The SFMTA works to make it safer and easier for students to get to school. We provide trained adults to help children cross streets and improve safety at busy intersections. We design street upgrades and encourage more families to walk, bike, take transit, or share rides to school. With youth 18 and under riding Muni at no cost and every middle and high school in the city is served by Muni - safety is a major priority for San Francisco.
Safe Routes to School
The Safe Routes To School program was created to help to make walking and bicycling to school safer and more accessible for children, including those with disabilities, and to increase the number of children who choose to walk, bicycle, take public transit, or ride in parental carpools. These programs enhance children’s health and well-being, and improve the daily life of all members of our community. Learn more by visiting the Safe Routes to Schools website.
Crossing Guard Program
- Approximately 195 school crossing guards serve public and private schools throughout San Francisco, assisting children in arriving and departing safely each day
- 107 of the city's elementary and middle schools are served
- 10 to 15 requests are received from schools every year and about 50 percent are accepted
- Learn more on the the adult crossing guard program webpage.
Engineering Improvements
Engineering and capital improvements play a critical role in getting students to and from school safely. Our projects range from large capital improvements to requests made by community members. A number of Vision Zero Capital Project improve safety for students by focusing on high-injury and transit corridors, such as 19th Avenue, Taraval Street, Folsom Street and Geary Boulevard. As for community requests, we respond to approximately 100 requests every year to address school safety through STOP signs, crosswalks, pedestrian safety initiatives, loading zones and others. In addition, about 84 percent of our 2015/2016 traffic calming applications are located within a quarter mile of a school. We are currently in the process of expanding our traffic calming program to focus more on schools, parks, and locations with high rate of vulnerable user crashes.