safe routes to school – Page 4

Lincoln Elementary School Walkability Assessment Report

By WalkMassachusetts | June 14, 2012

WalkBoston conducted a walkability assessment in the area of Melrose, Massachusetts near the Lincoln Elementary School. After a brief discussion on pedestrian safety issues near the school and an explanation of how the assessment would be conducted, a group carried out an on-the-street audit of the pedestrian facilities in the area, with an emphasis on the routes students use to walk to and from the school grounds.

Read the full report here:
WalkBoston-LincolnElementarySchoolWalkabilityAssessment1-Melrose

Community Safe Routes to School

By WalkBoston | June 1, 2010

The Community Safe Routes to School (CSRTS) Program was a WalkBoston initiative jointly funded by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). The purpose of the CSRTS program was to study how best to apply the Safe Routes to School concept to promote changes in the travel patterns of school children by working both inside the schools and with a broad set of community partners. The four communities who participated in the program were Brockton, Newton, Stoneham and Watertown.

WalkBoston Community SRTS Final Report

Jackson Street Safe Routes to School Comment Letter

By WalkMassachusetts | May 24, 2009

May 14, 2009

Frank A. Tramontozzi, P.E.
Chief Engineer, Massachusetts Highway Department
State Transportation Building
10 Park Plaza Boston, MA 02116
Attn: Martin Leelman, Project Manager

Re: Comments on Jackson Street Safe Routes to School project, Northampton MA Prepared for Public Hearing on May 20, 2009

Dear Mr. Tramontozzi:

WalkBoston appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Jackson Street Safe Routes to School project in Northampton. We have been involved with Safe Routes to School projects since 2000, and are currently under contract with the Commonwealth to provide services to many schools across the state (more than 50 from 2007 – 2009). We have long advocated for physical improvements that enable and support programs that encourage children to walk to school.

This project is the first of a series of improvements that will be undertaken near 5 schools in five Massachusetts municipalities. We hope that this project and the others will pave the way for subsequent, similar projects across the state. They are desperately needed for the health and safety of our children.

Location and setting: The project addresses the portion of Jackson Street between Prospect Street and Gleason Road, a distance of about 2500 feet. Jackson Street carries approximately 6300 motor vehicles per day, and is anticipated to carry 6900 vehicles 10 years from now. No counts or projected numbers for pedestrians using the streets or sidewalks were provided for the area.

Project description: The proposed Jackson Street project consists of improvements including sidewalk widening and reconstruction, school driveway entrance reconstruction, pavement markings, granite curbing, fencing, wheelchair ramps, signage, traffic calming measures, and a new pedestrian ramp from Jackson Street to the Northampton Bike Path below it.

• Sidewalk widening and reconstruction: a permanent concrete sidewalk is planned for about 1500 ‘ of the distance along the east side of Jackson Street between Prospect Street and Barrett Street. The proposed sidewalk is to be 5.5 feet wide, enlarged to 10 feet wide between the bike ramp and the existing crosswalk at Barrett Street.
• School driveway entrance reconstruction: The existing wide radius of the school entrance driveway will be reduced. The new driveway will require drivers to make slower turns, providing greater safety for walkers.
• Crosswalks: 8’ wide crosswalks are planned for three of the legs at the 4-way intersection of Jackson and Prospect Streets. A single north-south crosswalk is planned for the intersection of the three-legged intersection of Jackson and Barrett Streets.
• Raised Crossings: The 8’ wide east-west crosswalk at Barrett Street leading to the school will be rebuilt as a raised speed table. An additional raised crosswalk is planned for the other end of the school property near the entrance to the parking lot. Thus two raised 2 crosswalks – one at Barrett Street and the other 320 feet further north at the school driveway, will serve the school. The two raised crosswalks will be supplemented by signs warning of the raised crosswalks and pavement painting to emphasize their location.
• Warning signs and pavement markings: Speed table warning signs and pavement markings are to be located both north and south of each crosswalk. No signals are planned.
• Pedestrian ramp to the Bike Path: A permanent connection between Jackson Street and the bike path is proposed via an accessible ramp. The Bike Path can currently be accessed only at Blackberry Lane to the west where the Bike Path rises and meets Blackberry Lane at grade. The Bike Path is reported to be an increasingly important means of access to the school for students commuting on bikes and on foot.
• Wheelchair ramps: Ramps are located at the crosswalks at the intersection of Jackson and Prospect Streets and at the north-south crossing of the intersection of Jackson and Barrett Streets. Wheelchair access will be an integral part of the 8’ wide raised east-west crosswalks.
• Concrete curbs: New curbs are proposed along the Jackson Street sidewalk between Prospect and Barrett Streets, and again at the school entrance driveway.
• Fencing: A 4’ chain link fence is proposed between the school entrance driveway and the north property line to discourage children from crossing Jackson Street where there is no crosswalk. A 6’ chain link fence is proposed for the ramp to the Bikeway, to be connected into the existing fence at that location.

Comments –
This is a prototype for improvements on routes leading to schools. We think it is a wonderful idea and are happy to see it getting underway. We offer the following considerations:

1. It is possible that initial operations of the raised crosswalks will require crossing guards or flashing lights to warn motorists of children crossing.
2. The proposed sidewalk on the east side of Jackson Street has many interruptions for cuts that lower the sidewalk at each driveway resulting in a roller coaster effect for people on the sidewalk. Are there any studies that explore whether walkers or more probably, cyclists, might be affected by such cuts? Would it be possible to keep the sidewalk level and require vehicle to cross up and over the sidewalk?
3. Adding a crosswalk at the far north end of school property might be considered. At the point where the internal sidewalk network in the Hampton Gardens projects leads to Jackson Street, jaywalking by children has been reported. Jaywalking by children is unsafe and may not be controllable by simply fencing school property across the street.
4. Follow-up actions might include analysis of pedestrian and bicycle numbers to determine whether there has been an increase in these two modes, review of the safety of the raised crossings, and the effects on Jackson Street traffic (if any) after project is completed. The analysis might give guidance to similar projects.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this project. Please feel free to call if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Robert Sloane
Senior Planner

Route 181 Reconstruction Comment Letter

By WalkMassachusetts | November 18, 2008

November 18, 2008

Frank A. Tramontozzi, P.E.
Chief Engineer Massachusetts Highway Department
10 Park Plaza
Boston, MA 02116

RE: Route 181 Reconstruction and Minor Widening project in Belchertown, MA
Project File No. 604433

Dear Mr. Tramontozzi:

WalkBoston is the Commonwealth’s leading advocate for pedestrians and safe walking. We work throughout the state – encouraging walking, supporting pedestrian improvements and sponsoring walks. We have extensive experience in helping residents and local governments with pedestrian issues, safe routes to schools and safer street crossings and sidewalks.

We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposed reconstruction and minor widening of Route 181 in Belchertown and are pleased to have been notified by MHD about the project. We are commenting because we think there may be ways to further enhance pedestrian safety.

As we have seen in the plans, the project focuses on Route 181 between its intersection with Maple Street (the town center) and the Belchertown-Palmer town line. The reconstructed road will have two 11-foot wide travel lanes and 4-foot wide shoulders. The project will include safety improvement measures such as bicycle accommodation; sidewalk reconstruction; enhanced roadway drainage; improved sight distance in some areas; and installation of guardrail, pavement markings and signage.

We are concerned about pedestrian access in the Route 181 corridor for these reasons:

1. Safe Routes to Schools. WalkBoston is involved with a number of communities across the state in providing walking programs and encouragement, along with planning for physical improvements that could better accommodate children walking to school. In Belchertown, sidewalks connect to both the Center School on Rte 181 north of Maple Street and the Cold Spring School on Rte 181 at Old Springfield Road. Pedestrians going to schools are accommodated along Rte 181 by sidewalks between Maple Street and by a sidewalk between Old Springfield Road to a point about 2000 feet south on Rte 181. These sidewalks should be maintained and, if rebuilt, should be maintained at 4’ or 5’ clear walking width. Poles, signs or other impediments should not be located within the clear walking width.

2. Continuous sidewalk on at least one side of the street. Sidewalks are available on both sides of the street between Maple Street and Old Springfield Road and along only one side of Rte 181 to a point about 2000 feet south of Old Springfield Road. Sidewalks should extend outward for at least 1 mile from schools, assuming there are residences where students might live within that radius. Along Rte 181 south of Old Springfield Road and within 1 mile from the Cold Spring School, there appear to be residences that might warrant extending the sidewalk beyond the 2000’ length.

3. Crosswalks. Along Rte 181, crosswalks are provided at the intersection of Rte 181 and Maple Street and Rte 181 and Old Springfield Road. There is a single intersection with Rte 181 at Fuller Street that does not presently have a crosswalk. Consideration should be given to installation of crosswalks at the Fuller Street intersection, in addition to repainting the crosswalks at the two existing intersections.

4. Detailed design. Sidewalks already in place along Rte 181 should be reconstructed if possible – largely to bring them to a standard width. Care should be taken to assure that any widening of Rte 181 does not narrow sidewalk widths. Where possible, sidewalks should be separated from the roadway by a minimum of 4’ to provide greater safety and comfort for walkers along this relatively high speed road.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this project. We look forward to working with you and welcome any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Bob Sloane
Senior Project Manager

Cc: MABPAB
MHD Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky