multi-modal school site planning, design and

MULTI-MODAL SCHOOL SITE PLANNING, DESIGN AND TRANSPORTATION FOR PRIMARY GRADES (K-8)

BOOK MARKED CASE STUDIES INDEX Mirage Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ Good Site Placement

Christa McAuliffe School, Lenexa, KS Good School Site and Pedestrian/Bike Access

Moon Mountain Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ School Redesign on an Existing Site

Moya Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ School Site Selection

Black Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ School Frontage & Providing for Future Access to the Adjacent Community

Chancellor Charter School, Phoenix, AZ Charter School in Non-Traditional School Location (Strip Commercial Mall)

Academy of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ Neighborhood Charter School

Patterson Elementary, Washington, DC School Siting on a Local Street

H.D. Cooke Elementary, Washington, DC Urban historic renovation that designed parking around pedestrians

DC Prep Public Charter, Washington, DC Making the best of poor site selection

EL Haynes Public Charter School, Washington, DC Limited Drop off and Pick up Area

The Beauvoir School, Washington, DC Managing effective pick up and drop offs

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, Urbana, IL Creating an Alliance for better multimodal conditions

Eagle Crest Elementary, Longmont, CO Program changes to decrease private vehicle trips

Case Study: Good Site PlacementMirage Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ

This is an example of an good school site placement. This area of northwest Phoenix is set up in a one-mile grid. Mirage Elementary School was ideally placed in the center of the attendance boundary of this walking school. No child walks across a busy or high-speed arterial street to walk to school

The campus is placed at the intersection of two collector streets inside the neighborhood (39th Ave and Grovers Ave), and has frontage along a local street to the north (Villa Rita Dr.), and there is pedestrian and bike access along the west side of the school as well (40th Ave).

Mirage Elementary School

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Multi-Modal School Site Planning, Design and Transportation for Primary Grades (k-8)

Good Campus Site & Layout –Vehicle access on three sides. Pedestrian and Bike access on all four sides

Mirage Elementary School

Case Study: Good Site PlacementMirage Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ (continued)

The neighborhood around the school was developed with sidewalks along both sides of all streets, providing good walking and bicycle access to the school. There are separate bus and parent loading/drop-off areas and parents are provided ample on-site queuing areas for parent pick-up to prevent backing onto the street. Crossing guards are provided at the 4-way STOP at (39th Ave and Grovers Ave) and there are guards at 15 mph zone crossing Grovers Ave at 41st Ave (west of the school) and crossing 39th Ave at Villa Rita at the north end of the school. Children do not cross a collector street without the assistance of an adult crossing guard.

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Christa McAuliffe School

Comm.

Center

Case Study: Good School Site and Pedestrian/Bike AccessChrista McAuliffe School, Lenexa KS

Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Lenexa, Kansas is another example of a good school site and campus layout which is very walkable despite the fact that it fronts onto only one street. The school, which opened in 1987, fronts onto a collector street (W 83rd St) near the center of the attendance boundary. In addition to a good sidewalk network (shown in yellow), there is a network of paths internal to the neighborhood (shown in light purple) that provides direct access to the school and a nearby community center, immediately west of the school. Although McAuliffe School fronts directly only onto one street (which is typically not desirable), the community center west of the school provides for satellite parking and pick-up/drop-off activities, removing much of the traffic congestion from theschool frontage. Many of the children can also use the internal neighborhood paths to avoid street crossings.

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Moon Mountain School

Old School Campus location

Case Study: School Redesign on an Existing SiteMoon Mountain Elementary School, Phoenix AZ

Not all schools were built in the center of a neighborhood and not all neighborhoods have a good grid pattern to accommodate school sites. Consider the example of Moon Mountain Elementary School that was built along an arterial street (19th Avenue) in northwest Phoenix, Arizona. When the school opened in 1970, the school fronted directly onto 19th Avenue, which provided the only vehicle access onto the school campus. When the school was originally built, the arterial street was only two-lanes wide and the traffic volumes were reasonably low.

Over the years, 19th Avenue was widened to six-lanes wide (68 feet wide) and traffic levels increased to nearly 40,000 ADT. Not only did children have to cross the wide, busy arterial street, all the school parent traffic was focused in to the same small school frontage and conflicted with the school crossing. There was no direct vehicle access into the community east of 19th Avenue. City staff was contacted by school officials on an annual basis in an attempt to resolve the unsolvable traffic concerns.

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Moon Mountain School

Moon Mountain Rebuilt Site

Case Study: School Redesign on an Existing SiteMoon Mountain Elementary School, Phoenix AZ (continued)

In 1999 the school campus was rebuilt on the same site, but the school building and access was focused to the interior of the neighborhood and fronted onto a local street within the neighborhood. A larger parent pick-up/drop-off area was constructed which did not back out onto an arterial street. School traffic no longer conflicts with the school crossing across 19th Avenue, which has two adult crossing guards who operate a 15 mph school zone. A pick-up and drop-off plan was implemented along with a Safe Routes to School walking plan. Buses load from a local street on the south side of the school campus, totally separate from parent and other school traffic.

Since the school campus has been rebuilt, there have been virtually no traffic complaints from school officials or parents. This is despite the fact that the school was rebuilt on the same site.

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Moya Elementary School

Planned School

Site: No Neighborhood

Access

Case Study: School Site SelectionMoya Elementary School, Phoenix AZ

Moya Elementary School was originally going to be built at the south (bottom) end of this long site fronting directly onto Van Buren Street which is a 68 ft wide arterial street with high levels of large truck traffic. It would have a very short frontage to the school site. There was to be no other streets along the school frontage and no walking access to the school attendance area which is all north of the original planned site. The areas immediately east, west and north of the site is a low income mobile homes.

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Moya Elementary School

Ultimate School Site

Case Study: School Site SelectionMoya Elementary School, Phoenix AZ

However, the City made an agreement with the school to move the ultimate school site away from the arterial street and focus it onto a local street. The City agreed to build the local street (41st Ave) north from Van Buren for ¼ mile which provided connection to the north. Sidewalks and streetlights were included and speed humps were placed along the local street adjacent to the school for traffic calming, and a guard assists students across the street to the mobile homes to the east. The city invested $200,000 in infrastructure to support this school and allow children to safely walk and bike to school. Later, a Street Modernization project fully improved the rest of 41st Ave north to Roosevelt Street to allow safe walking access to the rest of the community. The school has operated well from the start . . . and virtually all of the children walk.

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Black Elementary School

Case Study: School Frontage & Providing for Future Access to the Adjacent CommunityBlack Elementary School, Phoenix AZ

Black Elementary School was intended to front onto 27th Ave, a 68-foot wide arterial street with no access to the north, west or south when the community developed. To make matters worse, the area to the north, west and south of the proposed school site (as well as the school site itself) is in the unincorporated county, outside Phoenix jurisdiction. The school was requesting annexation upon development.

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Black Elementary School

Future ROWDedicated

Case Study: School Frontage & Providing for Future Access to the Adjacent CommunityBlack Elementary School, Phoenix AZ (continued)

City Staff pleaded with School Administrators and some funding to turn the school to front Alta Vista to the north side of the school. Furthermore, we required ROW dedication along the north and west sides of the school for future street development, and paid for the extra costs to build a 1/2 street along the north frontage of the school building. Future developers will build the rest of the local streets along the north and west sides of the school, and access is preserved to the rest of the community when it is built..

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Chancelor Charter School

Case Study: Charter School in Non-Traditional School Location (Strip Commercial Mall)Chancellor Charter School, Phoenix AZ

There is a tendency for some charter schools to be established in strip malls along arterial streets, sometimes in former department store fronts. While these locations provide ‘high visibility’ for the school and good access for parents who drive their children, motorists do not often recognize these sites as schools, and they often have very poor pedestrian and bicycle access. In addition, the parking lots and student drop-off/pick-up areas are often poorly defined.

This slide illustrates the location of Chancellor Charter School in northwest Phoenix. The charter school was established in a mini-mall at the corner of two arterial streets. The K-7 school has about 550 students and provides two adult crossing guards at the 35th Avenue and Dunlap Avenue traffic signal to assist with student crossings. There is not a well defined walking path from the traffic signal to the school building, and students have to cross a busy parking lot and driveways. In addition, there is not a good walkway for young children living on the east side of 35th Avenue to the traffic signal. Some students and parents have been observed crossing 35th Avenue a block south of the traffic signal. Other charter schools that front onto arterial streets experience a problem with parent drop-off and pick-up traffic that backs-up onto the arterial street. This condition is not desirable.

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Academy of Arizona

Case Study: Neighborhood Charter SchoolAcademy of Arizona, Phoenix AZ

Not all charter schools are built on arterial streets. Academy of Arizona Charter School was built fronting onto a collector street inside a neighborhood area. This charter school is for grades K – 6 and has an enrollment of about 88 students. It still attracts a high proportion of students from longer distances who are driven to school by their parents. The placement inside the neighborhood (along with the small student population) allows it to function with a higher level of efficiency and safety for motorists and pedestrians.

The campus fronts onto two streets and those students from the adjacent neighborhood who walk to school do not have to cross a busy or wide arterial street. If parent pick-up or drop-off backs out into the street, it does so onto either a local or collector street. There is a good walking and bicycling network in this neighborhood. This charter school is located across the street from a neighborhood public school which is also situated in a good location for traffic safety and efficiency. The two schools off-set their arrival and dismissal times to avoid undue congestion around the two campuses.

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Urban School Case Studies

Washington, DC Context• Very small sites• Tiny parking lots• Existing network of

pedestrian facilities• Limited school buses

Case Studies – Urban Schools

The following case studies show examples of schools in Washington, DC. Below are some factors that impact school site design in DC:School sites are frequently very small in size

•Many schools have been in their locations for years.•The older school sites are typically in the heart of the neighborhoods they serve, creating ideal circumstances for walking and bicycling to school.

Due to the small sites, parking lots are tiny and often dead-end. •They are impractical for use during pick-up or drop-off.•Pick-up and drop-off typically occurs on the streets and sidewalks adjacent to the school.

In most neighborhoods, there is an existing network of pedestrian facilities making walking and bicycling to school a realistic choice for many families.Very few children in Washington, DC travel by school bus

•School bus transportation is only provided for students with special needs•A few independent after school programs run their own school buses•It is relatively common for DC students to take public transportation to and from school


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Patterson Elementary

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Case Study: School Siting on a Local StreetPatterson Elementary, Washington DCIMAGE CREDIT: The RBA Group

Key FactsName of School: Patterson Elementary SchoolAddress: 4399 South Capitol Terrace, S.W. City, State: Washington, DCSchool Type and Grades: Public School Pre K - 6Number of Students: Current 463 enrollment with capacity for 500Gross Square Feet: 78,300 sfYear built or renovated: Built in 1945 and renovated in 2004Environs: Moderately dense urban, lower household incomes (all students at the school eat lunch for free)Multimodal Site Considerations: High walking rates and a very small number of school buses access the schoolAccess to Public Transportation: Directly served by multiple Metrobus routesOff Site Transportation Issues: Access from local streets that get congestedSuccesses: Locating the school entrance on a local street rather than on the minor arterialKey Message : Patterson Elementary School is located in a lower-income area of DC. A large number of the students rely on walking as their primary transportation


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School

South Capitol Terrace

South Capitol Street

Functional Classification

Local Street

Minor Arterial

SchoolEntrance

Case Study: School Siting on a Local StreetPatterson Elementary, Washington DC (continued)

IMAGE CREDIT: Aerial photo came from the DC Atlas (DC Government Geographic Information System)

Key MessageThe school site is bounded by streets on three sides, two are local streets and one is a minor arterial. The designers did a very good job of locating the school entrance on this site. Not only did they locate the entrance on the local street rather than on the minor arterial, but they picked a local street with very little non-school related traffic.

Even though the school has high rates of walking, the local street in front of the school can get very congested during arrival and dismissal. This congestion, in conjunction with the narrow width of the local streets, helps keep vehicle speeds low and largely self-enforces the reduced school speed limit of 15 mph. The majority of the students at Patterson walk and therefore benefit from the low travel speeds.

In contrast, if the school entrance were on the minor arterial, the vehicular drop-off and pick-up would cause congestion for non-school related traffic. The frustrated drivers would be more likely to drive aggressively in order to bypass the school-related congestion. Vehicle speeds would likely also be higher.


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H.D. Cooke Elementary

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Case Study: Urban historic renovation that designed parking around pedestriansH.D. Cooke Elementary, Washington, DC

IMAGE CREDIT: Jennifer Hefferan

Key FactsName of School: H.D. Cooke Elementary SchoolAddress: 2525 17th St. NWCity, State: Washington, DC School Type and Grades: Public School Pre K - 5Number of Students: 331Year built or renovated: Originally constructed in 1909, most recent renovation completed in 2009Environs: Urban environment with high residential densityMultimodal Site Considerations: Located in traditional urban grid with complete pedestrian networkAccess to Public Transportation: Within walking distance of multiple bus routes.

Strategies pursued: Renovation and expansion of an existing school buildingSuccesses: Pedestrian-friendly school site design


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A.

B.

C.

Case Study: Urban historic renovation that designed parking around pedestriansH.D. Cooke Elementary, Washington, DC (continued)

IMAGE CREDIT: Quinn Evans Architects, A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc., October 2007

Key MessageH.D. Cooke Elementary School is a great example of a renovated urban school. Rather than tear down the historic 1909 school building and subsequent additions, the school was renovated and a substantial new addition was added. The entire project was completed according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

Located in one of DC’s densest residential areas, the school is school site is only about two acres in size. The school is not set back very far from the street and the entrance sits directly on the sidewalk. This creates a very pedestrian friendly environment, which is important for a school where such a large number of students walk to school each day.

Students can access the school from three different streets, two of which are local streets and the other is a collector. The streets create a comfortable walking environment and are more than adequate for accommodating vehicular drop-off and pick-up. Parking is prohibited in front of the school during the school day to serve doubly as a fire-lane and pick-up and drop-off area.

This image shows a 2007 site plan of H.D. Cooke. Notice that the site can be accessed from three streets:A) The main entrance of the school is on 17th Street, a local streetB) The secondary entrance of the school is on Mozart Place, also a local streetC) A third entrance is located on Euclid, a collector street


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Rear of School as Originally Proposed


IMAGE CREDIT: Quinn Evans Architects, A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc., October 2007

Key MessageThe designers originally proposed this design for the rear of the school. Notice the small parking lot, typical of schools in such a dense urban environment.

This design put diagonal parking spaces on the road adjacent to the school. This required the narrowing of the sidewalk to six feet, and it also required the sidewalk to turn 90 degrees on each side of the parking spaces.

This is a high density residential neighborhood with large numbers of pedestrians. The District Department of Transportation did not approve this design.


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Rear of School as Constructed


IMAGE CREDIT: Quinn Evans Architects, Gilbane November 2007

Key MessageThis is the design for the rear of the school that was approved and constructed. The design fits better into the surrounding pedestrian environment. The diagonal parking spaces on the road have been removed and replaced with on-street parallel parking spaces. The sidewalk has been widened to 8 feet and street trees have been added. The sidewalk is continuous and does not make any 90 degree turns. This design creates a more pedestrian friendly environment and fits better with the context of the neighborhood.

As an aside, there was a local controversy when this school first re-opened at the beginning of the school year in 2009. The bicycle racks had been installed incorrectly, making it difficult for students to park their bicycles. Local elected officials voiced their displeasure and the problem was fixed very quickly.


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DC Prep Public Charter

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DC Prep

Case Study: Making the best of poor site selectionIMAGE CREDIT: Aerial photo came from the DC Atlas (DC GovernmentGeographic Information System)

Name of School: DC Prep Public Charter SchoolAddress: 707 Edgewood Street NECity, State: Washington, DCSchool Type and Grades: Public Charter School, PreK-8Number of Students: 600Environs: Urban industrialMultimodal Site Considerations: A new multi-use trail has recently been constructed behind the school buildingAccess to Public Transportation: Accessible from a number of Metrobus routes, a pedestrian bridge over active railroad tracks will be constructed in the next few years that will provide improved access to MetrorailOff Site Transportation Issues: School is located on a dead-end streetStrategies pursued: School participated in the DC Safe Routes to School programKey Message : DC Prep is an example of the difficulties that poor site selection can cause. On the image above, the Green star shows the DC Prep Middle School Campuses. This street was formerly devoted entirely to industrial land uses. One active industrial building still remains on this street. The other buildings, denoted by yellow stars, show other schools that have located on this block.


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Case Study: Making the best of poor site selectionDC Prep Public Charter, Washington, DC (continued)

IMAGE CREDIT: The RBA Group

Key Message This location is a dead-end street. When the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) began working with DC Prep, the parents who drove would uniformly make a three-point turn on the street in front of the school before dropping off their children, creating incredible hazards for student walkers. DDOT has recently constructed some improvements, including sidewalks and crosswalks, which have helped improve safety for walkers (these improvements are not represented in the photos above).


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DC Prep

Covered PedestrianWalkway to LargeParking Lot

New Trail

Case Study: Making the best of poor site selectionDC Prep Public Charter, Washington, DC (continued)

IMAGE CREDIT: Aerial photo came from the DC Atlas (DC GovernmentGeographic Information System)

Key Message In this case, with the site selections already made, DDOT has recommended some behavior changes to further improve safety for students arriving to the school. Parents should not be allowed to drop their students off directly in front of the school. There is a covered pedestrian walkway that directly connects the school to an existing large parking lot that would safely accommodate drop-off and pick-up. DDOT has recommended that the drop-off and pick-up be moved to that location. Adult supervision could be provided along the pedestrian walkway.

Further, a new trail was just constructed behind the school creating additional opportunities for students to access the school without being driven.

One staff person at DC Prep has noted that their safety problems have improved this year even without implementing DDOT’s recommendations. The staff member credits the fact that more students have started walking to school, rather than being driven to school by their parents.


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EL Haynes Public Charter

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Case Study: Limited Drop off and Pick up AreaIMAGE CREDIT: The RBA Group

Name of School: EL Haynes Public Charter SchoolAddress: 3600 Georgia Avenue NWCity, State: Washington, DCSchool Type and Grades: Public Charter School, PK-6 (and adding grades each year)Number of Students: 376Year built or renovated: 2008Environs: UrbanMultimodal Site Considerations: Located in traditional urban grid with complete pedestrian networkAccess to Public Transportation: Accessible by multiple Metrobus routes, and very close to a Metrorail stationOff Site Transportation Issues: School is located on a high volume principal Arterial that creates barriers to walking and makes it difficult for drivers to notice they are passing a school buildingStrategies pursued: Participated in the DC Safe Routes to School programSuccesses: Active bicycle trainKey Message: EL Haynes Public Charter School opened in a new school building at the start of the 2008/2009 school year. The school is located on the corner of a high-volume principal arterial and a local street—the arterial street creates major barriers to walking. For example, there’s an uncontrolled marked crosswalk over the arterial street, within feet of the school entrance. DDOT is working on improving the access problems, however the problems could have been prevented if the school had not located on such a high volume street.


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Otis Place

Georgia A

venue

Case Study: Limited Drop off and Pick up AreaEL Haynes Public Charter School, Washington, DC (continued)


Key Message:The green star on the photo shows the location of the school. The school entrance is on Otis Place just to the west of Georgia Avenue. The school building has a small building footprint and is multiple stories in height. There is very limited space for vehicular pick-up and drop-off.

Sometimes issues related to school siting have nothing to do with traffic safety. The land uses on Georgia Avenue are largely commercial in nature. One neighbor is typically frowned upon near schools– a gentleman’s club. The club has been there for many years, and competing clubs frequently advertise by placing leaflets underneath the windshield wipers of parked cars. This has created an additional nuisance, as many parents don’t want their children to see the type of content contained on the leaflets.


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Case Study: Limited Drop off and Pick up AreaEL Haynes Public Charter School, Washington, DC (continued)


Key Message:A group of parents found the vehicular drop-off and pick-up at the school to be inconvenient. They started a bicycle train to improve the convenience of school travel. A group of parents takes turns riding to and from school with a large group of children, a distance of approximately one mile. They bicycle to and from school most days and in almost all weather. The school’s bicycle racks are full most days.

To see a video of this school’s bicycle train, visit the following website: http://www.bikemap.com/dcsaferoutes/biketrain.php


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The Beauvoir School

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Case Study: Managing effective pick up and drop offsThe Beauvoir School, Washington, DC

IMAGE CREDITS - http://history.beauvoirschool.org & www.bowie-gridley.com/Portfolio/beauvoir.htm

Key FactsName of School: Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School Address: 3500 Woodley Road Northwest City, State: Washington, DCSchool Type and Grades: Private School Pre K - 3Number of Students: Current 380 and can have up to 400 students and 85-faculty and staff full time equivalents Year built or renovated: Built 1933, physical expansions over time and 2009 staff increaseEnvirons: Moderately dense urban, residential neighborhoodMultimodal Site Considerations: Most students are dropped-off or pick-up by a parent or guardian. Walking from on-street parking or nearby homes is also common. Primary issues is safety for pedestrians at driveway entrance and managing impact of drop-off and pick-up traffic. Access to Public Transportation: Directly served by public transit and a National Cathedral shuttle that links the school with nearest Metrorail station.Off Site Transportation Issues: Queuing impacts at school driveway impact traffic operations on adjacent streets. Limited parking on-site has caused neighbors to be concerned about employees parking on-street along residential streets. Pick-up traffic has greater impact because it occurs over extended period and parents arrive and wait/queue until their child is available.


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The Beauvoir School

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Case Study: Managing effective pick up and drop offsIMAGE – Gorove/Slade AssociatesKey MessagePrimary issues are safety for pedestrians at driveway entrance, safety for students

at drop-off and pick-up location, and managing impact of drop-off and pick-up traffic. Also need to minimize parking impact on the community.

Strategies pursued: A traffic control officer is in place during drop-off and pick-up periods to assist students crossing Woodley Road. Traffic routing was changed to a one-way pattern to improve efficiency. Student pick up and drop off is managed. Parents have transponders to alert teachers when a parent or carpool is coming up the drive to minimize time on site and resulting queues. The school helps facilitate parents in arranging carpools. Aggressive TDM strategies with Commuter Rewards Policy to reduce employee trips and parking demand.

Successes: Community leaders and citizens commend Beauvoir on the management of the drop off/pick up. No queues onto the external streets or concerns about students crossing Woodley Road. Employee incentives for carpooling, vanpooling, transit, biking and walking are all part of the program. Earlier this year a survey of Beauvoir faculty and staff showed that 42% come by carpool, transit, walking or biking. Policies that require employees to park on-site and discouraging parents from parking in the neighborhood have been successful.


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Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary

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Case Study: Creating an Alliance for better multimodal conditionsImage Credits - http://www.usd116.org/king/Key FactsName of School: Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary SchoolAddress: 1108 W. FairviewCity, State: Urbana, IL 61801School Type and Grades: Public School K - 5Number of Students: 301Year built or renovated: Built in 1933 Environs: Moderately dense urban, residential neighborhoodMultimodal Site Considerations: Good sidewalk infrastructure but hazardous crossings. Access to Public Transportation: Limited public transit. Served by single bus route that operates with 30 minute headways during school arrival/departure peak periods. Off Site Transportation Issues: Traffic hazards at most crossings near school were a major impediment to waling/biking efforts. Busing was common, even for students living close. Key Message - Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is an urban school located in a residential neighborhood. Prior to implementing a SR2S program, busing was the primary mode of transportation for most students, even for those covering short distances. Using state grants and local funding, the school added bike racks, upgraded signage and striping, developed new traffic patterns in the school parking lot to manage drop off and pick up activities, and investigated improved snow removal policies to clear sidewalks near school. The school, in coordination with the Urbana’s safe routes to school program, implemented an awareness campaign to promote walking and biking. This included a remote drop off for all students bused to school, a drawing for a free, refurbished bike, helmet, lock and light, a walking buses program, and a bike train. A community police officer has participated in many planning meetings and helped implement policing programs to enforce speed limits and parking restrictions.


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Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary

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Case Study: Creating an Alliance for better multimodal conditionsKey Message - This figure illustrates a safe walking route map created to provide

information to parents and students about the best way to walk/bike to school. This map is available on their website. A safe walking route to school map is helpful for informing students, parents and community members of the best walking and biking routes.

An alliance of state health, transportation, safety, and community groups came together to utilize state and federal funding to reduce hazard bussing, develop legislative approaches to encouraging multimodalism at schools, and on eliminating traffic hazards that currently require students to be bused. These improvements have the potential to save school districts millions of dollars in ongoing busing costs, while also creating more opportunities for children to walk and bicycle safely to school.

The alliance has prioritized school siting as a key issue for Safe Routes to School, as distance to school was identified as one of the most difficult barriers to overcome in promoting walking and bicycling. In partnership with the Healthy Schools Campaign and the Office of then-Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, the network secured a $6,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to support the Sustainable Schools in Illinois project. The goal of the grant is to help the network promote community centered schools as anchors for sustainable development, smart growth and reduced school transportation costs.

Source: “Safe Routes to School State Network Project: Final Report, 2007-2009,”Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. November 2009


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Eagle Crest Elementary

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Case Study: Program changes to decrease private vehicle tripsImage Credits - http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/case_studies/pdfs/CO.longmont.pdf & http://eces.stvrain.k12.co.us/

Key FactsName of School: Eagle Crest Elementary SchoolAddress: 4444 Clover Basin DriveCity, State: Longmont, CO 80503-7953 School Type and Grades: Public School K - 5Number of Students: 450Year built or renovated: Built in 1999 Environs: Low density suburban neighborhoodMultimodal Site Considerations: Good walking environment located in residential neighborhood. Near a multi-use trail that links the school directly with adjacent neighborhoods. Off Site Transportation Issues: Had high traffic generation rates. People mostly drove, even from nearby residential locations that were within waking distance. Key Message - Eagle Crest Elementary School is located in a new suburb. The school had very high vehicle trip rates despite being located in a residential neighborhood with good walking conditions. To encourage walking and to reduce trip rates, the school started with a survey to understand travel habits. Based on the survey, the school pursued a non-infrastructure encouragement and education program to alter how students traveled to school. The school implemented a school-wide marketing program beginning with 5th grade students. They created posters to inform students about the Step Often and Ride (SOAR) environmental and health benefits and to encourage participation. Information was included in the school’s newsletter to parents to inform them about SOAR. Students learned ways to bicycle and walk to school safely. The school used a solar-powered counter to record student bicycle trips to school using a tag attached to each child’s bicycle helmet. The tags can also be attached to backpacks to count students who walk to school. Funds were used to purchase motivational prizes. The resulting increase in participation led the school to purchase three additional bicycle racks. Based on the success of the program with 5th

grades it was expanded to all students. Since it expansion, fewer than 100 motor vehicles pass through the school drop-off each morning. Prior to the SOAR program, motor vehicle transportation accounted for 75 percent of trips to school. Since the creation of the program, motor vehicles account for only 60 percent of travel modes to school.


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Eagle Crest Elementary

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Case Study: Program changes to decrease private vehicle tripsEagle Crest Elementary, Longmont, CO (continued)

Key Message - This figure shows an aerial of Eagle Crest Elementary and some of the key walking and biking facilities that connect the school to the adjacent residential neighborhoods. Key features include pedestrian only connections between the school and dead end residential streets, a multi-use trail that separates bike/pedestrian traffic from vehicle traffic and mid-block crossings with neckdowns, which help reduce traffic speeds and shorten crossing distances. These bike and pedestrian features have help the school increase walking and biking and decrease auto trips from 75% of total trips to 60% of total trips.

State BackgroundWith the passage of the federal transportation legislation, SAFETEA-LU, in August 2005, the Colorado

Department of Transportation (CDOT) began implementing its Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. CDOT first created an advisory committee comprising teachers, parents, law enforcement officers and local planners. The committee worked tirelessly to develop the process and procedures for identifying, selecting and implementing the project, as well as creating a new program for oversight, the budget and evaluation.

CDOT believes that the success of their SRTS program lies in its partnerships, which strengthen the program and reach different audiences. CDOT partners with non-profit agencies, such as Bicycle Colorado, to hold SRTS teacher trainings across the state. Currently, CDOT is working with the Colorado State Patrol to implement a Web-based crossing guard training program.

Funding for the Eagle Crest project came from the Colorado Department of Transportation. Longmont was awarded a two-year grant of just under $75,000 that was designated for programs at five schools, which included Eagle Crest Elementary.

Source: “Safe Routes to School Case Studies From Around the Country,” The National Center for Safe Routes to School. July, 2009


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multi-modal school site planning, design and

Documents