Tag: safe routes to school

Green Elementary School Walk Assessment

Green Elementary School Walk Assessment

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On May 10, 2017, WalkBoston conducted a walk assessment in the vicinity of the William S. Greene Elementary School in Fall River, in partnership with the Fall River Mass in Motion program and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. The goals of the walk assessment were to examine pedestrian safety issues that may preclude children from walking to the Greene School and to recommend improvements to the local built environment that enable safer walking. Support for the walk assessment was provided by MassDOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Enforcement and Awareness Program.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-GreeneElementarySchoolWalkAssessmentUPDATED 06-23-17-FallRiver

Springfield Schools Walk Audits

Springfield Schools Walk Audits

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Between April, 2013 – June, 2016 WalkBoston conducted 6 walk audits of elementary and community schools in Springfield, Massachusetts to assess the safety and walkability of the areas surrounding the schools. Read those walk audits here:

WalkBoston-BolandElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield

WalkBoston-DormanElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield

WalkBoston-EliasBrookingsElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield

WalkBoston-GermanGerenaCommunitySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield

WalkBoston-LincolnElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield

WalkBoston-MiltonBradleyElementarySchoolWalkAudit-Springfield

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Check out our new report – “Walk to school? But how do I find the front door? Strategies for improving pedestrian safety through walkable campus design.” (Click for instructions to download PDF).

Walking rarely enters the conversation when new schools are planned. In fact, the regulatory and approval
processes focus on facilitating bus and automobile access to schools, and ensuring that there is sufficient
parking. Public meetings are usually dominated by those who complain about traffic volumes or inadequate
parking – not by those who seek a safe walking route to school. It happens in wealthy communities and low-
income communities alike. In most cases, it’s not that drivers are given priority over walkers, it’s that nobody
is thinking about walking. And that needs to change.

This report was prepared by WalkBoston for Mass in Motion, an initiative of the MA Department of Public Health.

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Since 1990 when WalkBoston became the first pedestrian advocacy group in the country, people have looked to us to lead the way on walkability issues in Massachusetts and nationally. Here is our latest brochure “We Connect People to Walking” [click for pdf download of above image] which shares some of the numbers behind our work!

School Walkability Assessments Woburn Summer 2012

School Walkability Assessments Woburn Summer 2012

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During the summer of 2012, WalkBoston completed five walkability assessments of the pedestrian environments around five of Woburn’s public schools. Walkability assessments are commonly used in the vicinity of schools to identify problems with the pedestrian infrastructure. These problems often include discontinuous sidewalk networks, unsafe street crossings, damaged sidewalks and paths, unreliable pedestrian signals, and maintenance issues, such as crosswalks that need repainting or vegetation that has encroached on the pedestrian right of way. When a community wants to encourage more walking and biking to school, it is important that there are safe ways to do so.

This report highlights the observations that were made and makes recommendations on how to improve walking safety, especially for children walking to and from school. Many of the observations are related to vehicular speed, visibility for both pedestrians and drivers, and also predictability and consistency. While lower-cost solutions are emphasized, some longer-term more costly investments are also suggested.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-SchoolWalkabilityAssessment-Woburn-Summer 2012