Prioritizing Safety During the Back-to-School Season
As the new school year kicks off, ensuring the safety of students walking, biking, or riding to school becomes an important focus. With the increase in both pedestrian, bike and vehicle traffic around schools, there are some understandable risks that come with busy school zones:
- new students are navigating new, or less familiar routes,
- car drivers are adjusting to busier streets and crosswalks,
- and transit schedules are changing to accommodate the school start and end times,
While school zones can be hectic during drop-off and pick-up times, staying cautious and alert can make a big difference in keeping everyone safe.
At DCR Design, our goal is to promote safe multi-modal transportation through accessible and frequent services, thoughtful and accessible designs that protect vulnerable users, and implement clear wayfinding solutions to reduce confusion for both drivers, riders, bicyclists and pedestrians. We’re committed to supporting transportation projects that create safer school zones and protect students on their way to and from school. These include provision of better transit options, such as timely school buses, to get more students to and from school without needing a car.
To improve safety in these areas, we encourage residents to share their experiences and concerns using interactive map tools such as street stories (for California residents). This tool allows you to report locations where you’ve experienced safety issues or to suggest improvements for pedestrian and biking routes. Your input is vital in helping us create safer, more accessible transportation networks for everyone. If you live in San Luis Obispo County a similar tool is available for the remainder of 2024 as part of the Regional Road Safety Action Plan development. It can be accessed via this project web page.
In San Luis Obispo County, many large schools, such as High Schools and Middle Schools, experience high traffic during busy school hours. These zones see increased activity during drop-off and pick-up times, and it’s critical to ensure that students, drivers, and pedestrians remain safe and comfortable.
As a part of our commitment to enhancing student safety, DCR Design also believes in the importance of promoting public transit options for students. One effective solution is offering free student bus passes, which encourages the use of public transportation during the back-to-school season. This initiative not only reduces the number of cars on the road, helping to ease congestion and reduce the need for parking, but also teaches young people the value of using transit regularly. With frequent and reliable bus services, students can learn to navigate transit systems while helping to reduce their environmental impact. We believe that encouraging more students to take the bus is a key step toward creating safer, less congested school zones and fostering long-term sustainable transportation habits for our youth.
Photo credits: DCR Design & Oceano Elementary School
