Travel and environmental implications of school siting.

97263777481529PDFResearch PaperEPA 231-R-03-00468-W-99-054Air pollutionAutomobile travelBicycle travelEnvironmental impactsLocationMode choiceSchool childrenSchoolsTravel behaviorWalkingWalking distanceUnited StatesUnited States. Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States. Environmental Protection AgencyUS Transportation CollectionOver the next few decades, thousands of schools will be builtor renovated.The planning decisionsaround that construction and renovation will have important implications for education and community quality oflife.Recent trends in travel toschool have raised concerns atfederal, state, and local levels. In 2001, less than15 percent ofstudents between the ages of five and15 walked to or fromschool,and 1 percent biked.In1969, 48 percent of students walked or biked toschool. In response, governmentsat everylevelhavelaunched a varietyof policy initiatives.These include state and local \ue2\u20ac\u153Safe Routes to SchoolPrograms,\ue2\u20ac?and a federal Kids Walk-to-School Campaign. In addition, a variety of initiativesare helping schools stayor locate at the center of communities.This study evaluates the travel and environmental implications ofthese latter initiatives, and of trends toward constructing schools that are not located at the center ofcommunities,and are not reachable bywalking or bicycling. In short, it seeks to find the implications ofschool location for travel and the environment.Thisstudy is the first toempirically examine the relationship betweenschool location, the built environmentaround schools,mode choices for trips to school, andairemissions impacts of those choices. It finds that:1. School proximity to students matters. Students with shorter walk and bike times to or from school are more likely to walk and bike.2. The built environment influences travelchoices.Students travelingthrough higher-qualityenvironmentsaremore likely to bicycle and walk.3. Because of travel behavior differences, school location has an impact on air emissions. Centrallylocated schools that can be reached by walking andbicycling reduce air pollution.The results suggest that actions to improve students\ue2\u20ac\u2122 walking environments, and to support communitiesthat wish to locate schools in neighborhoods, will result in increases in studentwalking andbiking toschool. Increased walking and biking can reduce emissions related to auto traveland improveenvironmental quality