Arcata Elementary’s ‘Safe Routes to School’ Active Transportation Project Gets Moving
This is a press release from the City of Arcata:
Arcata, CA – The City of Arcata Building & Engineering Department announced…that Arcata Elementary School’s (AES) Safe Routes to School active transportation project is underway. The project will focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety education in addition to sidewalk and intersection infrastructure improvements.
Pedestrian and bicycle safety education programs for AES students, led by BikesThere, a local business dedicated to teaching lifelong pedestrian and bicycle safety skills, will be implemented. As part of the program, second graders will receive pedestrian safety education in the classroom with the opportunity to practice the skills they learn outside in the community. Fourth -grade students will be taught bicycle safety, with curriculum focusing on the importance of wearing helmets to avoid traumatic brain injury. Students will also learn how to check bicycle tires, brakes, and chains before riding.
These lessons will prepare students for National Bike to School Day, a school-wide event taking place Wednesday, May 9. Students will be walking as well as bicycling to school that day to celebrate spring and the joys of active transportation.
For students who wish to participate that live too far to safely walk or bike to school, a drop-off location has been designated at Westwood Murphy’s Market. Students may be dropped off before school at 7:30 a.m., so they can walk or bike the rest of the way, supervised by school staff and adult volunteers. Participating students are required to wear a helmet, and staff will be on hand to ensure proper helmet fit and provide helmets to students in need.
In addition, the City of Arcata will be making accessibility and safety improvements to make it safer for AES students to walk and bike to school, thanks to grant funding from California’s Active Transportation Program (ATP). Infrastructure improvements are scheduled to take place this summer.
The City of Arcata’s Building & Engineering Department has been conducting pedestrian and bicyclist counts to help evaluate the effectiveness of the Safe Routes to School program. In partnership with Redwood Community Action Agency, Humboldt State University Kinesiology students staffed five count locations, twice a day, for a five-day period in April 2018. Count times were selected to coincide with student arrival and dismissal times at AES to determine the number of people currently walking or bicycling in the neighborhood. The count locations were place near to where sidewalk construction and intersection improvements are expected to be completed.
After infrastructure construction is complete, counts will be conducted to determine if the number of pedestrians and bicyclists increases as a result of the improvements.
For more information about local Safe Routes to School programs, visit hcaog.net. To learn more about Safe Routes to School in Arcata, please contact the City of Arcata Building and Engineering Department at 707-825-2173.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Building bike paths above street level should be considered.
And reorienting school entrances to make it safe for children walking and biking rather than convenient for parents driving kids to school. The worst time I have driving safely around schools is impatient parents suddenly pulling in front of me or double parking so the kids have to wander through the car maze to get to school.
OMGosh yes! Also, as a crossing Guard at a Canadian Elementary,My Father had been HIT by VEHICLES 2 different times, by student Parents!!!!! The second time…still in court system…but PROUD he shoved 5 students to safety before he was hit!
Gotta love it, it is not safe for college students to venture far from their homes but apparently it’s ok for elementary students.
I see this as helping the kids, your negativity notwithstanding.
Perhaps you favor doing nothing and would prefer an article titled, “Arcata Elementary School’s (AES) Students Thrown Under the Bus”.
Had pun with your headline.
Seems like a very good initiative for the kids.
Something they really need to teach is that STOP means STOP! I see so many college students and adults on bikes who blow through intersections as if laws don’t apply to them, and cops seem in no hurry to correct the matter. For every one person who is actually skilled and sober enough to look ahead and safely ride through a stop sign, there’s 9 more who only think they’re good for it and end up forcing cars (and sometimes even other bikes or pedestrians) to screetch to a halt. And even that one competent person is still at risk from a careless driver! STOP, LOOK, then go. Riding a bike does not make you invincible or omniscient!
And too clarify, I almost never see kids blow stop signs, they’re usually quite safe. But a few of the younger adults who have flown out in front of me (or just at me,depending how out of it they are) have mentioned they were taught to roll through stop signs at school, which is concerning. They are being taught to break the law and put themselves and others in needless peril.
Shudder. Trying to cross any intersection at bottom of a hill in the area of the school is a deal shoot. It’s like the accumulated momentum is more precious than their lives.