The Illinois Safe Routes Program 

The Illinois Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS) is administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). SRTS uses a multidisciplinary approach to improve conditions for students who walk or bike to school. The program has three main goals:

1. To enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school
2. To make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative, thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age; and 
3. To facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity (within 2 miles) of both public and private primary and middle schools (grades K-8).

Illinois Safe Routes to School funds both infrastructure improvements to the physical environment as well as non-infrastructure projects. Eligible project sponsors include schools and school districts, governmental entities and non-profit organizations. Applications are made on a per school district basis, as outlined in our Policy page.

Key features of the Illinois SRTS Program include:

• Projects are funded at 100% with no local match required.
• Between 70% and 90% of funds will support infrastructure projects. 10% to 30% of funds will support non-infrastructure programs.
• All applications require an approved Illinois School Travel Plan
• Only those projects and programs included in the corresponding School Travel Plan are eligible for funding.
• Multiple projects may be applied for by a single Sponsoring Agency, using a single application. For more information on application and funding limits, please visit the Policy Information link on our website.
• School Travel Plans and funding applications are accepted only through an online application process. No paper plans, applications or supporting documentation are accepted.

The History of SRTS in Illinois

Safe Routes to School was enacted as a part of SAFTEA-LU in August 205. In September of 2006, the Illinois Department of Transportation hired a Safe Routes to School Coordinator to oversee the program and entered into contracts with consultants to help develop the state program, training, and website, featuring an all on-line planning and application process. By January of 2007, the first Illinois Safe Routes to School Training was held, kicking off a series of 14 Safe Routes to School workshops held across the state. Almost 600 stakeholders, representing municipalities, schools, police departments, park districts and non-profit organizations, attended this training. Topics covered during the training included “Why Safe Routes Matters”, “Federal and State Program Basics”, modules on each of the five Safe Routes to School planning strategies, and detailed instruction on how to complete a School Travel Plan and Application. The on-line School Travel Plan came on-line in February, and the first Call for Projects opened on March 1, 2007. At the close of the Call for Projects, the Department had received applications for 1,042 projects totaling $77 million. The results of the review and scoring process were announced in March of 2008, with the Department awarding $8.3 million to 113 projects statewide. A list of these projects is available on our website.

After the close of the inaugural funding and application cycle, IDOT surveyed participants about the planning and application process and made updates to the on-line system, including a new guided user interface, access to GIS mapping within the plan, and the ability to clone prior year plans to be updated for future funding cycles. This new system was available in May, 2008. IDOT also revamped the limits on funding and number of applications submitted, in order to allow more communities to competitively participate in the process.

A second round of statewide trainings was held in 9 communities statewide, with hundreds of participants. To provide the opportunity for Safe Routes to School stakeholders to meet and share best practices, Safe Routes to School held our first statewide conference in August 2008, featuring walking expert Mark Fenton as the keynote speaker. This inaugural conference, held at Illinois State University in Normal, also featured the National Center for Safe Routes to School’s National Training Course, multiple sessions featuring engineering, encouragement, education and enforcement solutions, and the presentation of the Statewide Golden Sneaker award to Mary Ann Romanelli by State Representative Suzie Bassi.

The application deadline was December 15, and the Department received applications for almost 400 projects, totaling nearly $28 million in requests. In March 2009, IDOT launched the new on-line scoring tool, and in August 2009, was able to announce $13.7 million in funding to almost 90 communities, funding 171 Safe Routes to School Projects across the state.

Shortly after the announcement of these 2008 cycle awards, IDOT learned that the SRTS program would be subject to federal rescissions of over $1 million. With an IDOT commitment to fund all of the announced projects in place, the implementation of these projects was put on hold from September until additional federal funding became available in December 2009.

In May of 2010, the third cycle of Safe Routes to School planning and application was announced, using FY 2010 and estimated FY 2011 funding, providing for a program of approximately $15 million. With the Department’s application process timeline, IDOT anticipates receiving and using FY 2011 funds unless federal guidelines change and require us to modify these plans. Awards from this round of funding are expected to be announced in late 2011.

 Click HERE to see a list of the fundable activities.
 Click HERE to download the full School Travel Plan Guide and Worksheet.
 Click HERE to download the full Safe Routes to School Funding Application Guide.
 Click HERE to download the Sample School Travel Plan.