Tim Phillips and his son Ike, 11, ride their bicycles home from Liberty Memorial Central Middle School on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, after Tim met his son at the school. The father and son live on Mississippi Street, which requires crossing Massachusetts Street.

How easy is it to walk or bike to school in Lawrence?

While that largely depends on what school you’re talking about, several local agencies are teaming up to make it easier for all students to be more physically active on the way to and from school.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, Lawrence school district, city of Lawrence and the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization are launching a Safe Routes to School initiative in the hopes of developing a plan that encourages walking and biking to school. That could include new policies for how streets and sidewalks are built, educating students and parents on the benefits of physical activity and better enforcement of traffic safety laws.

“Ultimately, from a public-health perspective, we know that kids who walk or bike to school have, on average, higher rates of physical activity,” said Chris Tilden, director of community health for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department. That can lead to better overall health and academic performance.

But there can be barriers to walking or biking: the school is too far away for some students, there are no safe or efficient ways to get there, or the pickup and drop-off areas at the school are always congested with vehicles.

“It’s now a minority percentage of students who walk or bike to school,” said Jessica Mortinger, transportation planner for the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization. “As a result, what are the other impacts to education and health and attention when they don’t make those trips on foot or bike?” She noted that having safer routes for students could ultimately benefit all pedestrians.

Public health officials are currently meeting with local principals to learn the needs of each school. The planning process is supposed to last about a year.

A Kansas University class taught by Stacey White, a professor of urban planning, will also engage local stakeholders to find out how easy or difficult it is to walk or bike to school. White said the project excites her, both as an urban-planning professional and as a parent.

“There’s a huge emphasis on healthy living now,” she said. “What better way to get kids active than facilitate their ability to walk or bike to school?”