Welcome to C-U Safe Routes to School!
​C-U Safe Routes to School Project (C-U SRTS Project) is an organization with representatives from the CU Mass Transit District, Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, CU Public Health District, Urbana and Champaign planning, engineering and law enforcement, Champaign County Bikes, Urbana and Champaign School Districts, as well as other educators, parents, and community members. The project came about after four years of organizing Walk & Bike to School Day in Champaign and Urbana schools and deciding that there was more that could be done to educate the community on pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.  ​

Events + Announcements

Snow Removal Program 2021-2022

​C-U SRTS Project is pleased to offer a program to assist schools and neighborhoods in providing students with safe routes to and from school and other destinations during the winter months.  The program will run from January to March 2022.  The Snow Removal Encouragement Program is intended to increase the number of neighborhood sidewalks that are cleared of snow.  It encourages neighbors to clear their sidewalks and driveways of snow so that children, and others, can walk to and from school and to other destinations without walking in the street.

Snow Removal Volunteer Form 
Snow Angel Nomination Form ​

Walk 'n Roll to School Day - October 6, 2021

On Wednesday, October 6th, 2021, 8 elementary schools in Urbana and Champaign participated in the Walk n' Roll to School Day (WRTSD). Students walked and biked to school, where they were greeted and encouraged by friends, parents, teachers, U of I student athletes, elected officials, and community members. WCIA 3 News also did a news story of the event at the Dr. William Elementary event. 

​Thank you to the following schools for participating and making the event a success:

Urbana
Dr. Williams Elementary 
​King Elementary 
Leal Elementary 
Thomas Paine Elementary 
Urbana Early Childhood School
Wiley Elementary 
Yankee Ridge Elementary 

Champaign
Booker T. Washington Elementary 
Westview Elementary

2020-2021 C-U SRTS Annual Report 

The 2020-2021 C-U SRTS Project Annual Report is here! This report will give you full details of all of our events and activities during the 2020-2021 academic year. 

Traffic Skills 101 - August 28th, 2021

Five students attended the Traffic Skills 101 course on August 28th. The course teaches adult cyclists the confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on trails. The 9-hour course is divided into two parts: a 4.5-hour online instruction session and a 4.5-hour on-bike session. Four of the students plan to go on to become a League Cycling Instructor (LCI).​
 The Earn-a-Bike Program 2021 report can be downloaded below. To see more information on the program see: Earn-a-Bike Program

Read our report from the Earn-a-Bike 2021 Program!

More information on the program can be seen here:  Earn-a-Bike Program

Youth Instructor Certification Workshop - June 10th, 2021

​C-U Safe Routes to School Project in partnership with the Stephens Family YMCA and Champaign County Bikes held a training workshop for youth cycling instructors on June 10th. The workshop used League of American Cyclists Smart Cycling curriculum enhanced with curriculum from the Danish Cycling Embassy called Cycling Games. Danish Instructor Lotte Bech participated in the training teaching about Cycling Games virtually and the instructor trainees practiced using the curricula with hands-on instructor in the afternoon with YMCA summer camp students. Each camper received a free helmet, bike month t-shirt, and a bike safety workbook. The train-the-trainer participants all received certification as Youth Instructors through the League of American Bicyclists. 

Hear Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin declare Bike to School Day in Urbana in this video.

Even though the state has enacted a stay-at-home policy, walking and cycling is permitted and encouraged! Taking a walk or going for a bike ride are great ways to get out of the house and get some exercise while keeping a safe social distance. Here are a few links on walking and cycling during COVID-19 to check out:

Want to Learn Safety Skills at Home? Use the Online Learning section of our website.

Check out the C-U SRTS Online Learning Package for fun activities!
Etch-a-sketch style Strava Drawings: The Strava app lets users track their bike rides, so some users have been getting creative and using their rides to draw fun pictures. Give it a try!
Practice walking or cycling along routes to school with your kids while streets are calm!

Bike Rodeos

You will be part of a variety of fun tasks including helmet fitting, bicycle safety checks, scanning and signaling that help elementary school children learn and practice safe bicycling skills.

Our bike rodeos include a variety of tasks including helmet fitting, bicycle safety checks, scanning and signaling. We aim to help elementary school children learn and practice safe bicycling skills. We are always looking for helping hands! Your volunteer work will ensure our bike rodeos run smoothly. View details below.

 Risk Watch on Biking and Walking Safety

Risk Watch is a comprehensive injury-prevention curriculum implemented in our local grade schools. The program is designed to help children and families create safer homes and communities by teaching the skills and knowledge to make positive choices about personal safety and well-being.
As one of the "Risk Watch Experts" this year, Safe Route to School Project went into classrooms of Champaign elementary schools co-teaching bicycle and pedestrian safety topics. In our lessons, officers from Champaign Police Department introduced safe walking including using crosswalks, watching for cars, and being visible when walking, while Safe Route to School talked about safe biking - how to fit a helmet, and how to make basic hand signaling. Most importantly, we reinforced the importance of wearing helmets through an exciting "Melon Drop" demonstration. While the Scared Melon was cracked wide open after being dropped from a ladder, The Happy Melon who has a helmet was always sound and firm!

Mode Shift Fact Sheets

​You've probably known that bicycling has tons of benefit of keeping our environment green and keeping you in good shape, but do you know riding a bike will also be a complete game changer for you financially? Check our fact sheet to see the all the statistics of bicycling compared with driving, and find your own reason of getting on a bike in this coming spring!
C-U Safe Route to School project has hosted Walk to School Day in Urbana-Champaign for over ten years, and has received many smiles, laughs, thanks and high-fives along the way. Visit our archived photos to see what happened in previous year's event in Champaign-Urbana. 

Parent Resources 

Parents, how walkable and bikeable is your community? Take a walk or bike ride and use the checklists below to rate your neighborhood’s walkability and bikeability. 

Quick Links