Mary H Wright Elementary School

Transcription

1 Mary H Wright Elementary School Safe Routes to School Travel Plan February Prepared with assistance from the SC SRTS Resource Center

2 INTRODUCTION This Travel Plan represents the work of the Mary H. Wright Elementary School Safe Routes to School Team. Our school is a Bronze Level Partner with the South Carolina Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Resource Center. We believe this is a good way to solidify our commitment to re-creating an on-going Safe Routes to School program at our school. The ideas and recommendations developed during this process will guide us in creating a well-balanced approach to building our SRTS program at Mary Wright Elementary School. Our school team will use this document as a resource to plan our encouragement, education, enforcement, and evaluation efforts with assistance from the SC SRTS Resource Center. The plan also includes recommendations for engineering projects near Mary Wright Elementary School that would have a positive impact on walking and biking to school. It is our hope that our recommendations can be the basis for grants and/or improvements initiated by the City of Spartanburg or Spartanburg County. A diverse SRTS team consisting of parents, teachers and other community stakeholders was organized and provided input, guidance and oversight in writing our plan. SCDOT, through the South Carolina SRTS Resource Center, has provided technical assistance in producing this plan. We recognize that SCDOT has reviewed this plan but that the review does not imply formal adoption of the plan by the SCDOT or funding of the recommendations. The Five E s SRTS combines many different approaches to make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school and to increase the number of children doing so. Engineering strategies create safer environments for walking and bicycling to school through improvements to the infrastructure surrounding schools. These improvements focus on reducing motor vehicle speeds and conflicts with pedestrians and bicyclists, and establishing safer and fully accessible crossings, walkways, trails and bikeways. Education programs target children, parents, caregivers and neighbors, teaching how to walk and bicycle safely and informing drivers on how to drive more safely around pedestrians and bicyclists. Education programs can also incorporate health and environment messages. Enforcement strategies increase the safety of children bicycling and walking to school by helping to change unsafe behaviors of drivers, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists. A community approach to enforcement involves students, parents or caregivers, school personnel, crossing guards and law enforcement officers. Encouragement activities promote walking and bicycling to school to children, parents and community members. Events such as Walk to School Day, contests such as a Frequent Walker/Bicyclist challenge, or ongoing programs such as a Walking School Bus or Bicycle Train can promote and encourage walking and bicycling as a popular way to get to school. Evaluation is an important component of SRTS programs that can be incorporated into each of the other E s. Collecting information before and after program activities or projects are implemented allow communities to track progress and outcomes, and provide information to guide program development. - Excerpted from Safe Routes to School: A Transportation Legacy, the report of the National Safe Routes to School Task Force 1

3 Members of the Mary H. Wright Travel Plan Team Verotta Kennedy Principal Mary H. Wright Elementary School Richard Wheeler Assistant Principal Mary H. Wright Elementary School Wendy Jackson Physical Education Teacher Mary H. Wright Elementary School Florence Kennedy School Improvement Council Mary H. Wright Elementary School Dennis Canada Spartanburg Sheriff s Department Myles Wilson Athletic Director & Safety Contact Spartanburg 7 Schools Rochelle Williams Partners for Active Living Jackie Miller Parent Involvement Facilitator Mary H. Wright Elementary Tamika Oden Boys and Girls Club Courtney Normal AmeriCorps 7 P.K. Weiss Unitarian Universalist Service Committee & School Volunteer Edwin Wilde Unitarian Universalist Service Committee & Spartanburg Men s Garden Club Wanda Cheeks Southside Unity in the Community TEAM VISION The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program at Mary H. Wright Elementary School aligns with the community s efforts towards promoting walkability. The SRTS program goals of combining engineering, education, enforcement, evaluation and encouragement strategies (also known as the Five E s) to improve the safety and health of students who walk to school fit our school and town s values. Our vision for Mary H. Wright Elementary School (and the surrounding neighborhoods) is: - To be a place where students are excited about walking to school 2

4 - To be a place where students and their families have safe, beautiful and inviting walking and biking routes to school - To be a place where people are not afraid of threats of violence or disruption - To be a place where students feel confident in their abilities to walk along and across streets safely - To be place where students have opportunities to practice safe walking skills both in the classroom and outside - To be a place where walking becomes a habitual choice for students throughout their lifetime This SRTS Travel Plan outlines our school s intentions for making walking to and from school safer and more sustainable for students and the community. Through our SRTS program and efforts, we hope to reach a rate of 10% of our students walking to school at least two days a week. We believe this goal is attainable, as at least 13% of our students live within 1 mile of school. ABOUT THIS PLAN Our Safe Routes to School team met three times with staff from the SC Resource Center to develop this SRTS plan and plan to meet again in Spring to adopt the plan. Each meeting provided education on the benefits of SRTS and highlighted successful program components and strategies. The barriers and challenges meeting included a guided walk audit of the areas around our school. We also discussed education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation strategies, which helped us to identify needed and complimentary programs to support proposed engineering strategies. An overview of our planning process is included in the table below. 3

5 Meeting Date September 2011 October 2011 December 2011 Spring Content and Outcomes Kick-off Meeting: How the SC SRTS Travel Plan Works - Award of the planning assistance grant - Overview of the planning process Engineering Meeting - Team visioning - Opportunity and barrier discussions - Walk audit - Observed dismissal Plan Review - Reviewed the draft plan - Identified roles and immediate steps for non-engineering recommendations Plan Adoption - Adopted plan - Began implementation of non-infrastructure recommendations 4

6 TRAVEL PLAN CONTEXT MARY H. WRIGHT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND SPARTANBURG OVERVIEW Mary H. Wright Elementary School is located in Spartanburg, a city in the Upstate Region of South Carolina. The City is currently implementing historic restoration projects and facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists in downtown to accommodate students and staff of the new medical school campus that opened last year. The campus, as well as other new development around the City will likely bring more people to the walkable and bikable downtown. Mary H. Wright Elementary School is sited within a larger campus that includes Carver Junior High School on Church Street, just outside of historic downtown Spartanburg. Commuters use this street as an alternative to Main Street to get in and out of the City. Church Street is classified as a major arterial with a speed limit of 35 mph. Despite being located on a busy street, the areas surrounding the school are primarily low-density shopping centers and neighborhoods. Many local roads have access to Church Street. This direct access to the main road makes it easy for Mary H. Wright students to identify a variety of walking routes. However, the current traffic conditions along Church Street deter parents from allowing their children to walk or bike to school. The SRTS program at Mary H. Wright Elementary School is a key component in the school s efforts to improve the health and safety of its students. The school was opened in July of 2001 and, on its first day, hosted a Walk to School Day event to encourage Context Map for Mary H. Wright Elementary School families to walk and bike to school from the beginning. With the help of a school team, Partners for Active Living (formerly HeartWise), DHEC and Spartanburg SafeKids, the program took off and was able to secure infrastructure funds the following semester from SC Cardiovascular Health Program. The projects included the installation of two high visibility midblock crosswalks one on Church Street and one on Marion Avenue which created vital 5

7 connections along the main walking routes to school. Additional improvements made with the grant included flashing speed lights over Church Street, push-button pedestrian signals at existing signals, and School pavement markings on Church Street. All of these projects exist today and are used by students on regular basis. This past year a new principal has joined Mary H. Wright, Ms. Verotta Kennedy, who strongly supports the SRTS program and its mission to making walking routes safer for students. Ms. Kennedy has formed a new SRTS team that has stakeholders from both the school and the community. The team is inspired by efforts that were started over 10 years ago, and is looking forward to implementing critical improvements to improve the safety of the walking routes today. The Mary H. Wright Greenway could be used by student pedestrian and bicyclists. It provides a direct, off-road connection between South Converse Street and Marion Avenue. The SRTS program also complements efforts made by the city of Spartanburg and Partners for Active Living 1 towards promoting walkability. Spartanburg is committed to improving pedestrian safety within the City and County, as evidenced in its first countywide comprehensive Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, adopted in The Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan recognizes that sidewalks are needed throughout the county to give young people, seniors, and other non-drivers, transportation options. The plan also notes that sidewalk connectivity can have a positive impact on travel within and between neighborhoods and commercial nodes. One of the impressive aspects of the plan is a facility prioritization scoring system for identifying infrastructure projects. Potential infrastructure projects, such as sidewalks, are evaluated and receive points for project characteristics. Among those that are given the highest 1 Partners for Active Living is a community group that spearheads most of the pedestrian bicycle policies, plans and programs for both the City and County. Among its accomplishments are the installations of over 170 bike racks, implementation of Walkin and Wheelin Wednesdays, and successfully advocating the adoption of the countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. 6

8 point value (5 points) is direct access to/from a school. This means that projects identified in this plan will likely score highly on the facilities priority evaluation criteria. Other planning efforts that promote the ehancement of pedestrian and bicycle facilities are the Spartanburg Area Transportation Study Long Range Enhancement Master Plan (2004) and the Spartanburg Area Active Living Assesment. Additionally, both the County and City have passed Complete Street Resolutions (in 2006 and 2007 respectively) that, when fully implemented, will close signficant gaps in the pedestrian and bicycle travel networks. The City of Spartanburg is also proud be recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle Friendly City, achieving Bronze Level status. This achievement was realized in 2007, and the City is working with the Partners for Active Living towards achieving Silver Level status in the future. CURRENT SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS Spartanburg s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan was adopted in This plan references recommendations made in this plan. Our school serves grades pre-k through sixth grade and has a total of 500 students enrolled for the school year. Demographic Count Percentage of student body Free/Reduced Lunch % Students with Disabilities % 7

9 CURRENT STUDENT TRAVEL MODES In 2011, the school distributed a parent survey which was completed by 128 families. Distance from school and mode of travel data below was compiled from the survey responses and and is therefore a partial representation of the student body. The Spartanburg School District does not provide busing to students living within 1.5 miles of their school Parent Survey Results (128 responses) Distance From School Students living within ¼ mile of school 18* 0.3% Students living within 1/2 mile of 31* 0.6% school Students living within 1 mile of school 66* 1.3% Travel Mode Time of Trip Walk Bike School Bus Family Vehicle Carpool Public Transit Other Number of Students Morning Afternoon ** Percentage of Student Body Morning 0.3% 0% 1.1% 1.1% 0% 0% 0% Afternoon 0.5% 0% 1.1% 0.7% 0% 0% 40% * Numbers are cumulative. For example, students living within ½ mile of school includes those that live ¼ mile from school and those that live between ¼ and ½ mile from school. ** 200 students stay after for Boys & Girls Club After-School Program (information provided by school team.) 8

10 SCHOOL ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES Mary H. Wright Elementary School relies on policies, practices, and support activities to ensure a safe and orderly arrival and dismissal process for students, regardless of how they travel to school. Parents are reminded of these procedures in the student handbook and in newsletters that are mailed to students homes. There are three access points onto the campus. Mary H. Wright family vehicles Walkers are released first from the rear entrance. A B C have two access points: the main entrance off of Church Street and Hartwell Street off of Marion Avenue. Student pedestrians use all three access points to access Mary H. Wright Elementary School. In the mornings, all students enter the school via the Cafeteria, which is open for breakfast. The north parking lot (with access from Marion Avenue, B in the map to the left) is used by buses that are transporting Mary H. Wright Elementary School students. Only staff and buses are permitted to use this parking lot and driveway. Buses transporting Carver Junior High Students use a loop and parking lot entrance accessible from Caulder Drive. Carver Junior High Parents can use the main driveway (A). Buses use the parking lot driveway (B). Pedestrians use all access points (A, B, C). Staff may also use this parking lot. Parents and other visitors are instructed to access the campus for both Mary H. Wright Elementary and Carver Junior High via the main driveway, with access from Church Street ( A on the map). The driveway continues around one large traffic circle to each of the school s main entrances. Parents are permitted to use the driveway for the entire school day. In the morning, parents drive to the school entrance where a teacher escorts the child into the cafeteria. Parent drivers must stay in the car at all times to reduce congestion. There is little to no space for 9

11 parents to park and walk their children in. This design and protocol appears to work both efficiently and safely for students riding in family vehicles. Students walking to school who arrive before 7:30am may access the school via the cafeteria entrance (accessible from Church Street) for breakfast. After 7:45am, students go directly to their classrooms. All doors, except the cafeteria and main entrance doors, are locked in the morning. Currently there are no students who bike to either Mary Wright Elementary School or Carver Junior High School. Students who have received parental permission to walk home from school are released first at 2:15pm from the rear doors facing Hartwell Street. A staff person walks them to the stairs leading to Hartwell Street Road and helps them cross the street to the neighborhood safely. Generally, this exit works well for students as it is isolated from through traffic, and parents are not permitted The neighborhood located east of the school has a direct, wellmaintained pathway that students use to get to school. This connection creates a shortcut that makes walking both a more convenient and faster mode than driving. to use this street to access the campus. The street also has speed humps to calm traffic that does enter the street. Unfortunately the hill leading down to the street is quite steep, and the only way to access the sidewalk is the non-ada compliant stairway. Parents who do make their way into the Hartwell Street entrance are told to turn around and use the Church Street driveway. In the afternoon, buses line up in the parking lots where they dropped students off in the morning. Students who ride the bus start moving towards the appropriate hallways at 2:20pm to wait for the 2:30pm dismissal bell. Parents who are driving to pick up their child use the main entrance driveway as they did in the morning. Parents must stay in the cars as staff members connect children to the appropriate vehicles. Some parents will choose to park and walk to the rear entrance to retrieve their children. The Team does not want to discourage this activity as it provides a safe, chaperoned walk to the car. Additionally, removing cars from the main entrance loop can help to reduce congestion on the school campus and on Church Street. 10

12 As early as one hour before dismissal, parents form a single line in the school s driveway. A staff person identifies each driver and escorts the child to the appropriate car. Parents are not permitted to get out of their car while in the pick-up line. Arrival Travel Mode Procedure Time Walk Bike School Bus Family Vehicle Arrive staggered N/A Arrive staggered Arrive staggered. Unload on different side of school than buses. 7:15-7:45am N/A 7:30-7:40am 7:15-7:45am Dismissal Travel Mode Procedure Time Walk Bike School Bus Family Vehicle Walkers are released from the rear doors towards Hartwell Street. N/A Bus Riders dismissed first on north side of school. Students waiting for their parents are released from the main entrance. 2:15-2:30pm N/A 2:30pm 2:30pm 11

13 EXISTING TRAVEL HABITS Students travel from all directions to Mary H. Wright Elementary School. As mentioned earlier, many live within reasonable walking distance of the school. For example, at least 66 students (1.3%) live within one mile of school and 31 within a half mile. Students who walk to school are concentrated on the following roadway segments: Church Street from Marion Avenue to Caulder Avenue almost all student walkers use Church Street to access the school. Students are approaching from both the north and the south. Students who use public transit use the bus stop at Milster Street (located immediately opposite the school main entrance) to get to school. The intersection of Church Street and Milster Street has an assigned crossing guard for both morning and afternoon hours. Church Street is the main road that students use to walk to school. It connects the neighborhoods west of the school. Marion Avenue from South Converse Street to Hartwell Street several students coming from the east walk along Marion Avenue. Students also cut through the neighborhood behind the school. There is a sidewalk connection between the Community Center (located on Martin Street) that makes it easy to stay on local, low-volume streets. A relatively small but significant number of students walk along the south side of Caulder Avenue to get to school. Caulder Avenue connects many of the neighborhoods south of school. On the day of our safety audit no students were observed bicycling to school. While our school s SRTS Team s primary focus for this plan is to improve the safety of the student walking routes, we include these comments related to bicycling for consideration in the long. If students were interested in bicycling, it would be likely that the students would use the Mary H. Wright Greenway that connects South Converse Street to Hudson L. Barksdale Boulevard. 12

14 The trail is relatively flat, paved and has good sight lines along the path. Shared lane markings are already present on Marion Avenue, further improving safety for bicyclists on this route to school. There are no bicycle racks located on the school campus at this time. A parent survey was conducted in the fall of 2011 and provides good information on parent attitudes and behaviors. For example, parents of students who do not allow their children to walk to school listed the following reasons for doing so: Violence or crime The speed of traffic is too high Amount of traffic along route Safety of intersections and crossings Students not old enough to walk alone or with other students The survey results showed that if some of the conditions listed above were changed, parents would reconsider allowing their children to walk to school. Many of these issues can be addressed with either infrastructure or non-infrastructure strategies (or in some cases both). We kept these concerns in mind when picking the strategies that we want to accomplish during the remainder of this school year, and the coming school year, KEY ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES The team identified the following issues and opportunities for safe routes to school at Mary H. Wright Elementary: Issue: Lack of safe crossing conditions at Marion Avenue and Hudson L. Barksdale Boulevard deter parents from allowing their children to walk to and from school. Several students live east of the school campus. The most direct connection for these neighborhoods is Marion Avenue, a busy neighborhood collector street. The intersection of Marion Avenue and Hudson L. Barksdale is a critical point along the school walking route. Wide turning radii and missing curb ramps makes the intersection of Marion Avenue and Hudson L. Barksdale Boulevard challenging to cross. 13

15 This intersection is also a key access point along the Mary H. Wright Greenway. Malfunctioning pedestrian signals, short crossing times, and missing or misaligned curb ramps make this intersection a challenge for all users. Issue: Motorists on Church Street do not always observe students walking in the crosswalk leading to the school main entrance, creating risks for students and parents walking to and from school. The intersection closest to the School (Milster Street and Church Street) is not stop controlled. There is a high visibility crosswalk that extends across the southern crossing leg. A median island helps to break up the crossing distance but the median stops just short of the intersection, which therefore does not provide full protection. A crossing guard assists students crossing in both the morning and afternoon hours; however, even with the crossing guard some cars were observed stopping in or just on the edge of the crosswalk. The crossing guard explained that sometimes it is challenging for him to get back to the appropriate side safely to cross the next wave of students approaching the intersection. Issue: The existing crosswalk on Caulder Avenue is not is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Previous Safe Routes to School efforts were successful in getting a high visibility crosswalk and school crossing signage installed midblock on Caulder Avenue near the Carver Junior High School entrance. However, the crossing currently lacks curb ramps and the edges of the crosswalk are unpaved, making it a challenging crossing for those depending on mobility assistance devices. When the gates over the sidewalks are locked, students must walk in the street to access the school campus. These gates should unlocked and open during arrival and dismissal hours. Issue: Blocked sidewalks at the school entrance forces pedestrians to walk in the school driveway to get to school. The main entrance to school is protected by wrought iron gates that are open during school hours. There are two gates on either side of the median, and two gates across the sidewalks on 14

16 Church Street. These gates stand on the driveway and the sidewalks abutting the driveway. Both gates are supposed to be open during school hours; however, the sidewalk gates are often closed, forcing students to step off the street and into the driveway to access school grounds. Since the development of this plan, the gates have been open, allowing pedestrians the safer alternative of staying on the sidewalk. Issue: Parents are concerned about violence and crime along school walking routes and will not allow their children to walk to school unsupervised. Violence and crime was listed as the number one decision-making factor for those parents who do not allow their children to walk to school. A number of write-in comments also mentioned crime as an issue. Parents explained that because of the crime in the area, they are reluctant to allow their children to walk to and from school without adult supervision. Issue: Lack of secure bicycle parking on campus deters families from biking to and from school. The City of Spartanburg has successfully implemented several bicycle facility projects within the school walking and biking zone. Several of the commonly used routes to school have bicycle lanes, shared lane markings, or multi-use path connections. The lack of secure bicycle options is a missed opportunity for encouraging bicycle travel to and from school. Encouraging students to ride bicycles to school may be an activity we will focus on in the future. 15

17 TRAVEL PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS This Travel Plan is comprised of several sections detailing activities and programs for our school to implement now and projects for us to work on with local officials. Non-Engineering Plan This Travel Plan identifies best practice education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation activities and programs suitable for Mary H. Wright Elementary. Information on the advantages and considerations for each strategy and resources to help us implement each are included in the Appendix E. Our team met three times to create our Travel Plan. 12 Month SRTS Activity Calendar Our team will pursue a smaller subset of items in the non-engineering plan during the next 12 months. We will review our work periodically, adding additional activities that will continue the SRTS program momentum. Engineering Recommendations With assistance from the South Carolina SRTS Resource Center, we have identified short, medium and long- engineering treatments to make walking to school safer for our students. NON-ENGINEERING TRAVEL PLAN We identified a number of activities and programs to promote walking to school. These activities and programs, while grouped by The Five E s, are dependent upon each other for their individual success. We plan to work on our highest priority programs this year, following up with other programs in successive years. We used the timeframe below to deine when to initiate programs: Type Short Medium Long Encouragement, Education, Enforcement, Evaluation Within 12 months Or, what we plan to do this school year Within 2 years Or, what we plan to do next school year Longer than 2 years Or, what we plan to do starting in two years 16

18 The activities and programs we expect to work on during the next 12 months are identified in the activity calendar included in this section. Medium and Long Term strategies are described below. A calendar for our strategies is included in Appendix A. EDUCATION STRATEGIES The education strategies included in our 12-month activity calendar are aimed at providing all students with pedestrian walking skills. Physical Education classes will incorporate lessons from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration s Child Pedestrian Safety Curriculum into the classroom for all grades. Homeroom teachers will also have access to the curriculum and will be encouraged to incorporate pedestrian safety cross-curricular lessons during October to help celebrate International Walk to School Day. Establishing a student safety patrol program is another top education strategy. Student safety patrol programs can help students develop leadership skills, organizational skills, responsibility, and emphasizes the importance of being a good role model. We recognize that student safety patrol programs also benefit our school and community by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration s pedestrian safety education curriculum is available online, free of charge. increasing traffic safety awareness on campus and around the school walking environment. These programs also inspire a spirit of volunteerism and civic-mindedness. We plan to explore possible funding sources for safety equipment and incentive items and find an adult champion to manage the program. To address personal security concerns we will include personal security lessons with our pedestrian safety lessons. To encourage families to continue the conversation at home, we will send, Education: Personal Security Around School, a resource developed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School (NCSRTS) home with students 2. The parent suvey summary showed that parents are very concerned about violence and crime along school walking routes. Proactive outreach to parents about this issue will be key to increasing the number of students who are allowed to walk. Additionally, parents will need to 2 Education: Personal Security Around School is a resources that is available online, free of charge at this web address: 17

19 know where they can get reliable information on crime rates in the area. We plan to partner with the Spartanburg Police Department to get accurate reports on the frequency and type of crime in the area. We will also work with the Spartanburg Police Department to learn about ways to both prevent and report crime in our neighborhoods. Other education strategies we will work on after this year are: Include walking as a topic to address during Back to School Night in August Send students home with safe walking and bicycling tip sheets developed by national safety agencies and organizations such as the National Center for Safe Routes to School and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ENCOURAGEMENT STRATEGIES Encouragement strategies included in our 12-month activity calendar will help students and their parents feel more comfortable and confident about walking to school. Families currently walk in groups, but have not formalized their walking school buses. Our first encouragement activity will be to provide support for two walking school buses (one from Marion Avenue and another from the Brookwood Terrace). This will be the start of our Walking Wednesdays Program which encourages students to walk to school (especially in groups!) on the first Wednesday of every month. We plan to use with the South Carolina Walking School Bus Tip sheet as our kick-start guide 3. Our partners for encouragement activities are the Boys and Girls Club, Partners for Active Living, SafeKids Spartanburg and the SC Resource Center. We had a successful Walk to School Day event on October 5, We would like to continue the enthusiasm from this event through the spring semester. We plan to work with Partners for Active Living to formally organize our Walking Wednesday s program starting this spring. The kick-off for this program will be South Carolina s Walk to School Day event in March. We plan to work with SafeKids to provide pedestrian and Halloween safety education for students next fall. To sustain the momentum of this Travel Plan, we will reach out to the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and encourage them to form a Safe Routes to School committee that is dedicated to helping implement the strategies that our team has identified. We will need the help and cooperation of parents and teachers to make this Travel Plan successful. The 3 The Walking School Bus Tip Sheet is available online 18

20 committee will help us evaluate our progress and will identify new strategies to achieve our vision. We will continue to call upon the SC Resource Center for technical assistance and support in promoting programs and events. Other encouragement strategies we will work on after this year are: Print maps that show preferred walking routes Park and Walk program for students whose parents drive them to school ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES Our SRTS enforcement strategies are aimed at both changing the behavior of drivers and making the neighborhood safer and more secure for students walking to and from school. To address personal safety, we will partner with the Spartanburg Police department to form a neighborhood watch group and a Corner Captains program. The reach of neighborhood watch extends beyond our SRTS program and will help make the community safer for all residents at all hours. We will recruit parents who are home during the day and local retirees to act as Corner Captains. As Corner Captains, residents promise to watch the neighborhood during either school arrival or dismissal times (or even both) and to report any suspicious behavior they witness. We will also provide personal security education to the students. One of the handouts that will be sent home with students is the Tips for Addressing Personal Security Around Schools resource that was developed by NHTSA 4. We also want to reinforce with parents the pick-up procedures, and work with enforcement personnel to help encourage parents not to stop on Hartsdale Street to pick up their students as a way to avoid waiting in the carpool line. Our partner for traffic safety is the Spartanburg Police department. They participate in Walk to School Day events by stationing vehicles along student walking routes and enforcing crosswalk yield compliance and speed limits. Other enforcement strategies that we will work on after this year are: Caught Being Good Program (with the help of the Spartanburg Police Department and the Sheriff s Department) 4 The Tips for Addressing Personal Security around School resource is available online: 19

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22 EVALUATION STRATEGIES Evaluation is an important component of our SRTS program. We plan to complete regular inclassroom student tallies, and parent surveys using forms provided by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. The student tallies provide a snapshot of student travel modes. Parent surveys shed light on parental attitudes towards walking to school. Both are important components which will help us measure the progress of our programs and projects. We first administered parent surveys in November of 2011, which provided baseline information on student travel behavior. We plan to conduct student travel tallies in Spring of. Subsequent student tallies and parent surveys will help us measure the effectiveness of SRTS efforts over time. We will continue to conduct annual walk audits to evaluate the existing walking environment as well as monitor the progress of recommended projects. We will call upon the SC Resource Center to help us organize our walk audits and review our subsequent data collection and analysis efforts. Evaluation Tool Leader Schedule Parent Surveys Student Tallies Walk Audits Jackie Miller, Parent Coordinator Richard Wheeler, Assistant Principal Verotta Kennedy Principal Annually in November Annually in November Annually, two weeks before school 21

23 ENGINEERING TRAVEL PLAN Our goal for engineering improvements is to improve the physical conditions for walking and bicycling along routes students currently use as well as routes with substantial potential for walking and bicycling. These engineering improvements generally fall into three categories: provide sidewalks and paths, improve intersections crossings, and improve the school site to better accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists during arrival and dismissal. Our priorities reflect what we believe to be most important with regards to safety and encouraging more walking and biking. The recommendations in Appendix B are drawn from nationally recognized treatments to improve conditions for walking and bicycling, particularly for students, and each recommendation meets basic engineering guidelines for safety and signage, such as the Manual for Traffic Control Devices and the American Association of State and Highway Officials guide. A description of these typical SRTS engineering treatments can be found in Appendix D: Glossary of SRTS Infrastructure Treatments. The engineering treatments shown are based on national best practice design techniques; however some treatments are not in wide use by SCDOT and may necessitate additional review. Furthermore, as these are preliminary recommendations, each location may require further engineering analysis, public input, design, and review by the appropriate agency(ies) prior to implementation. Engineering Recommendations for specific locations are located in Appendix B. In general, these projects increase in cost and complexity from signs and markings upwards to sidewalk or path construction. We assigned recommendations as short- or long- based on these generalizations. However, we recognize that site, soil, materials, right-of-way acquisition, and environmental regulations also impact the cost and complexity of any given project. Accordingly, actual timeframes may vary depending on the lead agency, design and construction process for each recommendation. The following short, medium, and long timeframes serve as a guide for anticipated project completion, but actual timeframes may vary: 22

24 Short Within 2 years Medium Within 5 years Long Longer than 5 years The team prioritized the infrastructure improvements as high, medium or low. The factors affecting this ranking include: Locations with specific safety concerns Locations along existing student walking routes, or with a significant number of school family residences Locations within ½ mile of school Locations that are priorities for the school community CONSIDERATIONS FOR DESIGN, PROJECT SELECTION, AND FUNDING All infrastructure recommendations in this plan are considered planning level and may require further engineering analysis, design, or public input before implementation. Recommended changes to existing traffic patterns (adding a signal, adding a stop sign, changing lane patterns, etc.) will require a study to evaluate the potential impact that the recommendation could have on existing traffic conditions. If funded through SCDOT, this study must meet the standards and guidelines of SCDOT. Drainage, existing utilities and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance will need to be evaluated for all recommendations at the time of design. ADA guidelines recommend particular design features to accommodate persons with disabilities. ADA design considerations for curb ramps, sidewalks and paths, include appropriate slopes, landing areas, surface conditions, and use of detectable warning materials for visually impaired pedestrians, among other design features.. Right-of-way was not evaluated as a part of this project. Recommendations assume that sufficient right-of-way exists or that a method to gain needed right-of-way will be identified as the project progresses. SCDOT will not be responsible for electric usage or maintenance expenses associated with lighting installation. 23

25 More information on the types of projects eligible for SRTS funding is available through SC DOT at APPENDICES A. Non-infrastructure Strategies Calendar B. Location-Specific Engineering Recommendations (Location Key and Recommendations Table) C. School Profile and Survey Reports D. Glossary of SRTS Infrastructure Treatments E. Non-Engineering Strategies Resource Guide 24

26 NON-INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGIES CALENDAR Activity Coordinator Jan. EDUCATION Pedestrian safety training at during P.E. classes Lead P.E. Teacher Plan Implement Safety education and outreach to parents Lead Principal Plan Implement Student Safety Patrol Program Lead TBD Plan Implement ENCOURAGEMENT Promotion of Travel Plan Sending home materials with students Lead Parent Coordinator Plan Implement Providing materials for PTO meetings Lead School Improvement Council Representative Plan Implement Walking Wednesdays Starts weekly after Walk to School Day Lead Parent Coordinator Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Complete Page 1 of 3

27 Activity Coordinator Jan. Plan Implement International Walk to School Day First Wednesday in October Lead Principal, School Staff Plan Implement South Carolina Walk to School Day First Wednesday in March Lead Staff support Plan Implement ENFORCEMENT Drive Safe Campaign for parents Lead Spartanburg Police Department Plan Implement Neighborhood Watch, Corner Captains Lead Spartanburg Police Department Plan Implement EVALUATION Classroom tallies of travel mode to school Annually Lead Plan Implement Parent survey Annually Lead Assistant Principal Parent Coordinator Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Complete Page 2 of 3

28 Activity Coordinator Jan. Plan Implement Annual Walk Audit Lead Plan Implement Principal Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Complete Page 3 of 3

29 APPENDIX B: LOCATION-SPECIFIC ENGINEERING RECOMMENDATIONS SRTS engineering strategies create safer environments for walking and bicycling to school through improvements to surrounding infrastructure. These improvements focus on reducing motor vehicle speeds and conflicts with pedestrians and bicyclists. They establish improved crossings, walkways, trails, and bikeways. The following table provides a summary of the engineering strategies recommended for Mary H. Wright Elementary School. These recommendations were developed by Toole Design Group, LLC based on input received from the Mary H. Wright Elementary School SRTS Team. The table includes an estimate of time likely needed to implement the recommended improvements at each site (Estimated Time Frame). All proposed improvements have been prioritized at each site for the Mary H. Wright Elementary School SRTS Team (Team Priority). These recommendations are for planning purposes only and may require further engineering analysis, design, or public input before implementation and should be in full compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD), 2009 edition. The process for implementation of each recommendation will vary depending on the lead agency for construction (e.g. the local municipality, county, or SCDOT.) The attached Location Key indicates the location of each recommendation site in relation to the school. The following summary table describes each location and details the components of each recommendation. 1

30 North PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES E Spring Street B Milster Street PROPOSED PAVEMENT MARKINGS PROPOSED MEDIAN Church Street B A K2 K1 Swim Center PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL PROPOSED PAVEMENT MARKINGS J Carver Middle School I Marion Avenue I Mary H. Wright Elementary School G H PROPOSED RAISED CROSSWALK PROPOSED ADA PATHWAY Hudson L Barksdale Boulevard F PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES C PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL D Caulder Avenue PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES L Mary H. Wright Elementary School Improvements Key Spartanburg, SC December 2011 School Location Segment Improvement Intersection/Spot Improvement School Dismissal Locations

31 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame Ranking Factors Team Priority A Intersection of Church Street and Milster Street This intersection is not signalized. The intersection is comprised of four lanes of travel on Church Street and two lanes of travel on Milster Street. This intersection is a node for both motorists and walkers headed for Mary H.Wright Elementary School and Carver Junior High School. Some parents drop off their children at this intersection. Students using transit buses to get to school use the stop at the western crossing. During most mornings and afternoons a crossing guard is present. However, motorists have been observed ignoring the crossing guard, or coming to a complete stop within the crosswalk while students are crossing. Church Street is a major arterial that connects the western neighborhoods to the school, where many students live. This is also the main road that connects commuters to downtown Spartanburg. 1- Install a H.A.W.K. signal across the southern crossing to make pedestrians and crossing guard more visible to motorists. 2- Install a high-visibility crosswalk at the western crossing to make the crossing more visible to motorists. Install school crossing signs for this crosswalk. 3- Extend the landscaped median out to the crossing area to provide a refuge for pedestrians crossing. 4- Move the marked crosswalks painted across the school driveway as they are too close to Church Street. Sight lines need to be evaluated. 5- Consider extending the median island to the pedestrian crossing and construct a pedestrian refuge to shorten crossing distances across the driveway. Short Short Medium Short Medium Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community High 2

32 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame Ranking Factors Team Priority B Milster Street between Spring Street and Church Street Milster Street is a direct walking route for students living in the Hampton Heights neighborhood and is heavily used by all modes of transportation in the morning hours. The street currently does have sidewalks on a portion of the south side and none on the north side. Students may not be visible to motorists. 1- Install sidewalks on the north side of the street. 2- Install sidewalks on the south side of the street. Short Medium Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community Medium 3

33 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame C Intersection of Caulder Avenue/Carolina Avenue and Church Street This is a signalized intersection but there are no pedestrian signals present. The intersection is comprised of four lanes of travel on Church Street and two lanes of travel on Caulder Avenue. This intersection is a node for both motorists and walkers headed for Mary H Wright Elementary School and Carver Junior High School. There are no crossing guards assigned to at this intersection. This is a challenging intersection for pedestrians as the intersection is off-set and does not have ADA compliant infrastructure at all crossings. 1- Replace the standard crossing pavement markings on the eastern crossing (parallel lines) with high visibility, ladder-style pavement markings. Install school crossing signs for this crosswalk. 2- Install high-visibility crosswalks at the northern crossing to improve the visibility of the crossing for motorists. Install school crossing signs for this crosswalk. 3- Install pedestrian signal heads for the eastern and northern crossings. 4- To reduce conflicts with pedestrians walking along the east side of Church Street, close the Church Street driveway entrance. Short Short Medium Long Ranking Factors Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community Team Priority Low Church Street is a major arterial that connects the western neighborhoods to the school where several students live. This is also the main road that connects commuters to downtown Spartanburg. 5- Extend and widen the median on the south approach to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians. 6- Improve signage by including Stop Here on Red signs at each crossings. 7- Provide a median with a pedestrian refuge on Caulder Avenue to shorten pedestrian crossing distances. Long Short Long 4

34 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame Ranking Factors Team Priority D Intersection of Caulder Avenue and school driveway entrance Caulder Avenue is a direct walking route for students living in neighborhoods south of the school and is heavily used by all modes of transportation in the morning hours. Students cross here to access the campus. The existing crossing has ladder style crosswalks and school crossing signage. However, the crossing itself is not ADA compliant; it lacks curb ramps and pavement across the buffers making the crossing challenging for some users. There are no crossing guards assigned to this location. Motorists turning onto Caulder Avenue from Church Street appear to be moving at high speeds. 1- Install a rapid flashing beacon at this crossing to make the crossing more visible to motorists. 2- Construct curb ramps on either side of the crossing. Pave the portions of the grass buffer that pedestrians must walk upon when using the crosswalk. Short Short Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community Medium 5

35 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame Ranking Factors Team Priority E Intersection of Marion Avenue and Church Street This is a signalized intersection but there are no pedestrian signals present. The intersection is comprised of four lanes of travel for Church Street and two lanes of travel for Caulder Avenue. This intersection is a node for both motorists and walkers headed for Mary H Wright Elementary School and Carver Junior High School. There are no crossing guards assigned to at this intersection. This is a challenging intersection for pedestrians as the intersection is offset and does not have ADA-compliant infrastructure at all of the crossings. Church Street is a major arterial that connects the western neighborhoods to the school. Several students live in these homes. This is also the main road that connects commuters to downtown Spartanburg. 1- Replace the standard crossing pavement markings on the eastern crossing (parallel lines) with high visibility, ladder style pavement markings. Install school crossing signs for this crosswalk. 2- Install high-visibility crosswalks at the northern crossing to improve the visibility of the crossing for motorists. Install school crossing signs for this crosswalk. 3- Install pedestrian countdown signal heads for the eastern and northern crossings. 4- To reduce conflicts with pedestrians walking along the east side of Church Street, close the Church Street driveway entrance. 5- All crosswalks are installed too close to the parallel travel lanes. According to MUTCD standards, move all crosswalks back from the parallel travel lanes. Sight lines may need to be evaluated. 6- Extend the medians on Church Street and include pedestrian refuges to shorten crossing distances. Short Short Medium Long Short Medium Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community High 6

36 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame F Intersection of Marion Avenue and Hudson L. Barksdale Boulevard This is a signalized intersection. Marion Avenue is a direct walking route for students living within neighborhoods east of the school and is heavily used by all modes of transportation in the morning hours. Students cross Hudson L. Barksdale Boulevard here to access the campus. This is also where the Mary H. Wright Greenway crosses (near the eastern crossing). Students using this multi-use path cross here on their way to school. All four crossings have standard crosswalk markings (parallel lines), which are not as visible as other marking patterns. All four crossings have curb ramps, but they do not meet ADA standards. They lack tactile warnings and are not all oriented at 90 degree angles. Pedestrian signals are present, but the button actuators appear not to work. Additionally, the crossing time appears to be too short for both seniors and young children. 1- Install No Turn On Red signs for both directions on Marion Avenue to reduce conflicts between motorists turning and pedestrians crossing Hudson L. Barksdale Boulevard. 2- Upgrade curb ramps at all for crossings to meet ADA standards. This includes installing tactile warning surfaces and providing a separate curb ramp for each crossing direction. 3- Fix existing pedestrian actuators, or remove them and incorporate a pedestrian walk phase into all signal cycles. 4- Install pedestrian median refuge islands on Hudson L. Barksdale Boulevard to give pedestrians the option to cross one direction of traffic at a time. 5- Add crossing time by adjusting the pedestrian walking speed to 3 ft per second, rather than the minimum standard of 3.5 ft per second Short Short Short Medium Medium Ranking Factors Safety concerns. Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community Team Priority High 7

37 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame Ranking Factors Team Priority G School Site Student walkers are released from the rear entrance of the school. Students travel down a set of stairs to cross Hartwell street. There is no ADA-compliant facility to get students from the rear of the school to the street level. 1- Construct an ADA-compliant pathway between the rear school entrance and the sidewalk on Hartwell Street. Short Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community Low H School Site Many students cross Hartwell Street from the homes that back up to the school s rear entrance. Parents come through Hartwell Street to drop off their students in the morning. With existing lighting, Hartwell street can be dark and motorists sometimes have difficulty seeing student pedestrians crossing the street. 1- Upgrade the existing marked midblock crossing on Hartwell Street to a raised crosswalk to make the crossing more visible to motorists. 2- Consider installing curb extensions across Hartwell Street at this crossing to reduce crossing distances for pedestrians. Short Medium Safety concerns. Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community High I School Site All student walkers are released from the rear entrance of the school. Parents and students can walk to the front entrance of the school. Currently there is no ADA-compliant pathway liking the rear of the school to front. 1- Construct an ADA-compliant pathway between the rear school entrance to the front. Short Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community High 8

38 Site Need Recommendation Time Frame Ranking Factors Team Priority J School Site, between the median and traffic circle The team has observed motorists driving around the circle and crossing into the wrong lane of traffic. A temporary bollard is in place now, but a more permanent solution is needed. 1- Extend the median so that it touches the traffic circle Long Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community High K School Site, driveway entrance on Church Street (two locations) The team has observed cars turning into the incorrect driveway (the wrong way) from Church Street. Motorists seem confused about which driveway entrance is the official entrance and which is the official exit. This confusion creates an unsafe travel environment for all users. 1- Install pavement markings using arrows to show which way the traffic should be moving through the driveway entrance and exit. Short Safety concerns. Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community High L Intersection of Hudson L. Barksdale Avenue and Caulder Avenue Traffic on Hudson L. Barksdale Avenue is stopcontrolled. Students who live in the neighborhoods south and east of the school use Caulder Avenue and Hudson L. Barksdale Avenue to walk to school. The team is concerned that students crossing may not be visible to motorists. 1- Upgrade the existing crosswalks (parallel bars) to the ladder-style pavement markings. Short Safety concerns Existing walking or bicycling routes Priorities for the school community High 9

39 APPENDIX C: SCHOOL PROFILE (AS SUBMITTED )

40 School Profile School Name: Mary H. Wright Elementary School School Address: 457 South Church Street, Spartanburg, SC Grades Taught: Pre-K through 6th grade Demographics: 1. Total Enrollment: Number of students that receive free and reduced lunch: 99% 3. Number of students living within 0.25 mile: 4. Number of students living within 0.5 mile: 5. Number of students living within 1 mile: 6. Number of students living within 1.5 mile: Year school was built (or opened): This school was originally opened in 1909 as Carrier Street School, in the Southside of Spartanburg by African-American activist and educator, Mary H. Wright. The current location on South Church Street was opened and built in the late 1990 s. It shares a complex with Carver Middle School. School Attendance Boundaries (Street Names, or provide a map with boundaries indicated) North: Deborah Drive South: Marion Avenue East: Hudson Barksdale Drive and West Park West: South Church Street 1 P age

41 After-school activities: Activity name Number of students Time released Arrival and Dismissal Procedures MORNING ARRIVAL Travel Mode Procedure Time Bus riders Walkers/Bikers Private Vehicles AFTERNOON DISMISSAL Travel Mode Procedure Time Bus riders Walkers/Bikers Private Vehicles Mode Bus Riders Walkers Bicyclists Private Vehicle STUDENT TRAVEL MODES Count 2 P age

42 Known School Walking Routes: Safety Education/Encouragement Activities, Events or Curriculum: Are there any known barriers or issues for students walking to school? Are there any municipal programs, policies, community traditions, etc that relate to walking and biking? 3 P age

43 Number CROSSING GUARDS Location Is there an active safety patrol program at the school? Yes No If yes, what grades can participate? Did the school complete pre-evaluation data? (Circle either No or Yes) Parent Surveys: No Student Travel Tallies: No Safe Routes to School Team Members Identified Yes Date Submitted to National Center Yes Date No Submitted to National Center Name Title Organization Ms. Verotta Kennedy Principal Mary H. Wright Elementary Ms. Wendy Jackson PE Teacher Mary H. Wright Elementary Ms. Laura Ringo Executive Director Partners for Active Living Ms. Jane Abbott School Coordinator Partners for Active Living Vice Principal? Mary Wright Achievers? 4 P age

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