711 SE Grand Ave. Portland, OR 97214 (503) 230-9862 www.altaplanning.com Memorandum Date: November 30, 2016 To: From: Re: City of Tacoma Hannah Day-Kapell and Gena Gastaldi, Alta Planning + Design Tacoma Safe Routes to School Implementation Strategy Open House Debrief Members of the public gathered on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 for a public open house at Lincoln High School in Tacoma from 5-7pm. Over 70 community members, including parents, City Council members, School Board members, and students attended the open house. The purpose of the meeting was to share information about Safe Routes to School (SRTS) with the public, as well as receive feedback and comments about the Tacoma SRTS Implementation Strategy from community members. Multiple local news agencies were present and interviewed members of the project team for several newspaper articles and live reports from the open house. Boards displayed information and provided opportunities for participants to vote and offer feedback. The stations were organized into five categories: Welcome Obstacles & Opportunities Engineering Education, Encouragement, Enforcement & Evaluation Equity & Feedback In addition to the stations, a children s activity table was provided, with a City of Tacoma staff person overseeing transportation and safety-related activities. Spanish translation services were provided by Dynamic Language. Food and beverages were also provided. The scanned sign-in sheets are provided in Appendix A. Public Comments At the open house, board-mounted posters conveyed project information and provided opportunities for public input. The following presents the boards by stations and lists all comments received. Transportation Recreation Innovation
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Obstacles & Opportunities What are the Obstacles to Walking and Biking in Tacoma? Comments Enforcement, Traffic Police Stafford at end of school middle of block @ Teacher - Stop Signs, no marking or signage Skateboard friendly signage Safe Routes for all schools and neighborhoods We walk to school every day every day we risk our safety getting there our big problem is cars within one block of the school Inequity/Inequality around school safety. Wealthier neighborhoods have more parent volunteers who can patrol around schools Too many bumps and cracks (Henry, age 4) Too narrow sidewalks Not enough bike lanes Not enough crossing guards & speed patrols Safety Incomplete sidewalk systems Unsafe street crossings, especially where angled parking is need bulb-outs by schools and angled parking areas Lack of crosswalks for many routes to schools Not all roads/streets along safe routes have sidewalks Unsafe infrastructure, poor lighting, uncontrolled intersections, speeding cars Time Infrastructure perception of safety Some don t like riding in the rain or dark Reckless driving and drivers who do not look or stop for pedestrians Narrow residential streets w/cars parking on both sides leaving only 1 lane of travel Cars don t slow down in school zones More street lights for early mornings Lack of enforcement around safe driving especially in school zones Lack of police/law enforcement, speeding and distracted drivers Few bus options Lack of infrastructure No direct paths to schools Streets near schools and in residential areas have too many lanes for kids to cross need road diets Infrastructure crossing guard Parental concerns of safety Hills, are challenging for some People say they live too far away The car won t stop or slow down so the light isn t enough (the winter is too dark) Unsafe and irresponsible drivers Alta Planning + Design 3
I want Safe Routes to Schools because Comments Teaches kids to live a healthy lifestyle Stafford Better routes so parents don t have to park in my driveway Great for environment Walking to school puts a positive activity on our streets and makes it safer Create budgeting for walkability Save on road wear To encourage healthy active transportation and transportation independence of students So you don t get hurt (Henry, age 4) Better for neighborhoods/preventing traffic crashes and conflicts with pedestrians Pearl St from N 42 nd to N 46 th needs to be 1 lane each w/turn lane & parking In my experience I ve gotten myself almost killed three times Health for students/best for environment/safe for everyone I want my kids safe I want the people I know to be safe Increase property values with sidewalks & quality roads/keeps kids safe Too many kids have been hit by cars in Tacoma Great for kids! Good for kids health and for the earth I won t be late to school as often or ever I want to be safe/less danger/be on time/faster I m tired of seeing kids feel unsafe while walking to school We walk to school every day Protect the kids after school/safer for myself and friends I walk my kids to school every day I want them to be able to walk safely by themselves when they get older. It s healthy and fun Healthy lifestyles/for kids to be safe/builds up neighborhoods Because every child should feel safe in their neighborhood Our children need to feel safe riding bikes and walking to school! Alta Planning + Design 4
Engineering Infrastructure is expensive. How should the City of Tacoma prioritize limited resources? Schools in low-income neighborhoods and other underserved communities (28) Streets with high traffic speeds and volumes (23) Schools with high numbers of crashes (13) Schools with potential for walking & biking (12) Areas that lack walking/biking facilities (11) Schools with high numbers of students walking & biking (7) Requests/Complaints (6) High demand areas (4) Examples of Improvements Pop up/temporary Projects (2) Flashing Beacons (2) Warning Signs (2) Crosswalks (1) Sidewalks (1) Traffic Circles (1) Bike Parking (0) Full Traffic Signal (0) Alta Planning + Design 5
Comments Skateboard parking at schools too! More speed bumps in and around all schools Crossing flags on posts that pedestrians carry as they cross the streets when/where a flashing beacon may not be feasible North Tacoma Safety Needs and Equity Concerns Map Comments Truman MS homeless campers living on N 37 th in front of and near school crosswalks at Truman. Many parents make illegal u-turns dropping off picking up from school More infrastructure on main & side streets enforcements N 26 th & Proctor too many hit and nearly hit o Can we change signals to include a pedestrian only crossing then normal car traffic Jason Lee & Bryant - Lane reductions on Sprague (12 th -6 th ) o Adding a bike lane & widening sidewalks o Speed patrols More crossing guards near Bryant o Safe crossings o Recent lurings could have been prevented Jason Lee Middle School -Most students crossing 6 th avenue don t wait for the light because they feel it takes too long Schools downtown (sorta) have the hill as an obstacle to active transportation in general Families crossing 6 th avenue to access Geiger fight fast traffic because of where warning/speed lights are placed Alta Planning + Design 6
Pearl speeders & racers o North 46 th between Vassault & Pearl o North 45 th need speed bumps & better school zone signage: school zone too small o North Vassault speeders o 4200-5100 North Vischer speeders when Pearl has traffic o Can we make Vischer a bike boulevard? North Pearl Street from North 42 nd to North 46 th street needs to be 1 lane each direction with turn lane and parking on street high speeds through 2 school zones Cyclist fatality in school zone from speeding on Nassau Avenue near Crescent Heights ES South Tacoma Safety Needs and Equity Concerns Map Comments 37 th & M Street is a major crossing area for Lincoln HS Students 3200 East L Street no sidewalks leading to community garden Blix Elementary safe waling route from 38 th street north on east L street no sidewalks Crossing Portland Ave with 35-40 mph without ways to get driver slow down is not safe Fern Hills ES - Sidewalk needed around the school campus most streets behind the school where children walk/bike don t have a safe sidewalk No crossing guard - parking in driveway - students crossing - speeding 92 nd not thru street Crossing I-5 anywhere below 37 th street is very dangerous Speed zone 72 nd & Yakima Ave More lighting in park (Thompson Avenue) Needs crosswalk 38 th & Tacoma Needs flashing beacon 40 th & Tacoma Alta Planning + Design 7
Intersections of Concern Noted on Maps 38 th & M Street 41 st & M street 41 st & Thompson Avenue Yakima Avenue & 48 th Street 48 th & H 56 th & Portland 56 th & McKinley Avenue 64 th & McKinley Avenue 38 th Between McKinley & Pacific Avenue Education, Encouragement, Enforcement & Evaluation Which education programs would you most like to see in Tacoma schools? Bike Rodeo (9) Family Bike Workshop (8) Safety Campaign (7) Skills Training (5) Parent Champion (5) Parent Education (3) Comments Skate Rodeo Skate Workshop Talk to Dr. Campbell about doing some education in public housing Alta Planning + Design 8
Which encouragement programs would you most like to see in Tacoma schools? Student Clubs and Earn-a-Bike (9) Walking School Bus/Bike Train (8) Walk & Roll to School (6) Route Maps (5) Competitions & Incentives (5) Park & Walk (5) Comments 2 nd Cycles Alta Planning + Design 9
Which enforcement programs would you most like to see in Tacoma schools? Speed Enforcement Cameras (13) Speed Feedback Signs (9) Bike Light/Lock Giveaway, Helmet Fitting (7) Enforcement Campaign (7) School Safety Patrols (6) Crossing Guards (5) Comments Speed kills drivers need to know that the City of Tacoma takes speeding seriously. Pedestrians need to know that speeding is taken seriously. We need more speeding enforcement Alta Planning + Design 10
Which evaluation programs would you most like to see in Tacoma schools? SRTS Report Card (6) Bike & Pedestrian Counts (4) Demographic Info (3) Student Hand Tallies (2) Parent Surveys (1) Alta Planning + Design 11
Equity & Feedback Equity: How Can We Make SRTS a Program for All? Walking School Bus (6) Neighborhood Beautification (5) Walk & Bike to School Day (4) Route Maps (3) Adaptive Bikes (2) Park & Walk (1) Comments Working with neighborhood groups Collaboration with local bike shops (2 nd Cycle, Old Town Bike, etc) Send information on routes to parents before Bike to School Day Encourage school neighbors to get involved Create a clear plan of how to start a Walking School Bus Address how the district can protect itself from liability if they endorse a Walking School Bus Have classes in PE about how to ride a bicycle Coordinate with local bike club for training TWBC Check out Kidical Mass Parents need classes too!! Do you have additional thoughts or comments? Some flashing lights don t work, or they work off and on, so there really isn t a point in having them unless they are fixed Alta Planning + Design 12
Fix the flashing beacons on Sprague and on S. 12 th St. 20 mph speed limit on all non-arterial roads Build out Bike Boulevards to connect schools using Master Mobility Plan Photos from the Open House Alta Planning + Design 13
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