Louisiana Safe Routes To School Program

Louisiana Safe Routes to School Program

Department of Transportation and Development

Louisiana Safe Routes To

School Program

Infrastructure Projects



Purpose(Section 1404(b) of the legislation)

• To Enable And Encourage Children, Including Those With Disabilities, To Walk And Bicycle To School.

• To Make Bicycling And Walking To School A Safer And More Appealing Transportation Alternative, Thereby Encouraging A Healthy And Active Lifestyle From An Early Age; And

Continued on next slide



Purpose (Continued)

• To Facilitate The Planning, Development And Implementation Of Projects And Activities That Will Improve Safety And Reduce Traffic, Fuel Consumption, And Air Pollution In The Vicinity Of Schools.



Funding Categories• INFRASTRUCTURE – Generally those

activities that involve the planning, design and construction of physical improvements

• NON-INFRASTRUCTURE – Generally those activities related to education and the encouragement of walking and bicycling to school as well as enforcement and evaluation



Guiding Principles

• Infrastructure is a prerequisite

• Relationships between all components are everything

• Easy to implement, low cost solutions should be implemented first



Guiding Principles (cont.)

• Improvements requiring substantial time and financial commitment are identified and an implementation plan developed

• Engineering treatments are matched to the type of problem



SRTS Summary Goals

• Where it’s safe, get kids bicycling and walking to school.

• Where it’s not safe, make the changes necessary to make it safe.



Infrastructure Examples

• Sidewalk improvements (new, repairs,etc.)

• Traffic calming/speed reduction improvements

• Pedestrian/bicycle crossing improvements

• On-street bicycle facilities

• Off-street bicycle/pedestrian facilities

• Bicycle parking facilities

• Traffic diversion improvements



La Infrastructure Examples

• Sidewalks, Bike/Ped. paths

• Pedestrian bridge renovation

• Flashing school zone lights

• Bike racks

• Crosswalks and signs



Location

• State highway or local roads

• Must be within 2 miles of a primary or

middle school

• Must be public right of way

• Property acquisition must conform to

Federal requirements



Engineering

• Creates safer conditions for walking and bicycling

• Can influence the way people behave

West Valley City, UT



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Engineering Tools Outline

• Develop a school route map

• The school zone

• Along the school route

• Crossing the street

• Slowing down traffic



Identify Safe School Routes

• Develop a school route map–Neighborhood Walk-abouts and

Bike-abouts–Walking and Bicycling Audits–Parent and student surveys

• Develop a school traffic control plan



School Route Maps



School Traffic Control Plan



The School Zone

• Signs and Pavement Markings– MUTCD (http://mutcd.fhwa.dot)– Yellow-Green school signs

• School Speed Limits

• In-street signing

• Other



Along the School Route

• Safe and well designed facilities– ADA requirements

• Sidewalks– Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of

Pedestrian facilities (AASHTO)

– Recommend 5’ width

• Bicycle facilities– Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities

(AASHTO)



Crossing the Street

• Identify good crossing locations

• Reduce crossing distances

• Use appropriate traffic controls

• Are Traffic volumes and/or speed a safety problem



Slowing Down Traffic

• Traffic calming

– Radar speed displays

– Speed humps

– Other design elements



Engineering Considerations

• AASHTO Design Guides

• ADA Requirements

• DOTD Requirements

• Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)



Summary of Solutions

• Sidewalks

• Signs and Markings

• Traffic calming/diversion



New Sidewalk Problems

• Drainage– Piping ditches is expensive

• Right-of-Way– Acquisition must conform to FHWA

requirements

• Utilities– Relocation– Adjustments



Developing

a

Program



Comprehensive SRTS Program

• The 5 E’s–Engineering

–Education

–Encouragement

–Enforcement

–Evaluation



Developing An SRTS Program

• Identify The Problem(s)

• Develop Solutions– Infrastructure Improvements– Non-Infrastructure Activities

• Estimate Cost

• Develop An Action Plan

• Develop An Evaluation Plan



Problem Identification“No spin – just the facts”

• Organize

• Assess Current Environment

• Assess Existing Infrastructure

• Identify Safety Problems

• Collect Data



Organize(Form A Team)

• SCHOOL (Principal, staff, student)

• LOCAL GOVERNMENT (Enforcement, DPW, School Board, etc.)

• PARENTS (PTO, etc.)

• OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES

• ENGINEER (Traffic or other)

• CHAMPION (Someone who can keep things moving)



Assess Current Environment

• Identify students who:– Currently walk or bike to school– Take bus or driven to school– Live within one or two miles of school– Could potentially walk or bike

to school

• SRTS student and parent surveys– See SRTS website



Meadowview Elem.



Assess Infrastructure

• Sidewalks, Paths, Etc

• Barriers

• Operational

• Other Problems



Engineering Solutions

• First, consider low cost, easy to implement solutions

• Identify and program longer-term improvement needs

• Match the treatment to the problem



Engineering Solutions (Cont.)

• Provide Safe Street Crossings

• Keep it simple

• Shorten crossing distances

• Carefully select crossing locations and marked crosswalks

• Control Traffic Speed



Identify Safety Problems

• Actual Safety Problems

• Perceived Safety Problems



Actual Safety Problems

• Observations

– Around The School, Along The School Route, Crossing The Street, Traffic Behavior Etc.

• Collect Data

– Crash Data From Local Police

– Crime Data

– Traffic volume and speed data



Perceived Safety Problems

• Surveys

–Parents

–Children

• Types–Traffic

–Crime

–Other



Other Problems

• Weather

• Backpacks

• Too Far

• Etc.



Identify Potential Solutions

• Improve Facilities

– Engineering

• Change Driver Behavior

– Engineering

– Enforcement

• Encourage Students/Parents

• Educate

– Students/Parents/Teachers



Link The Solution/Problem

• Identify The Impact Of The Proposed Solution In Regards To The Identified Problem– Increased Safety?– More children walking/bicycling to school?– Reduced speeds?– Change in behavior?



Develop Infrastructure Cost Estimates

• Engineering

– Construction

– Operations



Develop Non-infrastr. Cost Estimates

• Encouragement

• Education

• Enforcement

• Evaluation



Develop An Action Plan

• List All Identified Problems And Solutions With The Cost Of Each

• Prioritize

• Develop A Time Frame For Accomplishing

• Identify Potential Source Of Funds For Each

• Identify Steps To Put Plan Into Motion



Summary

• A comprehensive strategy must be used to achieve the goals of the program.

• The 5 E’s should be applied to solve identified problems.

Louisiana Safe Routes To School Program

Documents