Understanding and Mapping Institutional Impediments to Walking and Bicycling to School: A Case Study of Hillsborough County, Florida

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) legislation calls for the establishment of a Safe Routes to School program in each state that is funded for the five fiscal years from 2005 through 2009. States are required to spend between 70% and 90% for infrastructure and between 10% and 30% on noninfrestructure programs. For each of these components of the program to be successful, the built environment of the community surrounding the school needs to support all modes of travel. Much of the emphasis in Safe Routes to School programs has focused on increasing walking in neighborhoods with the characteristics that support walking, such as high-density residential areas close to schools and connected grid and pedestrian amenities. Using Hillsborough County, Florida, as a case study, this paper focuses on barriers to walking and bicycling to school by examining how decisions about school siting, school attendance boundaries, street network characteristics, and other factors controlled by local governments and school boards affect the potential for children to walk to school.