Community members in Castroville are invited to apply to be part of the Castroville Safe Routes to School Steering Committee!  

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a program in Monterey County focused on reducing traffic around schools, improving safety for kids during their school commute, and encouraging kids to be more active. The SRTS Steering Committee will help inform the North Monterey County SRTS Plan and advocate for top priority projects that will begin implementation in Spring 2026.

High-priority projects will be selected through a Participatory Budgeting process. Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process where community members decide how to allocate funding to safe routes to school projects. The Participatory Budgeting process will be conducted by the Steering Committee during at least nine three-hour meetings over the course of nine months. The Castroville Steering Committees will conduct their activities from May 2024 through February 2025. 

There will be one Steering Committee in Castroville, and a second Steering Committee in other areas of North Monterey County, such as Prunedale, Las Lomas, and Pajaro. Each Steering Committee will consist of approximately 15 members that represent each diverse community including students, parents, residents, schools, and community organizations. Steering Committee members will be compensated for their time.  

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.