Safe Routes
Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes to School
The Challenge
UDOT’s school transportation safety program was previously known as the “Student Neighborhood Access Plan” (SNAP). The name created confusion and was limited to urban areas, leaving rural areas underserved. The acronym constantly got mixed up with federal food stamps, and the urban focus completely ignored rural realities like high-speed country roads. Ultimately, this left the communities needing safety funding the most locked out of the program.
The Solution
To fix this, Penna Powers rebranded the program to Safe Routes Utah, swapping the old name for bright, energetic branding built for K-8 families. We scaled the program statewide by bringing free, grade-specific safety assemblies directly to schools, creating engaging activity booklets, and running the Walk & Roll Challenge to reward students with bikes and scooters. To eliminate the administrative burden for rural districts, we launched a user-friendly digital School Mapping Tool that makes it incredibly easy for schools to submit their safety plans online. Backed by strategic social media and high-impact PR events, the initiative now connects and protects students in every corner of the state.