DALTON, Ga. -- Ten-year-old Nathalie Rosales, a fourth-grader at Brookwood Elementary School, said she enjoys getting a little exercise every day when she walks to school.
Principal Will Esters said the school has a number of programs in place to encourage walking and biking and is a partner with Georgia Safe Routes to School. He hopes the school will secure funding this year through the Safe Routes to School program to install sidewalks and crosswalks that are needed in certain areas.
"What I would like to see happen is, on nice days when it's pretty weather ... parents are holding their children's hands and walking them to school," Mr. Esters said.
"Not only is it a healthy thing to do, not only is it reshaping the children's thinking about transportation, but it's also an opportunity for mom or dad to have some time where that child is the focus of those minutes."
About 10 students out of more than 600 regularly walk to Brookwood, he said, and most students live within a mile of the school.
The National Safe Routes to School program was established in 2005 as part of a federal transportation bill. The goal is to make it safer for elementary and middle school students to walk and bike to school and encourage them to do so.
The program designated about $612 million to be divided among states over five years, according to the National Center for Safe Routes to School Web site.
Georgia has received about $17 million for the program, said Erica Fatima, deputy press secretary for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLSBRONZE LEVEL* Chickamauga Elementary School, Walker County* Tunnel Hill Elementary School, Whitfield CountyGOLD LEVEL* Brookwood Elementary School, DaltonSource: Georgia Safe Routes to School Web siteGEORGIA SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL* www.saferoutesga.org* 1-877-GDOT-W2SSource: Georgia Safe Routes to School Web siteSAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL BY THE NUMBERS* $17 million: Total amount received from 2005 to 2009* $2 million: Spent in 2009 to establish the Georgia Safe Routes to School Resource Center* $5 million: Awarded to various projects throughout the state in 2009* $5 million: Approximate amount the Georgia Department of Transportation will award in 2010Source: Erica Fatima, press secretary for GDOT
Ms. Fatima said the department will award about $5 million this year and plans to start accepting applications around March.
Brad Kotrba, community planner for the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, said GDOT will award money mainly for infrastructure projects that make it safer for students to walk and bike to school. His office can help any school in the 15-county region develop plans and apply for the grant money, he said.
Mr. Kotrba said he's already working to submit applications for some area schools, including Brookwood and Tunnel Hill Elementary.
Principal Bert Coker said Tunnel Hill Elementary also is hoping for sidewalk improvements.
"We have some, but there's not near enough," he said.
In August 2009, GDOT established the Georgia Safe Routes to School Resource Center, which works with schools to develop their own Safe Routes to School program. Such programs can include things such as a Walk to School Day and bicycle and pedestrian training events, according to the Georgia Safe Routes to School Web site.
Alicia Hatcher, Northwest Georgia's school outreach coordinator with the resource center, said even schools in areas that aren't conducive to walking and biking can participate. She said, for example, they can organize walking events at school and can host safety programs.
"Even if kids aren't walking to school, they will be pedestrians at some point in their lives," Ms. Hatcher said.
So far about 85 schools across the state are participating in Safe Routes to School, she said.