plan update.
66 Engineering
Churchill Avenue Highway-Railroad Crossing Safety Improvement
Project In Process 2025
67 Engineering
Bicycle Safety Education Traffic Gardena at Ventura Community
Center In Process 2025
68 Engineering Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway In Process 2025
69 Engineering Alma Street/Churchill Avenue Safety Improvements Project In Process 2025
70 Engineering
Caltrans El Camino Real Pavement Rehabilitation and ADA
Improvements or Caltrans SR82 El Camino Real Bikeway Project -State
Route El Camino No Right Turn on Red and Leading Pedestrian
Intervals In Process 2025 (by Caltrans)
71 Engineering South Palo Alto Bikeways Demonstration Project In Process 2026 (AKA E. Meadow Dr & Fabian Way Enhanced Bikeways)
72 Evaluation Travel Tallies Ongoing Details provided in 22-24 Annual Report Highlights73EvaluationAnnual Reports Ongoing Yearly report development
74 Evaluation Bike Counts Ongoing Details provided in 22-24 Annual Report Highlights
75 Evaluation Contract Management Ongoing
Facilitate Scope of Work, Purchase Order requests, contract development,
contractor oversight and yearly contract amendments
76 Evaluation
City School Transportation Safety Committee Meetings Monthly
Agenda Development Ongoing
Work across partners to arrange a two hour meeting agenda and facilitate
agenda items
77 Evaluation
City School Transportation Safety Committee Meetings Monthly
Agenda Development Ongoing
Draft, format, proofread and distribute monthly e-news items to 120
listserve participants
Attachment D: SRTS 2022-25 Quantitative Data and Methodology Analysis
Section 1: Travel Tally Data Table Metrics
Travel Tally General Information
• Yearly travel tallies are conducted at all PAUSD schools during the month of September to align with
peak walk/bike volumes
• The SRTS Team requests each school achieve a mean response rate of seventy percent. 2024 travel
tally response rates for each grade level ranged between 75-77 percent to support statistical validity
• Decimals are rounded to whole numbers and may not correspond with exact enrollment totals
• Rows ‘K-5’, ‘6-8’, ‘9-12’ and ‘K-12’ correspond to the terms ‘elementary’, ‘middle school’, ‘high school’
and ‘all schools’ respectively
• Data gathering instructions sent to educators provide specific requests to minimize data errors caused
by weather, date of collection, student absences, field trips and incorrect calculations
• No identifiable student information is shared
• Travel tally data excludes Middle College, Palo Alto Children’s Hospital and other outlying campuses. TK
and Greendell educators are not excluded, but have insignificant response rates that do not
measurably impact data
• The 2022-24 Travel Tally for the 2022-2025 school years focuses on trends rather than changes from
the previous year or changes from an arbitrary data point, such as the year data collection began.
Comparing four years of pre-and post-pandemic means helps to accurately assess mode share
increases while controlling for the potential of the 2024 year as an outlier.
• 2024 Travel Tally Data is shared in the Annual Report. Tables for 2022 and 2023 are shared below but
do not include mean summary comparisons or analyze trend data.
2024 Travel Tally Column General Information
• Mode share columns calculate mean percentages for each travel mode in 2024. Percentages for rows
K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 = total number of student respondents for each travel mode divided by elementary,
middle and high school-specific travel tally survey responses
• Numbers below percentages are extrapolated from the percentage listed for each grade level
multiplied by grade level-specific 2024 PAUSD K-5, 6-8, 9-12 and K-12 enrollment data
• Numbers beneath percentages provide context about the estimated number of daily users per travel
mode, but percentages provide a more accurate estimation of yearly changes to account for
enrollment fluctuations
2024 Travel Tally Column Categories
• 2024 Travel Modes
o Driver - Assumes only commuting with immediate family members. Includes the Palo Alto Link
ride-hailing service. Although travel tally data suggests rides were taken by less than 1 percent
of drivers, or 15 riders. Contractor provided reports suggest student use of up to 30 users per
day and more than 1,277 student trips per month, prior to the implementation of
arrival/dismissal restrictions. Ride-hailing share rates are excluded from the carpool column
based on shared ride rates of 50-60 percent, although future data might divide ride-hailing
numbers between car and carpool modes. Palo Alto Link metrics were added to travel tally
surveys in 2023.
o Carpool: Assumes driving with at least one person outside the immediate family bound for the
same destination.
o Transit: Includes the yellow school bus, VTA bus which comprises two percent, or 72 transit
users and the Stanford West Bus at two percent or 55 transit users. Yellow school bus metrics
are shared by PAUSD administrators. To avoid stigmatization, students arriving by bus are not
asked to raise their hand while classroom are tallies are conducted.
o Pedestrian: Includes scooters at six percent for middle and high school and three percent for
the elementary or 211 pedestrians, and e-scooters at two percent, or 53 pedestrians. E-scooter
metrics were added to travel tally surveys in 2023.
o Cyclist: Includes e-bikes at four percent or 127 cyclists. E-bike metrics were added to travel tally
surveys in 2023.
• Column Summary Data
o 2024 Walk/Bike Mean Summary: This column provides a grade-level specific summary of
Walk/Bike Travel Tally responses for 2024. For Walk/Bike Mean Summary percentages, this
column calculates the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school-specific 2024
walk and bike travel tally responses divided by elementary, middle and high school-specific
2024 PAUSD travel tally survey responses. For 2024 Walk/Bike Mean Summary numbers, this
column multiplies the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school-specific walk and
bike percentages elementary, middle and high school-specific 2024 PAUSD enrollment numbers
o 2016-19 Pre-pandemic Walk/Bike Mean Summary: This column calculates four-year pre-
pandemic combined travel tally walk/bike data means beginning with 2016, the year secondary
data collection began, through 2019, prior to the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The
mean percentage is calculated as the mean of combined 2016-19 combined walk/bike
percentages for elementary, middle and high schools divided by the combined mean of 2016-19
elementary, middle and high school-specific responses. For 2016-19 Walk/Bike Mean Summary
numbers, this column calculates the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school-
specific walk and bike percentages multiplies by a mean of 2016-19 elementary, middle and
high school-specific PAUSD enrollment data
o 2021-24 Post-pandemic Walk/Bike Mean Summary: This column shows four-year post-
pandemic combined travel tally walk/bike data means. The mean percentage is calculated from
the mean of combined 2021-24 elementary, middle and high school-specific walk/bike
percentages; divided by the combined mean of 2021-24 elementary, middle and high school-
specific total responses. For 2021-24 Walk/Bike Mean Summary numbers, this column
calculates the combined mean of elementary, middle and high school-specific walk and bike
percentages multiplied by a mean of 2021-24 elementary, middle and high school-specific
PAUSD enrollment data
o Difference btw. 2016-19 and 2021-24 Walk/Bike Mean: This column subtracts the 2021-24
Walk/Bike Mean Summary column from the 2016-19 Walk/Bike Mean Summary column for
elementary, middle and high schools. K-12 data is calculated as the sum of each elementary,
middle and high school percentage in this column Data indicates a loss of -1 percent for K-5, -4
percent for 6-8, and -3 percent for 9-12 generating an overall K-12 loss of -8 percent.
Section 2: 2003-2024 Parked Bike Count Graph Data Table Metrics
2003-2024 Parked Bike Count Graph General Information
• To improve readability and support trend analysis comparisons, Parked Bike Count Graphs have been
consolidated from four separate bar graphs (Middle School Percentage Counts, Middle School Raw
Number Counts, High School Percentage Counts and High School Raw Numeric Counts) into two
stacked bar graphs (Middle School Percentage and Numeric Counts and High School Percentage and
Numeric Counts). Each table includes a line graph with total percentages above the bar graphs to
schoolwide increases/decreases for each year
• Parked bike counts are conducted at all PAUSD schools by each school’s Palo Alto PTA Transportation
Safety Representatives (TSR) during the month of September to align with peak walk/bike volumes and
with PAUSD Travel Tally classroom educator data gathering efforts
• TSRs are asked to conduct two counts to minimize the potential for statistical variations
• The SRTS Team analyzes submitted data to check for errors and requests a recount if totals suggest a
significant variation from previous years
• Percentage totals are rounded to whole numbers and may not correspond with exact totals
• Data gathering instructions sent to TSRs provide specific requests to minimize data errors caused by
weather, date of collection, student absences, field trips and incorrect calculations. Data collection is
requested during morning arrival time to ensure potential drop-offs made by bike are included.
• Adult bikes parked around the school campus are included in totals
• No identifiable student information is shared
• Scooters users are identified as pedestrians and are not included in bike counts
• Data excludes Middle College, Palo Alto Children’s Hospital and other outlying campuses. TK and
Greendell educators are not excluded, but have insignificant response rates that do not measurably
impact data
• Middle and high school 2004-2013 parked bike counts are condensed to improve graph readability.
Data reads below:
Table 1: Middle School Parked Bike Count Graph Supplement: 2004-2013
Year Percentage Percentage Change
2003 29% -
2004 33% 4%
2005 34% 1%
2006 34% 0%
2007 49% 15%
2008 41% -7%
2009 43% 2%
2010 44% 0%
2011 49% 5%
2012 53% 5%
2013 50% -4%
Yearly 2003-2014 Mean Percentage Change 2%
Table 2: High School Parked Bike Count Graph Supplement: 2004-2013
Year Percentage Percentage Change
2003 14% -
2004 16% 2%
2005 17% 1%
2006 23% 6%
2007 25% 2%
2008 30% 5%
2009 33% 2%
2010 38% 5%
2011 39% 1%
2012 40% 1%
2013 43% 3%