Be Active Safe Routes
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health partnered with local educators to develop a Be Active Safe Routes Curriculum in 2022. The Be Active Safe Routes Curriculum is available for grades K-8 and is grounded in Kansas educational standards. The lessons build on each other year after year to increase knowledge and skills over time. The biking curriculum is intended to be done in a PE classroom. The integrated lessons provide additional opportunities to increase knowledge around active transportation in the other school subjects, including English/language arts, math, science, social studies, the arts, and more.
Click on the overview documents for an introduction and full access to the curriculum: Elementary Overview and Middle Overview
This curriculum is provided free to educators, with funding support from the KDHE Chronic Disease Risk Reduction Grant.
Have questions or looking for additional support? Complete the Google Form and we will get back to you.
Here you'll find digital copies of our 2022 Safe Routes brochures. These include helpful safety tips and different maps for each Lawrence school.
Broken Arrow Elementary (PDF)
- Cordley Elementary (PDF)
- Deerfield Elementary (PDF
- Hillcrest Elementary (PDF)
- Langston Hughes Elementary (PDF)
- New York Elementary (PDF)
- Prairie Park Elementary (PDF)
- Quail Run Elementary (PDF)
- Schwegler Elementary (PDF)
- Sunflower Elementary (PDF)
- Sunset Hill Elementary (PDF)
- Woodlawn Elementary (PDF)
Coming Soon.
Coming Soon.
Approval Process
The Safe Routes to School Plans for Lawrence, Eudora, and Baldwin City were approved by the MPO Policy Board on November 19, 2020. View the approved plans for each community below:
Location: | Lawrence | Eudora | Baldwin City |
Plan: | Lawrence Safe Routes to School Plan | Eudora Safe Routes to School Plan | Baldwin City Safe Routes to School Plan |
To view the public comments/staff responses and approval process visit lawrenceks.org/safe-routes.
- Always look both ways before crossing the street. Stop at the curb and look left, right, and left again before you step into the street. Be sure to evaluate the distance and speed of oncoming traffic before you step out into the street to ensure that a vehicle has adequate distance in which to stop safely.
- Cross the street only at intersections. Do not jaywalk. Use marked crosswalks where available. Do not cross in the middle of the street or block unless a marked mid-block crossing is provided. Do not cross the street from between parked cars-drivers may not see you and it is jaywalking.
- Make eye contact with drivers when crossing busy streets and continue to watch out for traffic the entire time you are in the crosswalk. Your life may depend on it, regardless of whether or not you have the right-of-way.
- At intersections, scan over your shoulder for turning vehicles. Make eye contact with the driver. Remember; don't take those "NO RIGHT TURN ON RED" signs for granted. Always check for turning vehicles before stepping off the curb - motorists make mistakes too.
- Avoid walking in traffic where there are no sidewalks or crosswalks. If you have to walk on a road that does not have sidewalks, walk facing traffic.
- Wear bright colors or reflective clothing if you are walking near traffic at night. Carry a flashlight when walking in the dark.
- Always look for signs that a car is about to move (rear lights, exhaust smoke, sound of motor, wheels turning), and never walk behind a vehicle that is backing up.
- Obey the rules of the road: Follow the rules of the road and obey all traffic laws. Bicyclists are subject to all the same duties that are applicable to drivers.
- Don’t run red lights or stop signs.
- Don’t ride at night without proper front head lamp lighting.
- It is unlawful to ride a bicycle on Downtown Lawrence sidewalks.
- Yield to pedestrians.
- Ride with traffic: Ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practical except wherever a usable path has been provided adjacent to the roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and not the roadway. Follow lane markings, do not turn left from the right lane, and do not ride straight through from a right turn-only lane.
- Bicyclists are encouraged to wear an approved helmet. Always wear a proper fitting helmet in good condition. Parents should set a good example by wearing their helmets. Always wear a properly-fitted helmet. No matter how safely you ride, crashes can still happen. Bicyclists 15 years or younger are required to ride with a helmet
- Ride in a straight line, be consistent in your riding, always look and signal prior to turning.
- Signal turns: Always use hand signals to draw the driver’s attention.
- Ride single file in traffic except when passing others.
- Be visible and predictable. Do not jump back and forth from the sidewalk and the roadway and do not weave in and out of parked/stopped cars.
- Use lights at night: Kansas Law requires a front head lamp with white light visible from 500’ and a rear red reflector visible from 100 to 600’ when riding after dusk. In addition a lamp emitting a red light or flashing red light from the rear may be used.
- Do not ride on sidewalks in Downtown Lawrence: It is unlawful to ride a bicycle on downtown area sidewalks and parking lots (City Ord. 17-702.1)
- Children on bicycles and on foot are often unpredictable in their actions. Expect the unexpected.
- Think ahead. Ride defensively. Anticipate drivers’ actions. Establish eye contact.
- Keep at least on hand on the handle bars at all times.
- Do not ride with headphones. You cannot hear traffic, trains, emergency vehicles or other warnings.
- Bikes should be parked in bike racks or at parking meter adapters. Bikes should not be attached to trees, fire hydrants, traffic control devices, street lights, utility poles, or parking meter posts serving a space designated for disabled parking. Don’t park bicycles in the path of pedestrians or vehicles on streets, alleys, or sidewalks. They must not obstruct or restrict access to handrails or ramps.
- It is the duty of every bicyclist to make a report to the police department when such bicycle is involved in an accident resulting in injuries to any person or property damage exceeding $50.
- Yield to pedestrians and cyclists.
- Pass with care: Slow down when passing bicyclists.
- Give bikes space: Give at least 3 feet of passing space between the right side of your vehicle and a bicyclist.
- Look for bikes and pedestrians at intersections.
- Expect bikes on the road
- Look for cyclists when opening doors. Recognize situations that could be dangerous for bicyclists, like potholes, debris and drain grates. Give bicyclists enough room to maneuver around trouble spots.
- Don’t honk your horn: Do not blast your horn when approaching a bicyclist – you could startle the rider and cause a crash.
- Wait to pass: Do not pass a bicyclist if you will be making a right turn in front of them. Do not pass a bicyclist on a narrow two-lane road when oncoming traffic is near.
- Children on bicycles and on foot are often unpredictable in their actions. Expect the unexpected.
- Broken Arrow Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Broken Arrow Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Central Parent Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Central Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Deerfield Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Deerfield Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Hillcrest Parent Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Hillcrest Tally Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Kennedy Parent Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Kennedy Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Langston Hughes Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Langston Hughes Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- New York Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- New York Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Pinckney Parent Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Pinckney Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- PrairiePark Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- PrairiePark Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Quail Run Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Quail Run Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Raintree Parent Report 2014 (PDF)
- Schwegler Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Schwegler Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- South Parent Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- South Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Southwest Survey Report (PDF)
- Southwest Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Sunflower Parent Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Sunflower Travel Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Sunset Hill Survey Report 2014(2) (PDF)
- Sunset Hill Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- West Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- West Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Woodlawn Parent Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
- Woodlawn Tally Report 2014 (PDF)
- Baldwin City Public Schools
- City of Baldwin City
- City of Eudora
- City of Lawrence
- Douglas County
- Eudora Public Schools
- Lawrence Bicycle Club
- Lawrence Parks & Recreation @(Model.BulletStyle == CivicPlus.Entities.Modules.Layout.Enums.BulletStyle.Decimal ? "ol" : "ul")>
- Lawrence Public Schools
- Lawrence Transportation Commission - MPO Bicycle Advisory Committee
- Lawrence Unchained Bicycle Co-op
- Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department
- Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization
- LiveWell Douglas County
- National Center for Safe Routes to School @(Model.BulletStyle == CivicPlus.Entities.Modules.Layout.Enums.BulletStyle.Decimal ? "ol" : "ul")>