Missouri Bicycle News

The Springfield News Leader has a very thorough and interesting article about the problem of making access to a newly built public school safe for student who walk and bicycle to school.

On the one hand, most students live close to the school and don't qualify for busing. On the other hand, while busing would be the school district's responsibility, creating sidewalks or a safe walking environment beyond the school grounds is not directly the school district's responsbility, nor in this case do they seem to have taken any initiative to solve the problem by giving direction to the welter of responsible governments and agencies who are directly responsible for making the area around the school bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

Compounding the problem is the fact that a bike/ped friendly school will greatly reduce projected traffic congestion at the new school.

Since sidewalks have not been built, road planners must plan for greater congestion, including spending over $200,000 adding turn lanes just for projected school traffic.

Sidewalks and other pedestrian-friendly features could likely be added for the same amount or less. But since roads are always the priority over sidewalks, the expensive turn lanes will almost certainly be built while the sidewalks are postponed--perhaps to be built later, or (as happens in too many Missouri communities) to be built never.

From the article:

The Springfield district's newest school is under construction in Battlefield. The district plans to build sidewalks and crosswalks adjacent to the school site, along the intersection of Missouri FF and Weaver Road.

Beyond the site, however, there are no sidewalks, nor are there plans in place to build them.

And traffic engineers say Weaver, a narrow two-lane road at the school's main entrance, is a traffic jam waiting to happen unless it is widened to include two turn lanes.

In general, schools must be planned from the very beginning to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian access. School districts must take the initiative to make this happen, because the end result of poor pedestrian facilities is greater danger for school children and ultimately a less healthy school population that doesn't do as well academically and starts to develop a life-long pattern of poor fitness and health.

Parents must pressure school districts to consider these factors in new school buildings, from the point of initial site selection forward. Never should the situation develop that has in Battlefield, where the school building is already in place and then panic ensues about other necessary infrastructure that should have been part of community planning from Day One.

Related:

News: California dedicates 1/3 of safety money to Safe Routes to Schools

News: Amendment 3 editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

permanent link to article: "Safe Routes: The problem of creating safe access to a new school"
posted by Brent Hugh at 11/08/2004 01:04:41 PM |comment on this article