Lakewood, Ohio Safe Routes to Schools 2010 School Travel Plan

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1 Lakewood, Ohio Safe Routes to Schools 2010 School Travel Plan 1) Safe Routes to Schools Team Joe Beno, City of Lakewood, Public Works Detroit Avenue Lakewood, Ohio (216) William Corrigan, City of Lakewood, Engineering Captain Ed Hassing, City of Lakewood, Police Dr. Kate Foley, Lakewood Schools, Student Services Mark Walter, Lakewood Schools, Garfield Middle School Principal Keith Ahearn, Lakewood Schools, Harding Middle School Principal Patti Richardson, Lakewood Schools PTA Laura Sangree, Lakewood Schools Staff Dru Siley, City of Lakewood, Planning Susanne Nieves, Lakewood Schools PTA Mary Beth Kohl, Lakewood Schools PTA 2) Introduction The City of Lakewood is unique in that no bus transportation is provided for regular education students. As such, all students either walk, bike, ride mass transit or are driven in private automobiles to and from school. The City is 5.6 square miles with a population of just over 50,000 residents. This very compact nature of the City keeps the distances to schools very manageable to walk for their age groups. Just because a large percentage of the student body already uses active methods of transportation already to get to and from school does not mean that the numbers could not be higher and that the practice could not be better. Students have always been walking to Lakewood Schools, probably more in the past than in the present. It is necessary to continue to improve upon our present transportation condition to eliminate barriers, and excuses, as to why students need to be driven to school. Lakewood has a very good active transportation environment, but it is not perfect and we want to work toward that goal. 3) Public Input Process For our public input process we decided that large public meetings were not necessary to generate necessary ideas to improve our active transportation environment. We conducted smaller meetings with key stakeholders from the City and Schools. Lakewood students are already exposed to programs that promote and educate about active transportation. Lakewood s Safety Town program educates youngsters before they enter kindergarten on safe practice to use while walking and biking around town. Also, the Lakewood Police Department has recently started a Bike Rodeo program to educate young riders on safe practices of bike riding. Discussions with the key stakeholders brought up a wide range of barriers to walking and biking. Wide ranging items such as personal security, bicycle safety, sidewalk conditions and snow

2 covered sidewalks to very specific issues at certain intersection crossings. Our stakeholders included staff from the schools and members of the PTA of the schools. Additionally, the comments included in the Parent Surveys provide more insight into the thoughts about Lakewood s walking and biking environment. 4) Description of Schools Harding Middle School Madison Avenue Lakewood, Ohio Principal: Keith Ahern Asst. Principal: Joseph Takacs School day: 8:30am 2:38pm Enrollment: 695 in school year Garfield Middle School Detroit Avenue Lakewood, Ohio Principal: Mark Walter Asst. Principal: Rodney Lake School day: 8:30am 2:38pm Enrollment: 631 in school year Lakewood is served by 2 middle schools; Harding on the west and Garfield on the east with Warren Road being the main boundary between the two. Though these two schools are targeted with this STP, since their enrollment area covers the entire city, overall benefits that would improve walking and biking here would also improve walking and biking to all of Lakewood s other schools. 5) School Demographics The Lakewood City School District is a First Ring Suburb located immediately west of Cleveland, Ohio. The community and school district are extremely densely populated with approximately 50,000 residents living within a community of just over 5 square miles. The School District and the City of Lakewood share geographic boundaries resulting in enhanced opportunities for cooperative initiatives. Harding Middle School Demographics This School State Average Economically disadvantaged students 40% 36% Students with disabilities 18% 14% Garfield Middle School Demographics This School State Average Economically disadvantaged students 59% 36% Students with disabilities 17% 14% 6) Current School Travel Environment As was mentioned, Lakewood is a non-busing community. This leaves the transportation choices of walk, bike or drive in a car up to the student or family. The Tally Survey taken by teachers at Harding Middle School shows that between 60% and 70% of the students are walking or biking to school while 30% to 40% are bring driven. Parent Surveys match these numbers overall. There is a significant decrease in the amount of walkers and bikers as the distance a child lives

3 from school increases. The survey results show a relatively equally dispersed student population within the distance choices given with about 25% closer than ¼ mile, 25% between ¼ and ½ mile, 25% between ½ and 1 mile, and 25% between 1 and 2 miles. Lakewood s compact geographic layout is illustrated in the 1 Mile Radius Map. Unless students are open enrolled to the middle school outside of their region, there would be only a small portion of students that live farther than 1 mile from school.

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5 DUTY TO KEEP SIDEWALKS IN REPAIR AND CLEAN. (a) Every owner, occupant or person having charge of any tenement building, lot or land fronting any avenue, street, alley or public highway in the City shall remove and clear away, or cause to be removed or cleared away, snow and ice from a path of at least four feet in width from so much of the sidewalk whether or not flagged or paved as is in front of or abuts such building or lot or land. No person removing snow from any driveway, sidewalk, public or private parking lot or private premises within the City shall deposit the same on the street, pavement, sidewalk or driveway apron of any public street. (Ord Passed ) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) hereof, snow and ice shall be removed from all business districts within the City by 9:00 a.m. of each day. (2) Except as provided in subsection (b) hereof, snow and ice shall be removed from all other sidewalks within the City on the same day as the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing rail or not later than 8:00 p.m. after the cessation of such fall, whichever period is longer. (b) In the event snow and ice on a sidewalk has become so hard that it cannot be removed without the likelihood of damage to the sidewalk, the person or entity charged with its removal, shall within the time mentioned in subsection (a) hereof, cause enough abrasive material or sodium chloride or derivative thereof to be put on the sidewalk to make travel thereon reasonably safe and shall then, as soon thereafter as weather permits, cause such sidewalk to be thoroughly cleaned. (c) Every owner, occupant or person having charge of any tenement building, lot or land fronting upon any avenue, street, alley or other public highway of the City shall keep the entire width of such sidewalk from curb to lot line, free and clear of all earth, sand, brick, stone, rubbish, dead trees and dead branches of trees or other material which from any cause whatever shall have accumulated or may accumulate upon such sidewalk above the established grade of the same and shall also cut and remove from the sidewalk between the lot and curb line, all weeds, grass and vegetable growths that are more than four inches in height. (d) If the owner of any building, lot or land fails to comply with the provisions of this section, then the Director of Public Works may remove the snow, ice, earth, sand, brick, stone, rubbish, dead trees or dead branches of trees or other materials, weeds, grass and vegetable growths, from the sidewalk in front of the premises of such owner, and may charge the expense thereof to such owner, and if, upon being notified, he fails to pay the City the amount of such expense, then such amount may be certified by the proper City officer to the County Auditor, and the same shall act as a lien upon the property of such owner, and shall be collected as provided for in the case of special assessments. (e) For the purpose of this section, the term, business district, as set forth in subsection (a)(1), shall include all properties abutting or within 150 feet of Detroit Avenue from 117th Street to the Detroit Bridge approach; abutting or within 150 feet of Madison Avenue from 117th Street to Riverside Drive; abutting or within 150 feet of 117th Street from Lake Avenue to Berea Road; abutting or within 150 feet of Warren Road from Detroit Avenue to Franklin Boulevard; abutting or within 150 feet of Sloane Avenue from West Clifton Boulevard to Phelps Avenue; abutting or within 150 feet of Berea Road from West 117th Street to the City limits; abutting or within 150 feet of Hilliard Road from Madison Avenue to Woodward Avenue; abutting or within 150 feet of the Detroit Bridge approach from Detroit Avenue to the Rocky River Bridge. (f) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. (Ord Passed )

6 DUTY TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN SIDEWALKS, TREE LAWNS AND DRIVEWAY APRONS. (a) For the purpose of this section, sidewalk means that portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for the use of pedestrians, including the area commonly referred to as the tree lawn. (b) As used in this section, driveway apron means that area of the driveway from the curb to the sidewalk. (c) The property owner whose property abuts any sidewalk shall be primarily responsible for the repair and maintenance of such sidewalk, driveway apron and tree lawn area. (1) Any hole or defect that is a tripping hazard or that is capable of causing injury, inconvenience, annoyance or damage to sidewalk users shall be repaired by the abutting property owner within a reasonable period of time from the time at which the property owner should have known of the necessity of such repair through the exercise of due diligence, or within such time as may be determined as reasonable by the Director of Public Works at the time the repair work is determined to be necessary. (2) The failure of a property owner to reasonably repair such defect in accordance with the applicable time frame shall be considered a negligent act as a matter of law, and the property owner shall be liable for any injury resulting from such defect. (d) The Director of Public Works, upon determining that the condition of any sidewalk, driveway apron or tree lawn constitutes a public hazard, may order the abutting property owner to repair any sidewalk, driveway apron, or tree lawn which the City finds to be a nuisance or in an unsafe condition. (1) The Director of Public Works shall serve a written notice of his or her determination in the manner provided by law for service in a civil action, setting forth a duplicate of the sidewalk survey indicating which sidewalks, driveway aprons, or tree lawns are to be repaired, the cost per square foot of those repairs and a time frame in which such work is to be completed. (2) If a property owner fails to repair a sidewalk or tree lawn as required by such order, the Director of Public Works may perform the work determined necessary and assess the cost of such work to the abutting land owner. (3) The Director of Public Works shall have the authority to inspect any sidewalk or tree lawn and issue a citation and order to repair to any property owner whose property abuts a sidewalk or tree lawn that is in an unreasonable state of disrepair or is determined to be a public hazard. The order to repair and citation shall be in writing upon a form approved by the Director of Public Works setting forth the specific conditions determined to be a public hazard or unreasonable state of disrepair and shall contain a date for compliance not less than thirty days from the date of the issuance of the order and citation, unless a longer period is determined to be appropriate by the Director of Public Works. (Ord Passed )

7 7) Barriers to Active Transportation See Santec Engineering Study in Section 12 8) Creating Solutions See Santec Engineering Study in Section 12 9) Improvements Mapping See Santec Engineering Study in Section 12

8 10) Action Plan Strategy Type Education Education Encouragement Enforcement Strategy Detail Continue to include pedestrian and bicyclist safety as a component of Lakewood City School s curriculum, especially for middle school students Provide pedestrian/bike travel route maps to students to help them avoid problem intersections and cross at safer crossing points. Start a bicycling training program to educate students on how to ride more safely and provide them with a certificate to ride their bikes so long as they do so safely and courteously Enforce no parking zone in front of Garfield Middle School Time Frame On going Future school years Short term Short term Responsible Party Lakewood City Schools Lakewood City Schools Schools and City Status Estimated cost Possible Funding Source Percent of Students Affected Cost per Student On going n/a n/a 100% n/a Discussion $5,000 LPD currently has a bike rodeo on the 2nd Saturday of June $4,000 Schools general fund City general fund and donations 50% - approximate number of walkers and bikers Approximately 100 participants form all age groups. LPD Current n/a All n/a $15 $40

9 Enforcement Continue enforcement presence at the schools during arrival and dismissal times Short term LPD Current n/a All n/a Engineering Engineering Provide additional bike parking at Garfield Middle School Construct 117 LF of 6' sidewalk, a 28 LF crosswalk, and two curb ramps to provide a secondary walk for students who are walking west of the school to use. Short term Long term Lakewood City Schools Lakewood City Schools Discussion $3,500 Discussion $14,000 SRTS or School general funding SRTS or School general funding 3% - 20 bike riders / total enrollment 40% - about 60% of students walk or bike and about 2/3 of the students live west of the school $175 $54 Engineering Construct 250sf of sidewalk to increase the amount of sidewalk storage space for students waiting to cross Detroit Avenue on the northeast corner of the intersection of Detroit and Cohassett Avenues. Medium term Lakewood City Schools Discussion $2,500 SRTS or School general funding 20% - about 60% of students walk or bike and about 1/3 of the students live east of the school $19

10 Engineering Construct a pedestrian refuge island on Detroit Avenue permitting students who live on either Grace or Clarence avenues south of Detroit Avenue to have a more direct and safer route to Garfield Middle School. Long term City of Lakewood Discussion $20,000 SRTS, SCMR, City General Fund 5% - 31 students that live on Clarence and Grace / total enrollment $645 Engineering Engineering Engineering Provide additional bike parking at Harding Middle School Provide an improved pedestrian crossing for students that live east of Wager and North of Detroit Avenue. Study the conversion of Madison Avenue as a three-lane or narrower section roadway Short term Medium term Short term Lakewood City Schools City of Lakewood City of Lakewood Discussion $3,500 Discussion $25,000 to $100,000 Current $30,000 SRTS or School general funding SRTS, CMAQ, NOACA, City General Fund City general fund 3% - 20 bike riders / total enrollment 10% - about 50% of the students at this distance walk or bike / 20% of enrollment is from this area 55% - about 70% of the students walk or bike / about 75% of enrollment is north of Madison $175 $370 - $1481 $81

11 11) Plan Endorsements Engineering William Corrigan Education Dr. Kate Foley Encouragement Christine Gordillo Enforcement Captain Ed Hassing Evaluation Joseph Beno 12) Supporting Documents

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