Hazardous Walking Conditions and the Role of Transportation Planning

In Florida, students from households located within two miles of their school are responsible for getting themselves to classes, as school bus service is not provided within this buffer. Despite this walkable distance, the reality on the ground oftentimes is not conducive, or safe, for walking or biking to school. Parents across the State recognize many of these walking routes lack the infrastructure conducive to active transportation, like sidewalks and safe roadway crossings, to and from school. Without bus service offered to students within this buffer, transportation to and from school oftentimes necessitate a parent driving their students to school, contributing to long drop-off queues and pre-empting an active and socially beneficial activity for students.

Florida Statute 1006.23, known as the Hazardous Walking Conditions statute, was created to address this gap between policy and reality. This statute requires school districts to evaluate whether walking routes to and from school meet general safety guidelines. If a walking route is deemed hazardous, the school district must allow students to receive bus transportation, even if they live within that two-mile distance.

This statute does more than determine who qualifies for a school bus ride. It shines a spotlight on how communities design streets, sidewalks, and crossings around schools. It establishes a formal process to identify unsafe environments and pushes decision-makers to correct the conditions that put children at risk.

Ultimately, this law affirms that safe access to school is not optional and it is a shared responsibility. Recognizing hazardous walking conditions is the first step toward building school neighborhoods where families can trust that a child’s daily trip to school is safe, dignified, and supported by thoughtful transportation planning.

  What Makes a Walking Route Hazardous

A walking route may be considered “hazardous” under the Hazardous Walking Conditions Statute only when it crosses high thresholds for speed, traffic volume, or roadway width. As a result, a route can be officially classified as non-hazardous while still being unpleasant or intimidating to walk. For example, a street with a 30 MPH posted speed limit and no sidewalks, a narrow shoulder next to steady traffic, or a long signalized crossing on a high capacity road all meet the minimum legal standard, but still discourage walking, increase stress, and elevate risk, especially for children who are smaller, less visible, and still developing judgment around navigating traffic. In many cases, these environments reflect decades of roadway design decisions that prioritized moving vehicles efficiently over creating safe, comfortable places for students to walk and bike to school.

The Two-Mile Expectation and the Reality on the Ground

For students who live close to school, walking or biking should be a normal part of the day and something to look forward to. A two-mile trip can easily become a short walk with friends and parents when the environment supports it.

Too often, it does not. Many neighborhoods, even those within a short distance of schools, lack basic walking infrastructure, forcing students to navigate sidewalk gaps, high-speed roads, and complex intersections. For families living within two miles of a school, this creates a difficult reality. Students are generally not eligible for bus service unless a route meets the formal definition of hazardous walking conditions. As a result, walking routes may be considered acceptable under the Hazardous Walking Conditions criteria, while still feeling uncomfortable and unsafe to parents and students. What should be a simple, enjoyable trip becomes a daily safety concern, pushing families to drive their children to school. This increases congestion and vehicle conflicts around school campuses and creates the long pick-up lines many communities have grown accustomed to.

Safety Does Not End at the Two-Mile Line

The need for safe walking conditions extends well beyond the two-mile area often used to define school travel expectations. Students walk to bus stops, after-school programs, parks, and neighborhood destinations, frequently along the same streets used to reach school. The conditions that make these routes uncomfortable or unsafe affect not only students, but also parents, caregivers, seniors, and people with disabilities who rely on walking every day.

Schools also function as natural neighborhood centers. Because they are embedded within communities and serve students from surrounding areas, improvements made near schools often benefit far more than just the school itself. Investing in safer walking conditions around schools can act as a catalyst for broader sidewalk connectivity, safer crossings, and traffic calming throughout nearby neighborhoods, strengthening the entire transportation network and improving safety and comfort for the community as a whole.

How the MPO Is Involved

The Sarasota Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization plays a key role in addressing hazardous walking conditions through regional transportation planning and safety analysis. Working in coordination with local governments, school districts, and FDOT, the MPO helps identify safety concerns in the region, prioritize investments, and integrate pedestrian and bicycle improvements into long-range plans, the Transportation Improvement Program, and targeted safety studies.

This work includes evaluating crash trends, identifying high-risk corridors, and supporting projects such as new sidewalks, safer crossings, traffic calming, and speed management. Together, these efforts align with statewide and regional safety goals, including Vision Zero and Destination Zero, which focus on eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes through a combination of engineering, education, and enforcement.

From Identifying Hazards to Fixing Them

Parents, schools, and local governments all have a role in improving walking conditions near schools. Florida Statute 1006.23 and the Hazardous Walking Site Review Checklist provide the process for formally reviewing and documenting unsafe walking conditions. When concerns are identified, communities can work through the Safe Routes to School program to move beyond temporary fixes and toward lasting solutions. Safe Routes to School is a statewide program funded by the Florida Department of Transportation that supports planning and infrastructure improvements around schools such as new sidewalks, safer crossings, traffic calming, and speed management, as well as education and encouragement efforts that help students walk and bike safely.

Beyond Safe Routes to School, residents and local agencies can raise concerns through school districts, local public works or transportation departments, and regional planning agencies like the MPO. Improvements near schools are often advanced through local capital improvement programs, development review, and regional transportation plans and funding programs. Together, these tools allow communities to address immediate safety concerns while building long-term, walkable environments around schools. These efforts are supported and administered statewide by the Florida Department of Transportation in coordination with school districts, local governments, and regional partners.