Tag: walkable campus design

One Minute, One Slide: Walkable School Campuses

One Minute, One Slide: Walkable School Campuses

Below is a “One Minute, One Slide” presentation shared by a member of the WalkBoston staff.
Text provided is as prepared for this year’s annual event on March 18, 2019.

Stacey Beuttell

Belmont, Arlington, Springfield, Somerville, Lexington, Brookline, Lowell – these are just a few of the cities and towns building new elementary, middle or high schools right now. With the construction of so many new schools in Massachusetts, WalkBoston is busy working to ensure that the students walking to school have a voice.

It’s tough because there has been a dramatic increase in driving children to school. And those drivers are loud! In 1969, almost half of kindergarten through eighth grade students walked or biked to school. In 2009, it was down to 13%.

And school campuses are being designed to accommodate these cars rather than dedicating that space to places where our kids can learn and grow.

WalkBoston is working to make school campuses more walkable. And that doesn’t mean just adding sidewalks! A walkable campus considers the needs of walkers first when organizing the movement of people, bikes, buses and cars on the school grounds. 

Walking rarely enters the conversation when new schools are planned. And that needs to change. It’s time to design our schools’ front yards for our kids to run in circles, rather than for our cars to drive in them.

Walkable school campus design is back!

Walkable school campus design is back!

photo courtesy of MA SRTS

With the design and construction of many new schools in Massachusetts, WalkBoston is busy once again working to ensure that the proposed site plans prioritize students walking to school. We just met with HMFH Architects and Crosby|Schlessinger|Smallridge to discuss the Arlington High School Building project this week at the request of some of our Arlington supporters.

Just a reminder that we published Walk to School? But how do I find the front door?: Strategies for designing a walkable school campus a couple of years ago. It’s as relevant as ever. Download your copy today.

Wicked Local Belmont – A Growth Mindset for the New High School

Wicked Local Belmont – A Growth Mindset for the New High School

Wicked Local Belmont: “A Growth Mindset for the New High School
By Kate Bowen

Transit: Did you know we charge for school buses, while we provide school parking for free? Did you know that Belmont once plowed sidewalk routes to schools? Facing practices that are at odds with our goals of reducing vehicular traffic, we are responding. We are conducting a town-wide traffic study, applying to the Complete Streets program, learning from experts including WalkBoston and Nelson/Nygaard, and re-examining our policies for buses, parking, and commuter programs. We are learning from peers like Melrose, which plows walking routes to schools:
https://tinyurl.com/MelrosePlows
and safely utilizes on-street drop-off areas. We are learning that, despite our small geography, we need to actively support walking, biking, and public transit to achieve our goals.

Posted May 22, 2018

Letter to Town of Belmont Re: Belmont High School Building Project

Letter to Town of Belmont Re: Belmont High School Building Project

WalkBoston met with the Belmont High School Building Committee, Belmont Superintendent of Schools, Assistant Town Manager and representatives from the Design Team after writing this letter. We discussed site design changes that promote walkability, and policies and programs that could increase the number of students walking and biking to school. Based on our meeting and the recent HS Building Committee meeting presentation (5-16-18) we feel that the Town and Design Team are now looking at the campus through the lens of people walking and biking to school. The proposed site plan now reflects pedestrian and bicycle desire lines, and the Design Team has committed to refining these paths as the design process continues. The Town is also studying reducing student parking and locating a drop-off zone on Concord Avenue.

WalkBoston will continue to monitor this project moving forward. We have also offered to be a resource for the Town as they evaluate parking policies and incentives to increase the number of students walking and biking to school. Thanks goes out to the residents of Belmont for speaking up for walkers!

Mr. Jeffrey Wheeler, Senior Planner
Town of Belmont
Community Development – Planning Division
Homer Municipal Building
19 Moore Street, 2nd Floor
Belmont, MA 02478

May 2, 2018

Dear Mr. Wheeler:

We are writing to express concern regarding the proposed site plan for the new Belmont Middle/High School building, specifically around the safety of students walking and biking to the school. We feel that the needs of those driving to school and the larger town-wide traffic issues have been placed above the desire to create a walkable and bikeable campus for the students and staff.

The site plan details the vehicular circulation patterns on the site including two drop-off loops, over 350 parking spaces, and a long access road that runs the length of the northern edge of the site along the railroad tracks. Other than simple pedestrian and bicycle circulation diagrams which show lines along vehicular travel ways, there is little evidence that the needs of students walking and biking to school have been considered. We understand that the site plan is only in the schematic phase, however we can tell exactly where to park and drop off students arriving by car, yet we can’t tell a student how to walk to school or where to park a bike.

It is clear that the proposed vehicular circulation pattern has been designed to absorb more traffic on site in hopes of relieving traffic queues that now occur around the high school campus. The “Implementation Measures for All Options” slide in the Perkins + Will presentation on January 16, 2018, lists improving queuing issues in 5 of the 9 measures. The access diagram suggests that walking, biking and transit access will also be improved, but the dashed lines along travelways do little to instill confidence that the needs of these vulnerable users are being taken seriously.

It only takes one dangerous intersection for parents to decide that walking or biking to school isn’t safe for their children. Designing the Belmont Middle/High School campus to accommodate more cars without safe, convenient ways to bike and walk will only promote more parents and students to drive to school rather than walk or bike.

We ask that the Town elevate the safety of and improve access for students walking and biking to school. Walkable and bikeable campus design is a proven way to reduce vehicular traffic, to improve the well being of students choosing a healthier way to get to school, and to foster greater independence and responsibility among middle and high school students.

We would welcome an opportunity to come and speak with the Building Committee or the Planning Board about the benefits of walkable campus design and to share more detailed comments on the proposed site plan. Our email addresses are listed below our signatures.

Thank you.

Stacey Beuttell, Deputy Executive Director
sbeuttell@walkboston.org

Laura O’Rourke, Development Director, Belmont Resident
lorourke@walkboston.org