Johnson Elementary School

Transcription

1 Johnson Elementary School Safe Routes to School Walking Audit and Recommendations WalkDenver Fall 2013 Johnson Elementary School 1850 South Irving Street, Denver This project was supported by Safe Routes to School grant with funds from Colorado Department of Transportation, 2013/14 School Year. Table of Contents Introduction... 2 Overview of the School and Neighborhood... 2 Walk Audit Results... 8 Recommendations... 9 Resources... 11

2 Introduction Safe Routes to School programming grant 2013/14 was managed by Denver Health. The participating schools were selected based on DPS school matrix developed by Denver Health that categorized the schools based on the following priorities: Enrollment within 1 mile and % student enrollment living within 1 mile (% Walk Share) % Free/Reduced Lunch Number of pedestrian involved collisions in the last year and number of accidents that occurred during school hours (7:00 AM 4:30 PM) The scope of the grant included: Educational programing provided by Bicycle Colorado and BikeDenver Walk Audits provided by WalkDenver Community engagement provided by CREA Results Overview of the School and Neighborhood School Year Data Total students Within 1 mile of the school % With free/reduced lunch 98% Total traffic accidents While driving to school 9 3 Wellness Team No School hours 7:30 am 3:45 pm Johnson Elementary School fronts on South Irving Street; West Jewell is to the south, Bails to the north and Hooker to the east. The school is a well maintained attractive school dating to the 1950s. It is located on the northern end of the site. To the south are grassed playgrounds, play structures and a lush community garden. The main entrance and bus drop off are on Irving Street. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) distributed a survey about walking and biking to 450 parents of children at Johnson; 52 (12%) responded. Fifty six percent of respondents completed the survey in Spanish, and 44% in English. Their children represented all of the grades between prekindergarten and fifth grade, with the largest share (25%) in kindergarten. Forty percent of respondents live less than ¼ mile from the school, an additional 25% live within a mile, 16% live more than a mile, and 20% indicated they did not know how close they live to the school or did not respond to the question. Thirty five percent of respondents reported that their child walks to school and 56% drive their child to school or participate in a carpool. Sixty percent indicated that they would not feel comfortable allowing their child walk or bike to school at any age. 2 P age

3 The survey asked parents about issues that affected their decision to allow, or not allow, their child to walk or bike to/from school. The chart below shows that the most commonly cited issues were safety of intersections and crossing, weather or climate, speed of traffic along the route, violence or crime, distance, and the amount of traffic along the route. Issues Affecting Decision to Allow (Or Not Allow) Child to Walk or Bike Safety of Intersections and Crossings Weather or climate Speed of Traffic Along Route Violence or Crime Distance Amount of Traffic Along Route Adults to Bike/Walk With Crossing Guards Convenience of Driving Sidewalks or Pathways Child's Participation in After School Time 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 3 P age

4 The survey also asked if parents would probably let their child walk or bike to/from school if the issues identified above were changed or improved. The chart below shows that respondents were mostly likely to allow their child to walk or bike if safety of intersections and crossing, speed of traffic along the route, violence or crime, or amount of traffic along the route changed or improved. Would you probably let your child walk or bike to/from school if this problem were changed or improved? Safety of Intersections and Crossings Weather or climate Speed of Traffic Along Route Violence or Crime Distance Amount of Traffic Along Route Yes No Adults to Bike/Walk With Crossing Guards Convenience of Driving Sidewalks or Pathways Child's Participation in After School Programs Time 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 4 P age

5 Johnson Elementary is located within the Mar Lee neighborhood (bounded by South Federal, West Mississippi, South Sheridan, West Jewell) in southwest Denver. Mar Lee is a stable, predominantly single family residential neighborhood with some commercial development along South Federal and apartment complexes the north and along Federal. The neighborhood contains approximately 4,200 housing units, mostly small ranch houses dating to the 1950s. As is typical of post War neighborhoods such as this, local street sidewalks are attached and narrow or non existent, collector street sidewalks are attached and sometimes a little wider, and arterial street sidewalks vary. In this case, Federal Boulevard has detached walks, though tree lawns are deteriorated or paved over. The lack of street connectivity creates some circuitous connections for pedestrians, bikes or cars. Demographics Population 12,452 Average household size 3.1 Race/ethnicity African American 1.41% Latino 69% White 24% Owner occupancy 69% Parks Recreation center Libraries Public Amenities Sanderson Gulch Open Space, Harvey Park (Evans & Patton), Garfield Park (Louisiana & Lowell Athmar Park (Mexico and Clay) Hadley Branch Library (Grove & Jewell) 5 P age

6 Public transit (RTD) School buses (DPS) Major streets Traffic control Bike routes Sidewalks Trails Transportation Connections (see map and pictures below) Bus service on Federal, Jewell and Irving. No school bus service provided. Through streets limited in this neighborhood. East west routes include Jewell and Evans avenues and Sanderson Gulch (pedestrian and bike). North south routes include Federal, Irving and Lowell streets. Jewell Ave may be a good candidate for a road diet, with a continuous middle turn lane that doesn't seem necessary. Signal at Jewell and Irving. All way stops at Irving and Bails, Bails and Hooker. Other than immediately adjacent to the school, there aren't a lot of crosswalks in the neighborhood. Colorado Avenue and Jewell Avenue would be good candidates for more cross walks, because these are main connectors to Federal Blvd where the bus stops are. D 3 (Irving Street from Harvard to 1 st ) and Sanderson Gulch Trail 5 foot wide attached walks on streets immediately adjacent to school. Elsewhere narrow Hollywood sidewalks (rolled curb with attached narrow walk). No sidewalks adjacent to Sanderson Gulch. Sanderson Gulch is an amenity for east west travel but creates a barrier for north south travel and doesn't connect well with the neighborhood streets and sidewalks more crosswalks near the trail and little connector sidewalks would help (e.g., around S Julian St, S Java Way and W Colorado Ave). 6 P age

7 W Colorado Avenue and S Java Way lack of crosswalks connecting neighborhood sidewalks and Sanderson Gulch (top right part of photo). Irving Street, adjacent to the school. Sidewalks should be widened and buffered on school property. Jewell Avenue at Knox Court the continuous turn lane creates an opportunity for a road diet. 7 P age

8 Walk Audit Results WalkDenver hosted a meeting in the lobby of the school with a small group of parents on September 27, a cold cloudy day with light rain. Participants included Jenna Berman from Bicycle Colorado, Gosia Kung and Ellen Ittleson from WalkDenver, Ryan McCann from BikeDenver, three parents (all Spanish speakers) and a Spanish interpreter provided by the SRTS program. On Saturday, October 26, Ellen Ittleson and Ryan Sagar from WalkDenver and Ryan McCann from Bike Denver attended school s Fall Festival. Parents and children, many in costumes, attended the event on a lovely sunny day. The format did not allow for a walking tour audit. Instead WalkDenver interviewed parents about their travel to school. About two thirds of the adults spoke only Spanish. Key findings of the September 27 meeting and October 26 interviews include the following: Travel to and from school o Students walk (40%) or get dropped off at school (60%). Very few bike to school. o Parents walk kids from all directions; the closer to the school the more likely they are to walk. Irving and Federal are the primary walking routes. o Some children live east from Federal and must cross at the Jewell signal if walking. o Children don t ride the RTD bus to school and there is no Denver Public Schools bus service. Parents requested school bus service last year but were denied because most children live close to school. Sidewalk conditions o Sidewalks are narrow or missing, and many lack handicap ramps. o More parents and students would walk if the sidewalks were wider. Intersections o Crosswalks are missing at many intersections along Jewell. o Irving and Jewell intersection is difficult to cross because of turning vehicles. o Crossing guards are not present on a consistent basis. Drop off/pick up o Drop off and pick up takes place at the playground. Parents have to park to pick up their children. Parents are asked not to double park and to make sure students cross at the corners. Drop off and pick up is chaotic, however. Parents park illegally, and can t see kids when backing up. Traffic safety o In winter or bad weather Irving is congested. o Teen drivers at Lincoln High to the south are hazardous. o Drivers don t obey the school zone speed; having a radar truck on Irving helped. Need more enforcement of speed, parking, and pedestrian rights of way. o Need more signs alerting drivers to pedestrians. School grounds conditions o Lighting on school grounds goes off at 4pm. Other neighborhood hazards/issues o Neighborhood safety is perceived to be an issue. High school kids hang out at the market and sometimes harass smaller kids. Parents said they would feel safer if more parents and children walked to school. 8 P age

9 Top concerns School zone traffic speed Narrow sidewalks Turning vehicles don t watch for pedestrians; pedestrians not given the right of way Parking chaos, including double parking and letting kids cross mid block No crosswalks along Jewell at Grove and Hazel Ct. Recommendations Action Type Responsibility Timing 1. Encourage students and parents to walk to and from school Enroll Johnson in Fire Up Your Feet. Behavioral School administration Short term Encourage parents to participate in Behavioral School administration Short term Way to Go School Pool. Encourage Denver Public Schools to Behavioral School administration/ Short term adopt a district wide SRTS policy. Denver Public Schools Improve sidewalk snow removal and Operational School administration Short term maintenance during the winter months. Conduct an audit of the current school zone signage, curb ramps, crosswalks, and street lighting. Request additional signage, ramps, crosswalks, and lighting where needed to meet standards. Operational School administration/ Denver Public Schools Medium term 2. Make needed pedestrian improvements Add or complete crosswalks near the school: Operational Denver Public Works Short term Colorado Avenue at Lowell, Irving, Julian and Java Jewell at Hooker, Hazel and Grove Widen and buffer sidewalk adjacent to Public Denver Public Schools Medium term school. improvement Provide count down pedestrian signals Public Denver Public Works Medium term at all signalized intersections within ¼ mile of an elementary school. improvement Widen and buffer sidewalks along streets connecting to school: Public improvement Denver Public Works Medium term Colorado between Lowell and Federal Irving between Evans and Colorado 9 P age

10 Action Type Responsibility Timing 3. Improve the drop off and pick up experience Provide crossing guards at critical Operational School administration/ Short term intersections. Denver Public Schools Enforce speed and parking regulations. Operational Denver Police Short term Establish, implement and enforce a Behavioral School administration/ Short term school pick up and drop off policy. Denver Public Schools Provide clear drop off/pick up protocol Behavioral School administration/ Short term to parents. Denver Public Schools Develop a transportation management plan for pick up and drop off. Behavioral School administration/ Denver Public Schools/ Denver Public Works Medium term Create a parent safety campaign to address speeding, double parking, and rolling stops. Clearly mark designated drop off and pick up zones with signage and striping. Behavioral Operational School administration/ Denver Public Schools/ Denver Police Denver Public Schools/ Denver Public Works Short term Medium term 4. Make needed street/public right of way improvements Add signage indicating speed limit in Operational Denver Pubic Works Short term school zone. Narrow Jewell between Grove and Operational if Denver Public Works Long term Irving to facilitate crossing. bike lane painted; public improvement if curbs moved 5. Encourage use of RDT transit Provide crosswalks serving bus stops. Operational Denver Public Works Medium term Add benches and/or shelters to bus stops on Federal between Colorado and Jewell avenues. Public improvement Denver Public Works Medium term 10 P age

11 Resources SRTS Community Connector: Fernando Pineda CREA Results Fire Up Your Feet The Fire Up Your Feet Program helps encourage families, students and schools to work together and create active lifestyles which inspire our children to be healthy and physically active. Everything is here to help you walk more, play more, and find the joy of being physically active as a family and in your school. WayToGo Schoolpool If you need help getting your kids to and from school, Way to Go can help you get started with Schoolpool for FREE. Our secure system will connect you with families in your neighborhood to share in the responsibilities of getting the kids to school and back via carpooling, walking, biking or riding RTD together. Thousands of other families are already connected what are you waiting for? Just try it! You ll gain support and a sense of community and get some much needed help in return. around/schoolpool Safe Routes to School District Policy Builder This tool walks the user through a series of policy options to help build a customized Safe Routes to School policy for school districts, which they can then download for the school board to adopt. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a movement that is changing communities and making children healthier by getting them to use their own power to get to and from school. Ensuring children are active on their way to and from school will improve health outcomes for them, as well. solutions safe routes school national partnership release schooldistrict policy Denver Public Schools Cross Guard program contact: Valerie Barrientos Manager of Campus Security Office # Cell # Fax # Dispatch # valerie_barrientos@dpsk12.org Traffic Safety Enforcement Daniel McNulty Daniel.McNulty@denvergov.org To report any issues related to signage, safety, sidewalk conditions or crime: P age