Grant to Fund Safe Routes to School for Fort Lupton Children

from School Health Reporter, Summer 2006

The Injury Free Coalition for Kids (IFCK) of Fort Lupton is the proud recipient of a “Safe Routes to School” grant funded by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Over the past four years, The Children’s Hospital’s Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute has worked with the community of Fort Lupton to identify and prevent injuries in children through community needs assessments, car seat inspections, bike helmet distributions, safety fairs and by building and sustaining a focused coalition of dedicated community members and organizations.

The coalition identified barriers that prevent children from safely walking and biking to and from school. The majority of these children cross heavily used railroad tracks and a state highway, which happens to be a major road through the city. Currently, no sidewalks exist on either side of the railroad, and no legal pedestrian crossing is available on the railroad tracks. Due to these unfriendly and unsafe options, fewer than 50 percent of Fort Lupton parents allow their children to walk and bike to school.

To increase safe physical activity and encourage children to walk and bike to school, IFCK received a “Safe Routes to School” grant for $137,372. Money from this grant will be used to install sidewalks, a pedestrian walkway on the railroad, and pedestrian warning lights at a crosswalk. The coalition also will sponsor a walk/bike to school day in the fall as well as railroad safety presentations.

After completion of this project, the coalition plans to continue to work with Fort Lupton and the school district to increase safe physical activity and promote walking and biking to and from school.

For more information on this effort, contact Amy Wilson, Injury Free Coalition for Kids program coordinator for The Children’s Hospital, at 720-777-1234.