Asotin Elementary School Safe Route to School Data.pdf -

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Asotin Elementary School Existing Conditions Siting Asotin Elementary is located on SR129/1st Street in the center of the town. The school grounds Fast Facts are bounded by SR129 on both the north Travel Mode: 20% of the student body is (SR129/1st Street) and east (SR129/Washington estimated to walk or bike to school Street). The main access street to the school is Student Population: 311 City of Asotin Population: 1,251 (2010 US on SR129/1st Street, which is served by multiple Census) high visibility pedestrian crossings and complete sidewalks. The student dropoff area for both par- ents and the schoolbus on 2nd Street. Bike parking is provided in front of the main play area at the east end of the school building. Plans Asotin Elementary School adopted a Safe Walk Route plan in 2011. This document identifies several significant barriers to student walking and biking activity. These include: • Lack of a safe walk route on SR 129 east of Cleveland Street due to lack of curbs, inadequate lighting, and steep topography. • Unsafe walking conditions on SR 129 south of Washington Street because of inadequate lighting, poor visibility on curves, no sidewalks, and steep topography. • On-street parking and the lack of sidewalks on Baumeister Rd creates conditions where children must walk in the street. • Kings Lane being narrow and overgrown with limited visibility and inadequate lighting. Intersections and Crossing Guard Locations Asotin Elementary has an existing crossing guard program that provides safe crossings for students during the AM/PM peak. Crossing guards are located at: AM Staffed • In front of the school • 1st Street and Hwy • 2nd Street and Hwy Southeast Washington School Walk Route Study Data Collection and Analysis Project Location of the school within the larger city context PM Staffed • In front of the school • 1st Street and Hwy • 2nd Street and Hwy • 2nd Street by the buses School Route Conditions Most routes to school are characterized by a complete sidewalk network, high visibility crosswalks, and accompanying school route warning signs. However, sidewalks stop on SR 129 south of Washington Street, making walking and biking to challenging for students living in the neighborhood off of Riverview Ln. Appendix: School Site Evaluations and Recommendations page 22 Engineering Recommendations Crossings Though the existing high visibility crossings on SR 129 provide adequate access to the school and Chief Looking Glass Park, these might be improved further. As the main traffic artery through town, SR 129 has higher traffic volumes and speeds. When children are crossing the road during after school hours, or during the summer season, the use of a pedestrian actuated beacon, such as a Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon, would help alert motorists to the presence of pedestrians crossing the street. Curb extensions at these crossings would also help to increase visibility on the approach to the intersection. Sidewalks A portion of Baumeister Dr is currently designated as a walk route, but this street does not have any sidewalks/curb ramps. Installing sidewalks on at least one side of Baumeister Rd would improve walking and biking access to neighborhoods southwest of the town center. There are no streets east of Washington Street that have sidewalk completed on one, or both, sides. Due to Harding Street being the only main connector to the neighborhood in the southeast corner of town, it has been identified as a street that could significantly benefit from sidewalk construction from 1st Street to 5th Street. Garfield Street and Adams Street would also benefit from sidewalk construction on at least one side. Bikeways There are no existing on-street bikeways to improve bicycle access between the school and residential neighborhoods. The development of bike lanes should be considered on major roadways, such as SR129/1st Street and SR129/Washington Street. In addition, some of the already designated walk routes to school would benefit from low impact/low cost bikeway solutions, such as wayfinding, bicycle shared lane markings (SLMs), and traffic calming as required. Streets that have been optimized for pedestrian and bicycle travel in this way are often referred to as “neighborhood greenways” or “family-friendly routes.” Streets in Asotin that have been identified for these types of low impact treatments include: • 2nd Street • 3rd Street • Baumeister Street • Harding Street • Garfield Street • Adams Street • Cleveland Street Southeast Washington School Walk Route Study Data Collection and Analysis Project LEGEND Half-mile distance Proposed Facilities Crossing Guard Location ý Æ High visibility crossing 8 9 O N M L : Ped actuated signal Ç Æ Å School sign Î Í School zone beacon | 3 2 1 Speed sign Recommended Facilities Proposed Sidewalk Proposed Bike Lane Proposed Shared Lane Markings Cl e m an s å Schools c Æ Library Rail Lines of Washingtion State Monroe 1St V U Asotin Elementary School 129 Adam s Madison er Garfield is t Jeffe rson Filmore e um 2Nd Ba 3Rd Lincoln Washington 3Rd Kings Kings Cleveland Pierce e ek Cr in ot As Meador Pierce Costley 4Th nds grou Fair t 1S y rr Fairgrounds ua Q W ds ils un on ro i rg r view Fa Rive Ce m et er y WSDOT, GIS and Roadway Data Office, Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i- cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community Asotin Elementary School Engineering Recommendations F Southeast Washington Walking Study Data Collection and Analysis Project Date: June 2013 0 500 1,000 Feet page 24 Non-Infrastructure Recommendations Asotin Elementary does not currently offer any walking and biking specific programs or education. Details about individual education and encouragement programs are found in Chapter Two. To further increase safe student walking and biking activity, the following are recommended as possible next steps: • Walk/Bike to School Day/Week/Month (annually) • Back-to-School Blitz • Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Education Course and/or Curriculum Procedural Recommendations The Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 392-151 mandates the preparation of “suggested route plans” and the distribution of a recommended school route to all elementary students. The code also provides the details of organizing and training safety patrols. The suggested route plan for Asotin is shown at right. This plan is recommended based on considerations of traffic patterns existing traffic controls, and other crossing protection aids such as school patrols. These route plans limit the number of school crossings so that students move through the crossings in groups, allowing only one entrance-exit from each block to and from school. To further increase the use of the suggested route plans, the following are recommended as next steps for the school: • Distribute the suggested route plans to all students with instructions that it be taken home and discussed with parents • Consider locations along the suggested routes where school safety patrols would be beneficial • Form a Safety Advisory Committee consisting of school administration, law enforcement, traffic engineering professionals, and the school-parent association. • Consider using Student Transportation Allocation funding as matching funds for the construction of recommended engineering improvements Southeast Washington School Walk Route Study Data Collection and Analysis Project Cherry LEGEND å Schools Crossing Guard Location Sagebrush Æ ý High visibility crossing nch Ra å V U 1St ý Æ Marked crossing Monroe er age 129 n c Herit Sp e 8 9 O N M L : Ped actuated signal Filmore 2Nd Ta m many Creek Adams Ç Æ Å Clema School sign Î Í Lincoln 3Rd ns School zone beacon 3Rd Kings | 3 2 1 Cleveland Speed sign Skyline Ô ! Shared Use Path U Bus stop c Æ Library 1/4 mile distance from school Existing School Route 1-mile Buffer Rail Lines of Washingtion State å Filmore ter Curry Roosevelt Lincoln 1St Pierce Adams eis Asotin Elementary School Jefferson 2Nd um W ils Ba 3Rd 1S Harding on Kings V U Cleveland Garfield Hays t 129 Meador 4Th Pierce 4Th y Harding stle y Co ds arr 5Th un w t ro vervie Qu 1S re ek Sn g 1S in C r i t ai R ak Aso F t e Ri ve r n rga Mo Cemetery WSDOT, GIS and Roadway Data Office Asotin Elementary School Walk Route Map F Southeast Washington Walking Study Data Collection and Analysis Project Date: May 2013 0 1,125 2,250 Feet page 26