AGENDA. 5. Next Steps a. Survey Distribution b. Draft Action Plan/Recommendations c. Review at next meeting in advance of document preparation

Transcription

1 Congdon Elementary Safe Routes to School Plan Update SRTS Team Meeting #2-Walk Audit March 21, 2018, 3:00 p.m. Congdon Elementary School Art Room-Duluth, MN 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. SRTS Review (as needed) AGENDA 3. Walk Audit of Congdon Elementary 4. Debrief Discussion a. Existing Conditions b. Review of Problem/Vision Statements c. Map Exercise 5. Next Steps a. Survey Distribution b. Draft Action Plan/Recommendations c. Review at next meeting in advance of document preparation 6. Question and Answer 7. Adjournment The Congdon Elementary SRTS planning project is being led by the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC). Please direct any questions about this project to: Justin Otsea, ARDC Senior Planner Phone: (218) Congdon Elementary SRTS Plan 1 of 6

2 Congdon Elementary Safe Routes to School Plan Update SRTS Team Kick-off Meeting February 8, 2018, 3:00 p.m. Foundation Room-Congdon Elementary School-Duluth, MN Meeting Summary 1. Welcome and Introductions ARDC s Justin Otsea and the Duluth- Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council s (MIC) James Gittemeier opened the meeting at 3:05 pm and introduced themselves. They invited meeting participants to introduce themselves and to share reflections about biking or walking as a child. In attendance: Ben Nelson, Ryann Signorelli, Renee Willemsen, Michelle Pierson, Kathi Kusch Marshall, Cameron Hubley, Henry Eichman, Judith McKeever, Amy Madsen, Rob Finnigan, Justin Otsea, James Gittemeier 2. What is Safe Routes to School (SRTS)? a. Safe Routes to School Goal: Where it s safe, get children walking and biking. Where it s not safe, make changes. b. Historical stats: In 1969, 38% of students rode buses to school, 48% walked/biked to school, and 12% of students arrived by parent vehicle. In modern times, the bus numbers have nationally been nearly the same with 39% of students in 2009 arriving by bus. The major change is that in modern times, now only about 13% of students walk or bike to school, and 45% of students arrive by family vehicle. c. Health benefits to walking comparisons between childhood obesity in the late 1960 s to present shows a dramatic increase in modern times. Enhancing opportunity for children to walk/bike to school would help with wellness of students bodies and minds d. The 6-E Approach to Safe Routes: Education Teach safety skills Create safety awareness Foster life-long safety habits Encouragement Increase popularity of walking and cycling Good ways to start SRTS programs Emphasizes fun of walking and biking 2 of 6

3 Enforcement Increase awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists Improve driver behavior Help children learn to follow traffic rules Decrease parent perception of danger Engineering Create safer, more accessible settings for walking/bicycling Can influence the way people behave Equity Allows resources to be provided on the basis of need Walking, biking, public transit need to be safe and convenient for all Ensure funding and programs prioritize underserved areas Evaluation Tallies and surveys can help show if the program is making a difference over time e. Congdon SRTS Planning Process Overview Meeting 1 Kickoff/today s meeting, intro to SRTS, survey review, discussion about existing conditions, vision and problem statements Meeting 2- Walk Audit Event, beginning to develop an action plan Meeting 3: Action Plan Review, begin to develop plan document Meeting 4: Review of Draft Plan f. Congdon s SRTS Team Principal, school staff members, Phy. Ed teacher, School Patrol liaison, parents, facilitators Who are we missing? Brought up that it would be good to have SHIP/Public Health and folks from the City Engineering department on the team. Maybe Dave Spooner as we discuss improvements to crosswalks. Unknown who is replacing Officer Stovern as the School Patrol DPD liaison. 3. History of SRTS work at Congdon Elementary (abbreviated list) 2006 Duluth SRTS Plan approved with Congdon strategies SRTS grant awarded for new sidewalks 3 of 6

4 2012 New sidewalks constructed along 34 th Ave E identified as SRTS route 2012 Congdon Park works with Duluth Superior MIC to conduct walk audit/parent survey 2013 School rehab/reconstruction included new sidewalks, improvements to parent drop off/pick up areas/splitting bus areas and parent areas 2015 Bike racks installed School organizes and participates in Walk to School Day, Winter Walk to School Day, and Bike to School Days each year as encouragement opportunities School partners with SafeKids to provide bike safety education each year (Kindergarten and 1 st grade) 4. Review of Parent Survey/Classroom Tally Results a. Otsea and Gittemeier presented comparison tables for walking/biking stats. Busing has stayed pretty consistent at Congdon between 2012 and Biking was once frowned upon at the school, but now we see strong numbers of student cyclists in late spring and early fall each year. 5. Group Discussion a. Additional discussion was held regarding ongoing efforts the school has for making walking/biking to school safer and issues and concerns from team members around the school campus. Information gathered will be utilized in an existing conditions memo at the next meeting. b. Member attendees were asked to fill out the vision statement worksheet included in their packet and leave it with staff. The worksheets will be utilized to craft a draft vision statement for review. 6. Next Steps a. Staff will conduct observations of the arrival and dismissal procedures of the school. b. The next meeting date will be held on Wednesday, March 21 st at 3:00 p.m. at the elementary school. Justin Otsea, ARDC Senior Planner Phone: (218) jotsea@ardc.org Congdon Elementary SRTS Plan 4 of 6

5 Duluth-Congdon Elementary Safe Routes to School Problem Statements Education (Teach safety skills and create safety awareness) Currently no existing bike rodeo to learn safety skills. Room for improvement regarding neighboring property owners and importance of vegetation / snow & ice management. Encouragement (Increase popularity of walking/biking and emphasize FUN) Heavy traffic congestion during drop-off/pick-up times in parking lot and on surrounding streets. No walking school buses or similar groups to encourage walkers who currently may not have adult supervision. Enforcement (Increase awareness of pedestrians/bicyclists and improve driver behavior) No current police liaison officer. Sidewalk snow removal policies not enforced, plowed sidewalks icy and unusable both on campus and surrounding properties. Adjacent property vegetation conflicts with viewsheds and sidewalk right of ways. Parking on Branch can cause sight issues and impact large vehicle deliveries/services (i.e. garbage collection) Limited police presence around campus during peak times. Engineering (Create a safer, more accessibly built environment for walking/bicycling) Uncontrolled intersection of Superior Street and Congdon Park Drive which sees heavy car and pedestrian traffic. Westbound left turns can result in significant back-ups in car traffic. No safe Lakewalk connection, which is nearby and utilized by student groups. Blindspot on Branch/Hawthorn. Cars illegally passing on shoulder of Superior Street and reach high speeds at times. Lack of school zone designation for limiting speeds, specifically on Superior Street. Limited signage visibility within school parking lot. Odd intersection with poor sight lines at Branch/Congdon Park Drive Crosswalk markings could be improved. 21 Bus (DTA) forced to go over curb when turning north on Hawthorne. Evaluation (Track success/progress of implemented programs and projects) Limited data on number of students walking/biking. Limited data on sidewalk use around school sites outside of school data. 5 of 6

6 Draft Vision Statements 1. Create a built environment that encourages safe bicycle and pedestrian travel, and a culture that promotes walking and biking as a fun alternative to automobiles through policy and promotional events for all students. 2. Provide a culture that embraces walking and biking as fun alternatives for travel, while creating and sustaining infrastructure that enhances safety for all students, parents, and other users. Draft Goal Statements (Each E ) Goal 1: Continue Active Safe Routes to School Team Activities Goal 2: Increase Awareness and Support for Bicycling, Walking, and SRTS Goal 3: Address and improve safety concerns and traffic congestions around the school campus. Goal 4: Conduct routine evaluation of the Congdon SRTS Program 6 of 6