From 2014-2016, BikeWalkKC worked with seven partner elementary schools in the Kansas City, Missouri School District to support students walking and biking to school, and to develop a district-wide strategy to achieve those outcomes. Initial work focused on the development and standardization of a data collection methodology, as well as a multi-pronged and sustained engagement effort, bringing together numerous and diverse partners from the school, neighborhood, City, and other organizations. BikeWalkKC undertook an arrival and dismissal analysis for each partner school, a comprehensive infrastructure and site conditions analysis in the neighborhood surrounding partner schools, and engaged stakeholders through numerous in-person meetings and formalized surveys. BikeWalkKC simultaneously deployed a series of educational programs to provide bicycle lessons, safety training, and earn-a-bike programs that provided students with bicycles upon completion of the course. Recommendations included identification and investment in priority safe routes to school corridors, in order to focus scarce resources in a way that facilitates walking and biking to school, while also providing broader benefits to surrounding neighborhoods.
