Nov. 7, 2025. Reno/Sparks, Nev. – Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) has been awarded a new grant from the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety to enhance safe mobility for children and youth.

The initiative aims to reduce transportation-related injuries by improving education, safety practices, and community engagement in underserved areas. NNPH seeks to create lasting improvements in how children travel to and from school.

In many low-income and rural Nevada areas, children rely on walking, biking, or scooting, often without access to essential safety infrastructure like sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic signage and calming measures. These gaps, combined with limited access to culturally relevant safety education, protective gear and resources, put students at greater risk of injury and fatalities, especially during school arrival and dismissal times.

Through this grant-funded initiative, NNPH will work in partnership with community stakeholders to implement a comprehensive, student-based strategy to promote safe and active transportation.

Program Highlights:

• Safety Education: Evidence-based lessons on pedestrian and bicycle safety
• Walking School Buses: Volunteer-led group walks to school
• Community Outreach: Public awareness campaigns and family engagement
• Student Support: Distribution of helmets, reflective gear, and safety tools
• Partnership Building: Collaboration with schools, families, and local agencies

Unsafe travel environments not only threaten physical safety but also affect school attendance, physical activity, independence, and long-term well-being. Intentional interventions are necessary to deter these disparities from continuing to place vulnerable children at risk.

For more information about this initiative or to get involved, please contact:
Northern Nevada Public Health
Stephanie Chen, Health Educator Coordinator
775-328-2474 | schen@nnph.org

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Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) is nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board and has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County through the policy-making District Board of Health. NNPH consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Population Health.  More info can be found here.