We have posted our Safe Routes to School Handbook formatted for reading online here. Please take a few minutes to check it out. We will be challenging our students to walk and ride bikes to school during the month of April. The handbook provides information about routes and places to meet to walk together. Enjoy the spring weather!
Update on Safe Routes to School/March 2012
We applied for and received a Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Grant based on the SRTS plan that was developed last year.
This grant provides over $100,000.00 in infrastructures such as improving sidewalks, adding more pedestrian friendly walking routes, etc. We have joined forces with St. Thomas, Immaculate Heart, and CFI. This will allow us to use our consultant funds in a smarter way and provide more money for the actual projects around the schools.
February, 2011
Thankfully, the ice storm of 2011 held off until after the SJA Open House / Walk to School Fair on Sunday, January 30! There was a great turnout for the event and our Safe Routes to School (SRTS) committee had the opportunity to talk to a number of current and prospective parents. The Walk to School Fair had information stations about the overall Safe Routes to School program; recommendations and tips for engineering, education, encouragement, and enforcement initiatives; and an overview of the input to the SJA SRTS project to date. The consulting team and various community partners were there to answer questions about the SRTS program, the plan, and safe biking and walking activities. Comment sheets for the preliminary recommendations were available to those who wanted to provide input.
If you didn’t have an opportunity to attend the fair, the preliminary recommendations for ways to support walking and biking to school are listed below:
Engineering –
- Improve sidewalk condition on 42nd Street between Central and College Avenues.
- Add traffic signal at 43rd & Meridian and 4-way stop control at 43rd & Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington Street intersections to allow for safe crossings by pedestrians.
- Add curb bump-outs on Central Avenue at its intersection with 42nd Street to help calm traffic and shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians.
- Add pedestrian countdown indicators at the intersection of 42nd and College Avenue.
- Upgrade all school zone signage to current standards.
- Grind off painted stop bars across 42nd Street at Ruckle Street.
- Expand bicycle parking space
Education –
- Train safety patrol to enforce safe driving and walking behaviors during arrival and dismissal periods.
- Institute an annual pedestrian/bicycle safety training program for SJA students.
- Provide Preferred Bike/Walk Route Maps to all families.
- Develop a training tool for all new SJA families to become acquainted with pick-up/drop-off procedures.
- Provide information about the SRTS program on a SRTS page of the SJA website.
Encouragement –
- Participate in International Walk to School Day annually in October.
- Organize and operate Walking School Buses and bike trains to provide an opportunity for younger students to walk (or bike) to school with adult supervision.
- Coordinate with neighborhood schools to promote walking and biking through fun competitions, special activities, and shared information.
- Operate Mileage Club to help students track the distance that they walk and/or bike.
Enforcement –
- Enforce a “No helmet, no ride” policy for students who bike or skate to school.
- Work with IMPD to schedule periodic officer patrols (preferably on bicycle) during arrival and dismissal periods.
- Work with IMPD to enforce speeds and the stop signs at 42nd & Central.
The consulting team is now preparing the draft SRTS plan which should be finalized by early spring. Then the school will be in a position to apply for an infrastructure grant to implement some of the engineering recommendations and form a Safe Routes to School committee to work toward implementation of the education, encouragement, and enforcement recommendations.
For more information about the national Safe Routes to School program, visit www.saferoutesinfo.org. For more information about the SJA Safe Routes project, or to get involved in the planning process, please contact project manager Jennifer Pyrz, PE at (317) 287-3411 or pyrz@pbworld.com.
In starting a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program, St. Joan of Arc is taking the opportunity to make walking and bicycling to school safer for children and to increase the number of children who choose to walk and bicycle.
Welcome to 2011! Please mark your calendars for the St. Joan of Arc Walk to School Fair which will be held in conjunction with our annual Open Hour on Sunday, January 30 from 11:30 AM until 1:30 PM at SJA This is a change from the originally advertised date in March and allows the consulting team to finish the project earlier and be sure that we are ready well ahead of time to submit an application for infrastructure funding in the spring.
The Walk to School Fair is an event open to the entire community and will provide information about the Safe Routes to School program and recommendations from the consulting team that are specific to SJA. This is your opportunity to provide input and ask questions. Preferred walking and biking route maps will also be available for review at the fair so that you can provide your input before they are finalized and distributed to all families in the school.
Some of the programs that may be recommended in the Safe Routes to School plan are:
- Walking School Bus
- Bike Train
- McGruff House
- Bike Rodeos
- National Walk to School Day
- Mileage program
Many of these programs will need assistance from parent volunteers, working with the Safe Routes to School committee, to become part of St. Joan of Arc’s success. Start thinking about the programs that you would like to know more about and may be willing to participate in so that we can share information with each other at the Fair.. Parent responsibilities may include coordinating the walking school busses, being a walking school bus driver, leading or coordinating a bike train, coordinating a McGruff House program, being a McGruff safe house for students, assisting at a bike rodeo, making signs or preparing snacks for Walk to School Day, coordinating donations for raffles, and many other activities.
To get in the habit of walking and biking – start walking as a family and recording the distance or length of time you walk. Not only will you be able to track your progress, you will also develop healthy family habits and allow time for you to talk to one another as you walk or ride.
For more information about the national Safe Routes to School program, visit www.saferoutesinfo.org. For more information about the SJA Safe Routes project, or to get involved in the planning process, please contact project manager Jennifer Pyrz, PE at PB, (317) 287-3411 or pyrz@pbworld.com.
