Brian Dougherty May 26, 2015 Public Art Advisory Committee Safe Routes to School Rainier Beach I’m Brian Dougherty with the Seattle Department of Transportation. One of the things I do is work with schools and communities to improve traffic safety around schools. Tonight I’ll provide a general overview about the school traffic safety program as well as some specific information about our plans here at Wedgwood to make it safer and easier for families to get to and from school. Brian Dougherty May 26, 2015 Public Art Advisory Committee

Presentation overview What is Safe Routes to School? SRTS in Rainier Beach Public art element 2

Safe Routes to School Safety improvements on walk and bike routes Education and encouragement of active transportation Enforcement of safe walking, biking and driving behaviors (Brian hands over to Katie) Thank you, Brian. Hi everyone, my name is Katie Traverse. As you probably know, most students living south or east of the school have to walk along NE 85th Street with no buffer between the walk and cars that are traveling too fast in some cases. Some cars are parking on the sidewalk. Students living south of the school are walking along 28th Avenue with no sidewalks. We know that there is a pattern of too much speeding along NE 83rd. No sidewalks there either. In 2011, I submitted our first proposal to improve safety on the walking and biking route to school. Since then, we’ve been awarded four grants to support the design and construction of safety improvements along the walking and biking route to school. The grants also support initiatives to educate and encourage kids to walk and bike safely to school. Crossing guard Rainier Ave S and S Henderson St 3

The Need Fewer kids today walk and bike to school Unintended consequences have resulted SRTS programs are part of the solution Why do we need such a program? Fewer kids are walking and biking to school today than they did a generation or two ago. This decline has had far-reaching effects on our childrens health and on the safety of the streets around schools. As more parents drive their kids to school, congestion and air pollution around schools gets worse. And safety of the remaining walkers and bikers is in peril. Safe Routes to School programs empower our communities to make walking and biking a safer, more popular way to get to school. Student patrol at Graham Hill Elementary. The first student patrol in Seattle was started in 1928 by the Seattle Police Department. Today student patrols are run at the individual school level, typically with 5th graders assigned to marked crosswalks with adult supervision Bike to School Day

SRTS Toolbox . S Henderson St & 50th Ave S 5

Rainier Beach School Traffic Safety Slower speeds Shorter crossings Safer crossings . 6

Rainier Ave S & 51st Ave S Crossing island Curb bulb Signal improvements . 7