ATLANTA — As students prepare to return to class, the City of Atlanta’s Department of Transportation is taking a closer look at what happens before they reach the school doors — focusing on the streets, sidewalks and crossings students use every day.
Channel 2’s Brittany Kleinpeter got an exclusive first look at a new Safe Routes to School action plan focused on Kindezi at Gideons Elementary. The plan identifies infrastructure improvements and community efforts designed to make the trip to and from school safer.
The city says it is looking beyond individual intersections and studying the entire route students take to campus — including potential barriers along sidewalks and roadways.
At Gideons, one concern identified is a sidewalk route used by students where downed wires have created an infrastructure challenge. The city says addressing issues like this is part of creating safer, more accessible paths to school.
“Each year before the school year starts, we work with our internal groups to ensure the roads that the kids are traveling on are as safe as possible,” said Nichole Hollis, ATLDOT’s Safe Routes to School manager.
The Gideons action plan recommends several safety improvements, including new school zone signs, flashing beacons, speed feedback signs, a new four-way stop, safer crosswalks and improved walking routes.
The plan also includes community-based efforts, such as recruiting parents and volunteers to help support safe walking routes for students.
“Within our action plans, it’s a comprehensive action plan that looks at no turns on red, signalizations, but it also looks at the full infrastructure around the school zone,” Hollis said.
ATLDOT says each Safe Routes to School plan is customized for the individual school community, taking into account roadway design, walking patterns, and challenges students face getting to and from campus.
Kindezi at Gideons Principal Robert Owens says student safety is critical to learning.
“I would never want to get that phone call that something happened to them on the way home from school,” Owens said.
Gideons is one of 25 priority schools included in Atlanta’s Safe Routes to School program. The city has completed 10 plans so far, using crash data, community input and safety concerns specific to each campus to guide improvements.
The Gideons Safe Routes to School action plan is expected to be publicly released on Friday.
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